Chapter 39
ZOE
Everything was a blur. The whole day had been a whirlwind. When I’d woken this morning I could never have dreamt something like this would happen. After spending the last couple of hours tangled in the sheets with Spencer, I knew everything was exactly as it should be. I wasn’t used to being this happy. Maybe that’s why my head was so messed up.
Stealing a glance at the man sleeping beside me, I realised how lucky I really was. I might have had to go to hell and back to get here, but now I wasn’t leaving. The only obstacle I had left was how to make it permanent. I knew Spencer, maybe better than I knew myself. He wouldn’t let me face this alone. He’d be there every step of the way, whether I wanted him to or not, he’d be right beside me. That’s what he did. Who he was. It was what he’d always done. Been there in the big moments when I needed him most, he’d not once let me down.
I shuffled to the edge of the bed, trying not to wake him.
“Where you sneaking off to?” he asked, his voice sleepy.
Leaning over, I kissed the tip of his nose tenderly. “I need to start getting ready if you want me to look presentable,” I teased as I pulled on his discarded t-shirt. It smelt like him. I would have been more than happy to spend the whole night dressed in nothing else, but instead I had to pull on some pretentious dress and crazy hooker heels.
“You look ready to me,” he groaned, rolling onto his back.
I giggled. “Your eyes aren’t even open!”
“Come back…” he whined like a mischievous child.
“Nope. You need to start thinking about getting up anyway.”
“I am up.” He smirked as his eyes opened, filled with a wicked glint.
I managed to dodge his grabby hands as he groped about, trying to get hold of me. Dashing to the bathroom, I heard him call out, “You’re a wicked, wicked woman.”
Standing in the bathroom, I risked a glance in the mirror. As I’d predicted, my hair was in complete disarray, but there was something there I didn’t recognise. There was a light in my eyes that I couldn’t remember ever seeing before. The smile that covered my face was infectious. I wanted to be happy, and I was. It was weird.
It took longer than normal and longer than I’d have hoped, but eventually I was ready. Somehow even my confidence had returned. I strutted arrogantly into the living room and my mouth fell open. All the nerves came racing back when my eyes landed on Spencer. From my spot in the doorway, all I could see was his back, and still my mouth went dry.
The suit jacket hung on his wide shoulders like it was made for him. It might’ve been a little tight around his biceps, but somehow that just made him even sexier. He must have heard me because when he spun around, I was treated to the full package. And what a package. My knees buckled and dropped me on my ass. If his jet black suit and crisp white linen shirt didn’t do me in, then the cocky, confidence in his eyes destroyed me.
“See something you like?” he asked, prowling towards me.
“Mmm-maybe,” I mumbled, barely coherent.
Spencer reached my side and stepped directly in front of me, his hands finding their way to my hips. Bending down so we were at eye level, he grinned widely. “You, my dear, look fucking hot!”
I had no answer. When I’d left home yesterday I’d thrown my most modest dress on the backseat. The only thing I’d had in mind when I’d pulled it from the wardrobe was that it was in no way revealing, but I wouldn’t look like a nun either. Now here he was, barely a breath away from me, looking at me like I was dessert.
Nerves flooded me. Wiping my clammy hands on my thighs, my gaze dropped. I couldn’t look him in the eye. I didn’t want my fears to ruin our night or the wonderful day we’d shared.
“Zoe! Zoe, look at me,” Spencer demanded, placing his finger under my chin and raising my face until I was staring straight into his hypnotic eyes. “Stop worrying about it. Please. You look absolutely stunning and I am the luckiest guy in the world that I get to walk in with you on my arm. Please. Don’t let those thoughts convince you otherwise. And if they start to, you just tell me and I’ll keep reminding you how amazing you are.”
“Spencer…”
“No, Zoe. This is it. I already told you. You’re it for me. I meant every word.” He winked and my heart soared. Somehow he knew what I needed before I did. Kissing my lips so lightly that I barely felt it, he let go and stepped back. “Right. Now we’re back on track, you need to show me exactly what it is you’re wearing, because you’re fucking gorgeous.”
“Spence…” I whined, folding my arms across my chest protectively. The way he was looking at me was making my blood boil.
“Come on, Pippi,” he encouraged. “Spin for me.”
There was a playfulness in his eyes that made me want to do anything, be anything just to make him happy. If me twirling around like an idiot brought a smile to his face, then damn it, I would spin. With one hand on my hip and the other raised dramatically in the air, I crossed my legs and twirled. A wolf whistle fell from his lips.
“Zoe?”
“It’s just a dress.”
“No. It most certainly is not. It’s you. In the dress.” I ducked my head, embarrassed. “No, Zoe. Not tonight. Tonight you’re beautiful and you’re mine. Now we need to leave before I peel you out of it and we don’t make it out the front door.”
Sensing Spencer’s tension, I couldn’t help but want to knock him off balance. After all, I was feeling slightly wobbly already. “Now doesn’t that sound like fun?”
He didn’t answer. Well, at least not in words. Instead he grabbed my hands and led me to the door with a grunt. Spencer’s inner caveman was lying awfully close to the surface tonight. This was going to be fun.
