Page 65 of Why Not Now?

“I’m taking this out and framing it,” I tell Ava.

“Oh. If you want a framed version, I can print a bigger one for you.”

“Yes!” Spencer says. “An eight by ten. Frame it and put it in your office.”

I flip through the rest of the pictures and find ones with me and my friends at Sophie and Daze’s wedding and the ones of me and Adalie and me and Ava at the Christmas Market.

“I only had a few,” she says apologetically. “I figured you could add to it.”

“It’s perfect. I love it.”

The album is passed around and Daze and Sophie point out the ones from their wedding. They pull Ava into a conversation about some of the photos she took that day and how much they love them. Lacey and Adalie join while Spencer comes to sit next to me on the couch.

“You finally make it official?” he asks.

“Sort of. She hasn’t said the words out loud. But we’re heading in that direction.”

He watches me carefully, and I know he sees deeper than anyone else. Spencer has always had a sixth sense about people. It’s like an intuition that tells him who the person is at their core. And he always knows when something’s wrong with one of his friends.

“You’re not sure you should trust it,” he says finally.

I can’t seem to stop looking at her on the other side of the room. She’s laughing at something Sophie has said, then her eyes stray from the conversation, finding me. She offers me a smile that I return before she turns back.

“I want to. She said she thought I wanted to leave her. But she doesn’t seem to know why. How can I be sure she won’t get that into her head again? I’ve only ever wanted to be there for her, but she’s never wanted me to help her.”

“Fuck.”

I turn to Spencer. He shrugs. “It’s just, all that love language stuff? Yours is absolutely acts of service. That’s how you show you care about people. You do stuff for them.”

I blink at him slowly.

“Don’t look at me like that. You know it’s true.”

“Ido. How doyouknow it’s true?”

“Because you’re as transparent as glass, man. It’s not hard to figure you out. You think I didn’t know all these years when you were sleeping around you did it because you were hurting and didn’t want to let any woman close? Dude.”

His expression tells me I should have expected more from him. He’s right. It should have occurred to me that Spencer would use his people instinct on me.

“What are your thoughts on her, then?” I ask, half wanting to hear and half not.

“Nope,” he says.

“What do you mean, nope?”

“Staying out of it.”

“Come on, man. Thirty seconds after seeing me and Adalie, you knew we’d be the perfect fit to add to your and Vic’s dynamic duo. Thirty seconds after seeing Lis for the first time, you knew she was your soul mate.”

He rolls his eyes. “When I chose you and Adalie, it was specifically for that project. Yes, we became best friends, but that was after knowing you guys for a few months. As for Lis, I didn’t know she was my soul mate thirty seconds after seeing her.”

I give him a look that tells him I don’t believe him.

“I didn’t,” he says with a smirk. “It wasn’t until the next morning at breakfast.”

I laugh and clap him on the back. “Whatever you say, Spencer.”

He grins, his eyes finding Lis where she’s talking to my mom, Gina, and Gina’s husband, Walter. She’s holding baby Travis and when her eyes find Spencer, the look in them tells me she wants one of those little things. Considering Spencer does, too, I’m certain they’ll work out the details.

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