“Right… then what are you here for?” She seems confused.
I smile tightly then bite my lip. “I’m… going totemporarilylive with Spencer.” That was painful to say, and I cover my face in near shame.
“As in my neighbor? The guy you hate? Wait, the guy who you actually call the asshole baseball player?”
“Yep.” I pop the P with my lips.
“Why?” she asks blankly.
I laugh nervously. “Fun story. Ornot. Remember your baby shower?” God, I’m going to admit this, but it’s better if she knows the details, because the only plus of this situation is that I get to hang with my bestie more due to her close proximity.
“Of course.” Piper smiles because I’m sure it is a great memory for her. “But what about the baby shower?”
I use my fingers to indicate size. “I might have made a teensy-weensy mistake with Spencer, and the man forgot to use the delete button. So, I need to hide out here in case the press figures it out.” I'm speaking at the speed of light.
Piper’s blank look fades to shock. “Oh my God!”
Pickles makes a whimpering sound, as if he is agreeing with Piper. Thank goodness I adopted him when I got back from my Italy vacation; I could use a therapy dog right about now.
I give a weak wave and smile to Piper. “Howdy, neighbor.”
“We are not telling Hudson the specifics of this,” Piper states, still in shock.
“Please don’t.” I couldn’t agree more.
“Oh, hey there, roomie,” I hear Spencer call out as he appears to walk slowly with a swagger down his driveway.
My face turns stiff, and I hold up my middle finger in his direction, but my eyes stay fixed on Piper. I feel my nostrils flare before smiling sweetly at my friend. “You’ll be my alibi if a hot baseball player turns up at the bottom of Lake Spark?”
Piper seems to be grinning. “I shouldn’t highlight the fact that you just called him hot, should I?”
I grumble and wave her off as I start my march in the direction of the house, with my hound in tow. I vaguely hear Piper say, "See you soon." I am sure she flashes Spencer a smile because that man has everyone wrapped around his finger.
Spencer slows as we come face to face. “What’s with the dog?”
“My ex hated dogs, so I lost the ex and gained a dog. Clearly a win. We are a package deal. You need me to stay here, then Pickles stays too.” I shoot him a glare.
He responds by smirking. “Fine. Shall I get your suitcase?”
“It won’t move itself.” My eyes flick down to get a glance at his white t-shirt that hugs his muscles, and I see half of his tattoo on his chest by the v-neck. An anchor with tiny numbers along the outline of the shape; I know that because I’ve seen his entire body.
“Great, I get to live with children,” I hear him mumble. Creases form on my forehead that he said that plural, but I don’t think too long.
Mostly because I’m mesmerized as I enter his home. He was working on this house for a long time. Everything is state-of-the-art and modern. An open staircase greets me, as does the one-room level with floor-to-ceiling windows. It’s huge, and I don’t know where to look. The living area, a dining area, then my eyes land on the kitchen.
I’m a little eager as I continue my journey to inspect the kitchen. This fridge is a dream, and is that a pizza oven? I think I’ve entered heaven. In Italy, I partook in cooking workshops every day, but my apartment in the city just doesn’t suffice for some of the recipes, but this? I can literally stare at this all day.
This will be great.
I mean, don’t, April, don’t get a warm fuzzy feeling about this arrangement.
I turn to face Spencer, who has left the luggage by the stairs and followed me in my exploration. “Since I'm here, I might as well stay occupied and use the kitchen for my own enjoyment.” I hear my attempt to cover my excitement.
“Sure.” He scratches the back of his neck. “We may need to stock up on supplies. We can head to the general store if you want?”
My voice turns sickly sweet. “I would say I don’t need your company, but I do need your credit card since this shall be an unexpected all-expenses-paid trip, because the reason I am here…” My voice turns full of venom. “Is because you forgot to use the damn delete button on your cloud!”
His satisfied smirk is unaffected. “Fair point, but it did take two to make it.”
