Chapter 9 Nine

The rest of the day is uneventful–as much as it can be when it comes to my family.

Lunch with everyone is nice, and I get to hear all about the party that I missed. No one brings up the ex-boyfriend topic, which makes me utterly grateful, although I have to ignore Chad's glances at me every once in a while when someone mentions Spencer or his family. But since it has nothing to do with me, I don't even flinch when I hear his name.

And because I slept poorly the night before, I retreat to bed earlier than usual, taking the opportunity to rest since I have to go to work tomorrow.

A week flies by, and eventually, the wedding buzz dissipates, bringing back my calm and peaceful days. I get to work in the morning, leave before the sun is down, go for an evening jog or horseback riding, and then return home for dinner. Sometimes, depending on their work schedule, Chad and Lauren join us back at the ranch, but mostly, it's just me, Mom, and Dad.

I miss the house being crowded, even though I don't say it much. It's fun to tease my siblings about having the place all to myself, but the truth is, this huge house feels so lonely without them. I wish Chad and Lauren would come back. I mean, our parents' room is on the other side of the house, and it's not like we don't have enough personal space.

I guess I just want to have more people around me every day.

On Friday night, as I'm leaving the newspaper building, I ponder inviting Lauren or Poppy over for some wine and a good chat, but I know Poppy has a date with this guy she met online, and Lauren is on duty until midnight, and I doubt she'll want to do anything other than crash in her bed when she's done.

I'd call Chad, but considering our last brother-and-sister chat last Sunday, I'm not sure I want to spend alone time with him. I know he'll pry about Spencer, and I'm not in the mood for it.

In fact, I'm trying to forget he's moving back to town. I haven't seen or bumped into him the entire week, and from what I heard, he went back to LA to grab his things, so he should be showing up sometime soon. I'm trying to be at peace with that. From now on, the possibility of me seeing him on a daily basis is huge.

As soon as I step outside the newspaper building, the cold evening breeze hits me. It's not winter yet, but it is starting to get impossible to be outside without a coat. A cloaked figure leaning against a car parked on the sidewalk catches my attention, and it takes me a few seconds to realize who it is.

Me and my big mouth. Did I summon him through my thoughts?

"Spencer? What are you doing here?" I ask, approaching him while wrapping my arms around my body to protect myself from the wind. Or maybe I'm trying to convince myself that the chills running through my body are related to the weather and not from seeing him again.

He looks so casual, dressed in gray sweatpants and a hoodie, and it reminds me so much of his teenage self. I curse myself inwardly for noticing how hot he looks now, more mature and handsome. This is not the time or place for me to have dirty thoughts about anyone. Especially not Spencer.

"Hey, I was hoping I'd find you," he replies, seemingly a bit flustered.

I try to hide my shock, but my face must give me away because he flashes his cute, dimpled smile at me, and I almost forget how to speak.

"Okay, did something happen?" I finally say.

"Not really. I just wanted to talk to you. We didn't have a chance at the wedding, and honestly, I don't think that was the right moment. I apologize for trying," he confesses with a shrug, shoving his hands into his pants pockets, looking a bit uneasy.

I shake my head, dismissing him. "It's fine. I shouldn't be so bitter about it either, so I'm sorry about that."

Spencer chuckles, his eyes piercing my soul as he stares at me. "You had every right to. It wasn't fair of me. So... can we talk?"

I look around, considering his offer.

Should we? If I go with him, what will we even talk about? Is there anything left to say? What would that even mean?

But it's so hard to say no to him when he's looking at me expectantly.

Ugh, how can he be so irresistible?

"I guess so," I concede.

Spencer opens the passenger door for me, and I hesitate. "My car is parked right there." I point at the corner where I found an empty spot close to the supermarket earlier today. I was planning on stopping there on my way out to grab that bottle of wine I've been dreaming about, but I guess my plans have just changed.

"I can drop you off here later," Spencer suggests. "I think it's wiser to go in just one car."

"Fine." I sigh, surrendering to his offer and climbing inside his fancy, shiny black car.

Spencer closes the door and circles the vehicle, and in the meantime, I notice how good it smells in here. In fact, I'm taken on a trip down memory lane as his cologne hits me like a slap in the face. He always smelled so good, so masculine, even when he was young.

I close my eyes for a second, allowing myself to be encapsulated by his scent and my old memories. The click of the driver's door being opened brings me back to reality, though. Spencer gets behind the wheel and looks at me with an amused glint in his eyes as he fastens his seatbelt.

"Any particular place you want to go?" he asks.

"Not really. I thought you had it all planned out when you came to meet me?" I tease, knowing his methodic, organized habits are probably something that haven't changed over time.

"Touché. I was just making sure you had a say in this," Spencer notes, starting the ignition and driving off. "But since you don't, I might have a suggestion."

For most of the drive, we sit in absolute silence. I want to say it is uncomfortable, or at least awkward, but surprisingly, it's not. Of course, my brain is convulsing with so many thoughts running around like birds trapped in a cage, but that's on me. I don't know what to expect from this conversation. I have no idea what Spencer can possibly want to talk about.

It's been so long. Will he even bring up our relationship? What would be the point?

I know where he's taking me before we get there. It used to be OUR spot by the river. It's a public space, but people don't normally go there, not at this time of the evening anyway.

I'm not sure how I feel about it. Is he doing this on purpose to bring back old emotions, or is he just honestly thinking this is a nice place for us to talk?

Am I reading too much into it?

Spencer parks the car close to the riverside, and we silently head to where we used to sit under this lonely willow tree. It feels natural heading there, even though I have avoided coming here for the last seven years. For a moment, it feels like I'm back in high school, coming here with Spencer after he won a football game and was up for a little private celebration.

Those were the good old days.

We remain silent for a few more minutes, both of us probably gathering the courage to open Pandora's box, secretly hoping the other does it first. However, he invited me to come and talk, so he should be the one to start it. Right?

But I'm getting annoyed and anxious with all this quietness, so I clear my throat and give him a side eye.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" I pry cautiously.