Page 16 of The Ruse of Romancing
“My hair shrunk in the wash,” I said, not wanting to discuss my encounter with Charlie and his scissors.
“And your beard just vanished? I can’t remember the last time I saw you clean-shaven,” he said, shaking his head. “How are you possibly going to attract the ladies now? You look more like a golf-course junky tourist than our resident lumberjack.” Spencer nudged me with his elbow as he walked past me to his office at the back of the shop.
I followed him, ready to be done with his teasing, discuss the commission, and then head home. I was more than happy to call it a day. If I was lucky, my new neighbor would be nowhere insight so I could enjoy some peace and quiet before jumping into Spencer’s commission. At least my tablet and graphic design program wouldn’t judge me for my lack of hair.
“Laugh it up, Chuckles. I bet I’ll still have more luck with the ladies than you,” I grumbled, trying to find my confidence and swagger, hoping I hadn’t left it on the floor of Ed’s along with my beard and dignity.
Spencer abruptly stopped in front of me, blocking my way into the office as I nearly ran into his back.
“Is there a reason you’re following me?” he asked, his voice coming out oddly strained. There was no way that stack of books was heavy enough to be causing him issues. If it was, I needed to get him to the gym more often.
“Yes,” I said slowly, confused at his question. “You asked me to stop by to talk about a commission.”
If it was anything like Spencer’s last commission, which he’d framed and proudly hung behind the cash register, this project would bring in some good money and help build my clientele. Last time he’d asked me to create a print that depicted several children from different backgrounds, with different abilities disappearing into the pages of a book for an epic adventure involving a castle, dragon, and pirate ship. It had turned out so well that he sold smaller copies and bookmarks based on the print with his bookstore logo on the back, splitting a part of the sales with me. I’d lost track of the number of commissions I’d received thanks to that particular piece of art because people saw it in the shop and loved the style enough to reach out to me. This new commission wasn’t something I could really afford to miss out on. While I was established enough as a graphic designer that I had a steady stream of customers, I wasn’t making enough money to move out of the duplex and support myself fully. Not that I was looking to move anytime soon, but I couldn’t live off my grandparents’ charity forever.
“About that,” Spencer said, turning to face me and shifting his posture to take up more space. While Spencer wasn’t the most socially adept person in Cascade Harbor, he was acting weird even for him. “I still want to talk about a commission, but today isn’t a good day. I’ve had... something come up.”
“Something ‘come up?’ Spencer, you were the one who insisted we had to meet today. You said it was urgent,” I said, thrown off by my friend’s behavior.
“I know, but I’ve thought about it and realized I need to... sleep on the project some more.”
Spencer was a terrible liar. His face did this funny scrunching thing. His mom, Joane, said it had always been that way since he was little, making her job as parent infinitely easier. According to her, if she ever suspected him of lying, she just had to wait to see if his expression made him look like a pooping toddler. The description was remarkably accurate as I watched Spencer’s face contort now. He was hiding something.
“Sleep on the project? You slept on it last night,” I said, stopping to lean against the wall near the checkout counter to watch him. I waved at the last commission I’d done for Spencer where it hung on the wall behind his head. “You know I love doing this kind of work. I don’t understand—”
“Hey, Spencer,” a warm female voice called from the office behind my friend, “were you able to find those other copies? I really need to finish signing so I can head back to my rental. My sister’s going to flip if I don’t make some progress with my writing today.”
I arched an eyebrow as the pieces fell into place. Spencer was trying to keep me away from the woman in his office. Which of course meant meeting her was exactly what I was going to do. It was what best friends were for.
Looking from me to the office and back, Spencer pivoted quickly on his heel, stepping into the office and depositing the books on the desk.
“Here you go! Let me know if you need anything else.” He hovered for a moment, clearly wanting more from the woman.
She briefly glanced up from the stack of books that was already in front of her, muttering a brief thank you as she leaned away from Spencer, tucking a strand of chestnut brown hair behind her ear and returning to her task.
Spencer hesitated for a second longer before remembering I was there. He quickly shuffled out of the small room, closing the door slightly to try to block my view. Unfortunately for him, I could still see the woman in his office, and I was very much interested in learning more about the gorgeous brunette bent over his desk, pen in hand, signing a large stack of books and ignoring Spencer’s clear interest in her.
Her hair cascaded over one shoulder, creating a waterfall that I wouldn’t mind running my fingers through. I wondered how she’d feel about modeling for a sketch. I needed to test out my new look some time and this moment was starting to feel perfect. Women liked the clean-cut look too, right?
Spencer grabbed my arm, pulling me further away from the office. I shifted, making sure I could still see the woman through the partially open door. Not in a creepy way. Just in an “appreciating the scenery” kind of way.
“That one’s off limits,” Spencer said, waving aggressively toward the woman in his office.
“First of all, you can’t refer to a woman as ‘that one.’ She is a living, breathing, functioning human, and your mother would be appalled to hear you talk about a lady that way.” I crossed my arms over my chest, feeling confident in my assessment of the situation. “Second of all, you’re not the boss of me.” That last part sounded better in my head. It came out like I was a smallchild in an argument with the school bully. But my argument still stood.
“Do you even know who that is?” Spencer asked, stepping into my personal space and arching an eyebrow. While Spencer was only a couple of inches shorter than me, he felt particularly small in this moment as he tried to intimidate me away from this woman, his slim frame contrasting with my gym-honed muscles. “Also, weren’t you here yesterday withthreewomen? For once in your life, leave some for the rest of us.”
“Again, she’s a woman, not the last scoop of ice cream in the container. And I was here withonewoman yesterday who happened to be visiting with two of her friends, both of whom you could have tried to woo. None of them are in town anymore, so I don’t see the problem in pursuing someone new. I’ve got to test drive the new look at some point and you have a very promising lady currently sitting in your office who has yet to experience all that this,” I gestured at myself, “has to offer.” I ran a hand through my short hair, flexing my bicep with the gesture to emphasize my point. I was going to save a fortune in shampoo with my haircut, but it was going to take some serious getting used to. Also, all that saved money would be going back to Davie to maintain said haircut, even with the generous locals discount he gave me.
Spencer watched me for a moment, seeming to consider what I said.
“How do you keep all these women straight when they text you later?” He asked after a moment, probably looking for the secret to my success with the women who visited town.
I shrugged. “First rule of interacting with the tourists, you don’t give them your phone number.” I wouldn’t repeat the real first rule to him: never get attached. I’d mentioned it to him before, and I knew it wasn’t what Spencer wanted to hear. He wasn’t the kind of man to do casual, which is why we differeddramatically in the dating arena. As soon as you took emotions out of the equation, everything got much simpler for everyone involved. It was a lesson Rebecca taught me quite thoroughly my first summer here, and I wasn’t about to forget it any time soon.
Besides, who needed emotions anyway? It wasn’t like I was looking to settle down with someone. I was just looking for a good time to combat the loneliness that lurked in the corners of my life if I looked too closely. Luckily for me, most tourists were searching for fun, which was my specialty. And if they weren’t, I was more than happy to move on to the next woman who visited.
“But what if it’s a relationship you want to last past the summer?” Spencer continued, looking over his shoulder to where the brunette worked.
