Page 20 of Reunion With Benefits

She blew out a long breath. “It’s in the past. We should let it go.”

He knew that made sense but it sounded wrong. They kept going at each other, but under all that anger, all the frustration and disappointment, something else lingered. Something he wasn’t ready to let go of. “What if I don’t want it to stay in the past? We could go over it now.”

The color left her face. “Sometimes you need to move on.”

“And sometimes you need to stick around and fix things.” He stepped in closer and took her hands in his.

“You’re saying...”

He wasn’t even sure. “Finish the sentence.”

His thumb rubbed over the backs of her hands. A light caress over her smooth skin. Then his hand slipped up. To her wrist, then a bit higher. Fingers on bare skin.

She jerked away, pulling back and putting space between them again. Her hands visibly shook as she grabbed for her files and her phone. “Thanks for the offer of help with Rylan, but I’ve got this.”

He thought about stopping her, but now wasn’t the time. When she walked out the door, leaving it hanging wide-open behind her, he wondered if the time would ever be right.

* * *

An hour later, Spence turned up in Derrick’s office. He’d gotten back to his desk after the run-in with Abby and another half hour walking around the building, trying to make sense of the conflicting messages bombarding his brain, and saw the note. A summons of sorts.

Derrick started talking the minute Spence crossed the threshold to his plush corner office. “We have a problem.”

“Our father plans on visiting, so we have more than one.” Spence still hadn’t figured out how he was going to handle seeing him. They hadn’t spoken since the infamous kiss that ruined everything. Eldrick had tried in his usual smart-ass bragging way. Spence had ignored him and his envelope.

Derrick looked up as he settled back in his chair. “For once I’m not talking about him. I’m talking about you.”

Spence stopped in midstep across the room. “Excuse me?”

“There’s been a lot of talk in the office. Gossip.”

There always was. That was the nature of an office. People locked into a confined space all day. They were bound to get bored and start talking about nonwork things. Spence was sure Derrick hated that reality, but it was a fact. “Since when do you care about that?”

“People have noticed the tension between you and Abby. It’s been weeks and it’s not getting better.”

Spence felt something twist inside him. He made it to the chair across from Derrick but didn’t sit in in. He stood, gripping the back with a white-knuckled grip.

“What people?” Because Spence couldn’t tolerate people whispering about Abby. No matter what had happened between them now or back then, she was great at her job. She deserved the office’s respect. It was not as if the past was anyone else’s business anyway.

“People who work in this building. People with eyes.”

“Come on.” Spence refused to believe it was that widespread. He hadn’t even been home a month and except for the glass-walled office kiss, he’d been careful.

“You really don’t have any idea, do you?” Derrick rocked back and forth in his chair. “Well, the people who work here need to think that management is at least somewhat competent.”

Fair enough.“Isn’t it your job to install that faith?”

“When I’m not here, it’s yours.” Derrick leaned forward with his elbows balanced on the edge of his desk. “Which brings me to my point.”

Spence knew they’d get there eventually. “Feel free to skip any part of this lecture.”

“You need to get yourself in line.” Derrick dropped that bomb then stopped talking.

Figured, his brother picked now as the perfect time to get cryptic. Spence had that sort of luck. “That’s it?”

“Yes.”

“Your pep talks suck, Derrick.”

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