Page 64 of Why Not Forever?

I notice the background noise on the call has stopped and I wonder if he’d been watching a movie with Lis and paused it.

“Is Lis listening?” I ask.

“Avidly,” she says.

I find my pyjamas and pull them on. “Am I on speakerphone?”

“You are now,” Spencer says.

“Unless you want me to go,” Lis says. “I can let you two talk.”

“No,” I groan. “It’s fine. So what do I do?”

“Okay, here’s my first question,” Spencer says. “Do you like him?”

I flop onto the end of the bed. “Yes.”

“Do you like him enough to date him?”

“We’re married, Spencer.”

“That’s not what I asked. Pretend for a minute you’re not married. Pretend you’re just friends who are living together. Kind of like us. When I lived with you, you never once considered dating me, right?”

I roll my eyes. We’ve been over this with countless girlfriends and boyfriends. “Right,” I say.

“So you know this isn’t a proximity thing. It’s Tanner. You liked him before. Do you like him again?”

I run my fingers through my hair, trying to detangle it a bit. I consider our dinner tonight, how I’d shared my food with him. I’ve shared food with Spencer before as well as Derek and Adalie, but never from my own fork. There’s something a little more intimate about that than saying to a friend,try this. A lot of what I’m feeling nowdoesremind me of Spencer, that sense of being safe. Except it’s a little deeper, a little more. “I do.”

“Your arrangement right now is a business arrangement. Renegotiate the terms.”

I pause what I’m doing, my fingers still caught in my hair. “Renegotiate.”

“Yes. I’m assuming he’s not there right now, since we’re talking about this like he isn’t?”

I sigh. “After I backed up, he said everything was okay and went for a walk. I think I hurt him, Spencer.”

“There’s an easy fix to that,” Lis says, and I can hear the sly grin in her voice. “Apologize. Profusely.”

I snort. “You have a dirty mind. Stop looking at each other.”

“How did you know?” she asks.

I roll my eyes. “You two are all over each other. I wouldn’t be surprised if you start making out as soon as I hang up.”

“We’re watchingPrincess Bride,” Lis says loftily. “There will be no making out until the movie is over.”

“Sure.”

“Okay. Let’s get back to the point,” Spencer cuts in. “While he’s gone, consider the new terms you want. When he gets back, present them to him and see what he says.”

“What if he doesn’t agree?”

“Vic, how many times have you negotiated a contract? If the other party doesn’t agree, you continue to negotiate until both parties are equally happy or equally unhappy. I have a feeling both parties will be equally happy in this case.”

“Renegotiate the terms of the contract,” I say. “I can do that.”

“And Vic. I want you to be happy. I love you. I’ve got your back. No matter what.”

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