AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Taylor: Good. Then focus on him.
And that was exactly what I was going to do.
Ben woke up and drew me from my thoughts. His eyes were small and a bit watery. He looked at me with suspicion, but when I moved closer and put a hand on his chest, he gave me a small smile. My chest filled with immeasurable joy.
"You're so adorable. He's smiling," I announced.
Spencer laughed. "Yeah, he's been doing that lately."
I played with my fingers in the air, moving my forefinger from the window to my ear. He glanced at my finger, laughing each time it touched my ear, like it was the best entertainment in the world. I was so immersed in making the little guy laugh that I didn't even realize that we'd arrived at Spencer’s home until he’d turned off the engine.
"Oh, that was fast."
"No, it wasn't. We actually hit a bit of traffic. But you were too lost in keeping him busy."
"Yes, I was."
I liked how easy this banter between us was. An image flashed in my mind. How would life be if this was truly my family? We'd wake up on Saturday and lazily decide to go to the farmers’ market. There wouldn't be a fight about it—there wouldn't be a fight about anything. We'd just enjoy life together and our baby.
Oh, stop it, Penny. A fling, remember? It's a fling.
Spencer took the car seat inside the house, carrying the groceries too, showing off his amazing strength. I wanted to snap a picture, but instead, I just memorized this image. It filled my soul with happiness.
Once we stepped inside, Spencer went directly to the kitchen, moving Ben to a cot and putting the bags of groceries on the kitchen counter. I began to empty them to put things away when he grabbed both of my hands. I froze, looking up.
"Talk to me, Penny."
"About what?" I asked, trying to act confused, even though Wally had cut me deep, and I was becoming an emotional mess.
"You've practically disappeared into yourself since we ran into that moron."
"Maybe we can just pretend it didn’t happen. I'm really so sorry you had to encounter him." Oh lord, I did not want to discuss details because I didn’t think I’d make it through without bawling. Wally always made me feel useless.Stop that! Don’t let him get to you.
"Penny." He caressed my cheek.
I instantly felt safe, wanted, and I couldn't explain why.
"You don't have to apologize or be ashamed in any way."
"He made a scene, and you didn't have to witness that." I was embarrassed as hell.
"I don't care about that. I care about you. How are you? That was a stupid question. Clearly, you're feeling off. What can I do to change that?"
"You're not upset?" I asked. Spencer had handled Wally nicely. If there had been a fight, hands down Spencer would have taken him.
"No. Why would I be?"
"Because that whole scene put a damper on your morning."
"Listen to me, Penny. Stop worrying about me. I am worried about you. This is all about you. I want to make your day better. I just need to know what it will take to do that."
"Watching you amaze me with your breakfast-making skills is a great start," I said, smiling from ear to ear. My eyes were burning though, and I couldn’t hold the tears back.
"You're crying."
"No, no. These are tears of joy, okay?"
"What? What can possibly have brought you so much joy?"
