Page 30 of Reckless

“Save it for someone who doesn’t know you, Hartley. That doesn’t work on me,” she supplied.

“What doesn’t?” I asked staring into her blue eyes.

“The flirting.”

I smiled down at her.

“It works on everyone, little Spencer.”

Chapter Ten

Tyler

Hannahdrovemebackto my mother’s house, trying to hold my attention with meaningless conversation about weddings and babies. Or should I say monologue, giving the fact I barely answered back. I knew nothing about weddings, and I knew even less about babies. In fact, the only baby I knew was Liam. And fortunately for me, he was no longer one.

“I can’t even imagine how tiring it must be having one baby, let alone twins.”

My mind had drifted to the night of Liam’s birth, but that sentence snapped me back in the conversation.

“Clem is having twins?”

“No,” Hannah sounded confused. “I don’t think so.”

“Why are you talking about twins then?”

“Aren’t you listening to me?” she asked but didn’t sound offended. “My friend from work is having twins,” she paused, then smiled a dreaming smile. “She also has a dog, so there will be lots of cute pictures in her future.”

Finally, a verbal confirmation of my suspicions about how Hannah Spencer imagined her future.

“Does she have a perfect husband too?” I teased remembering Nick and how he eyed my new fuck buddy Tracy. “Nick won’t be a perfect husband, little Spencer. You have to cut your losses and move on.”

“I never wanted perfect,” she sounded offended now.

“Oh, come on,” I started counting on my fingers. “The twins. The dog. You are dating a surgeon,” I held three fingers in the air. “You want to be the suburban mom that drives the kids to soccer practice, goes to Pilates, and fakes orgasms once a month when the husband decides to pretend he’s still interested.”

“Maybe I should just get drunk every day and fuck strangers until I hit fifty and no one wants me anymore.”

“First of all, I will look great when I hit fifty. Second of all, I don’t get drunk every day.” I paused, wondering how far could I push her before she decided to dump me by the side of the road. I chose to risk it. “And you are not fighting to defend Nick’s honor. The faking started already, hmm?”

“Don’t talk about my sex life.”

“I can’t promise that. It’s too much fun. You look like a cute savage when you’re mad.”

She rolled her eyes and stopped blabbing for the rest of the ride. The easy-going Hannah was completely gone by the time she left me in front of my mother’s house. I got out of the car without saying a word and she drove off the moment I slammed the door shut.

I thought about calling Clem and explaining I missed the boys’ trip, but knowing Lucas, he had already informed her. She hadn’t called me yet, so I wasn’t going to call her either. Hannah was right about my little sister. I loved her more than the rest of my family. She never pushed me like the others. Clem knew I had limits and never crossed them, unlike Mom or Madison. The first thing she ever wanted from me was this stupid camping trip.

Now that I didn’t have to participate in it, I had time to focus on my future in Boston and really think about it. My new found relations with the mafia boss Patrick Hayes and how Chloe and Liam fitted in that equation.

The answer was easy. They didn’t.

It wasn’t safe for them to be associated with me at this point. I knew I had to concentrate on that. I had to, but my mind kept on drifting to Hannah Spencer. The perfect little good girl with the hair that looked like sunshine.

The right thing to do was to buy a plane ticket and fly back to Boston, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Lucas was away until Sunday, and even though I didn’t plan on calling Clem, I wanted to be close enough in case she needed something.

Two hours later, I was bored out of my mind. The moment the thought of calling my mother and asking her out for coffee crossed my mind, I got up and went straight to Hannah’s home. She couldn’t wait to get away from me when she dropped me off earlier, so I knew I was going to have fun just looking at her face, when I showed up at her doorstep.

“Tyler.” Lauren Spencer opened the door and greeted me with a smile when I appeared in front of their home twenty minutes later. “The last time I saw you, the girls were still in high school. Come in, come in,” she stepped sideways, and I entered their house. “Hannah!” Lauren shouted and my skin prickled just from hearing her name. “Would you like a cup of coffee?” She pointed to the couch.

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