Page 19 of Why Not Both?

The dryer buzzes and I look at Sophie. “I switched it over while you were out.”

I pull out the hoodie and hug it against me. His scent is still there, barely. It must really be his favourite. I bring it with me to the couch. Sophie and Daze kindly don’t mention it.

Daze orders sushi. Sophie gets The Mummy started. It turns out I can still watch it. Even though I think of Spencer the whole time, it’s still my comfort movie. The sushi arrives and we eat. Daze pours white wine and we drink. Brendan Fraser saves the day and kisses Rachel Weisz and they live happily ever after.

“Why can’t I find my Rick O’Connell? Someone who will come after me when I’m kidnapped by a mummy.”

“Well, Rick lived in the 1920’s in Egypt,” Daze says.

“And Vancouver has a limited quantity of mummies,” Sophie adds.

“Details. I want a man who looks at me the way Rick looks at Evie.” Spencer’s face flashes through my mind. “Ugh. I’m going to bed. Thanks, you guys.”

Daze kisses my temple. “Love you, Lis.”

“Love you, too.” I bring the hoodie with me, pulling it on when I get to my room. Cerberus gives me a look. “I know, I know. I’ll give it back tomorrow. I just want one more night.” I climb into bed and pull the covers around me. Cerberus jumps up as well and I snuggle against him. At least I have a warm body to snuggle up to. Too bad it’s the wrong one.

Chapter 8

Spencer

I’m on my third beer before anyone broaches the subject. I’ve known it was coming since I got here tonight. The four of us are at Derek’s house for game night, the last Monday of every month and tonight we’ve decided on a game called Tsuro where our pieces are dragons, and the goal is to remain on the game board as it’s built and also not run into one of the other players.

I had expected Vic to bring it up, so I’m surprised when Derek does.

“So what are we going to do about your little problem?” he asks, setting down a game board tile and moving his piece over it. I give him a sharp look and he holds up his hands. “I’m just saying. If one of my one night stands showed up and started working at Blue Vista, I’d be kind of uncomfortable.”

“It wasn’t a one night stand.” Everyone stares at me. “It wasn’t supposed to be a one night stand.” I glare at each of my friends in turn. “This is her dream job. So no one fucks it up for her.”

They all nod.

“Before we knew who she was,” Adalie says, “we were going to try to bring her into the group. She’s technically one of the top staff at the venue now. Not one of the OGs.” She fluffs her curly red hair before placing her game tile down and moving her piece. “But she’ll have decision-making authority, once her probation is over. And we’d hoped to have her be more than just an employee. You still want to do that?”

It had always been a hope that whoever we hired as head chef would be able to mesh well with our already tight-knit team. We’d been running this business together for over five years now. While Mark, our last chef, had been a dick about how he’d left, he’d also never really clicked with us. I’d known it was a matter of time before he left us. I’ve always had a sixth sense about people.

My friends all know about my knack for reading people and they watch me as they wait for what I’m about to say next. I turn one of the game tiles in my hand, tapping the edge of the tile on the table with each quarter turn.

“She’ll mesh with us. I knew that the other night. She’s the right person for the job.”

“Good enough for me,” Vic says.

Derek nods and stands. “Who wants another beer?” Then he looks at me and I hold my breath, but he just says, “It’s your turn.”

The conversation is over. My friends trust me. They know I won’t do anything to fuck up Blue Vista. Even if the woman of my dreams is going to be down the hall from me almost every day I’m there. As the event coordinator and the head chef, she and I will be working together more often than the others. I just need to figure out how I’m going to deal with that and not think about how her laugh made my pulse race, how her smile made me feel like the champion of the world, or how it felt to have my cock buried in her pussy.

#

I’m working at my desk the next morning when there’s a soft knock on my door frame. Since everyone always just walks in, I already know who I’m going to see when I look up.

Lis is standing there, chewing on her lip, a black backpack in her hands. My eyes snag on the backpack and I swallow, unable to prevent the sucker punch to the gut the sight of that bag gives me.

“What’s up?” I ask. “Also, if the door is open, you don’t have to knock. Just come in.”

“I brought this back for you. I washed them both. Thanks. For letting me borrow this stuff.”

She hands me my backpack. All of a sudden, the office seems too small. I want to tell her I don’t want it. I don’t ever want to see it again.

No. That’s a lie. I do want to see it again. I want to see it on her. I want to strip it from her body before I make love to her all night long.

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