Page 117 of You Found Me
“True.” Shaking my head, “I wish they’d figure their issues out or at the very least just finally tell us what happened.”
“Maybe one day. So . . . When are you going to tell me about your weekend away? I’ve been patiently waiting—and waiting—and you’ve given me nothing. Did you use some of that fun stuff I gifted you?”
I chuckle, knowing that I didn’t tell her anything just to see how long she’d wait. She is averyimpatient woman. “I’m surprised you made it this long. We had a great time—in and out of the bedroom. So yeah, I used some of that stuff.”
Mia grins, almost maniacally. “Naughty, naughty. Did he manage to get you in the hot tub?”
My left eyebrow raises. “Be serious. You knew I wouldn’t get in that thing. I’m pretty sure he’ll never get in one again either.”
She lovingly rolls her eyes at me and pats my arm. “You’re such a weirdo. He was really excited about that aspect of the cabin, so I’m surprised he gave in so easily. Spencer must love you to have given that up.”
I feel my face flush and before I can get away, Mia looks at me and squeals. “Oh my god!Did he tell you he loved you?”
Swatting her arm, I whisper, “Shush. If you must know, he did—after we ended up on the floor covered in brownie mix and caramel.”
“That’s so cute. Did you say it back?”
“He didn’t mean to say it. It popped out while we were laughing. But when he realized he said it, he told me I didn’t have to say it back. Then he went on to tell me again.”
“Babes,pleasetell me you said it back.”
I give a small shake. “No. The last person I said that to ended up hurting me in so many ways. What if when I say it back, the same thing happens?”
“Ems, I love you and I know that Chance did a number on you, but if you think someone as kind as Spencer would ever pull that shit, you might as well break up with him now. Beforeyouhurthim.It’s not fair to keep comparing him to Chance when they are nothingalike.”
She pauses before looking towards Colette, who’s glaring at us. “We’d better get back to setting the tables up. Boss lady looks mad.”
I laugh, albeit uncomfortably from the scolding I just received. “Right. Let’s get this done.”
***
I’ve been trying to go to sleep for the last two hours—and even took some melatonin.
Except, my mind won’t turn off. I can’t stop thinking about what Mia said earlier. I know it isn’t fair to compare Spencer and Chance because at each of their cores, they’re totally different.
Chance only thought about himself, and on the off chance he thought of me, it was for his benefit. Spence is selfless. Yes, he makes sure he gets the things he wants in life, but he’ll go through the trenches if it means he can bring joy to someone else. And not once has he ever expected anything in return for all of the little—and big—things he’s done for me. Spencer is exactly the kind of man IthoughtChance was before we actually began dating.
After twenty more minutes of spiraling, and trying to keep these men and my relationship with each of them in separate and neat folders in my mind, I finally start to doze off. With my last thought revolving around how big Spencer smiled each time he told me he loved me.
All morning as I’m getting ready, and on my way to the youth center, I can’t help but think my that mom is right—Spencer does look at me like I’m the only person in the universe that matters to him. He’s given me exactly what I’ve always wanted without me needing to directly ask. Spence clearly remembers my disastrous speech and took it to heart, and that alone is enough to make me want to cry. I think—no, I know—I’m falling for him.
As scary as that is, Iwantto love someone who really loves me back. And I’ve got to be honest, I’m not sure I could ever find someone that makes me feel the way I do when I’m with him. So maybe, as it turns out, I do love him.
I love Spencer Hale.
But even better, I’m lucky enough that he loves me, for me. And I’m ready to explore this feeling with him fully.
While this is truly a life-altering realization, I need to bring myself back into the present and head inside instead of sitting in my car. Since this is an all-day event that precedes the start of the Winter Festival, I packed a change of clothes. Sure, the outfit that Colette gave me is adorable, but I’m not sure I want to prance around town looking like I escaped from the North Pole after being held hostage well into my adult years.
I’m basically a life-sized Elf on the Shelf. The red, long-sleeved top has a white collar that goes all the way around, the white flared skirt is adorned with bedazzled red snowflakes. Instead of the leggings that came with the outfit, I opted for red sparkly tights and white glitter shoes. I might have also added glitter freckles over my cheeks to really tie the look all together and gave myself the persona “Sparkles” because of them.
I reminded Spencer that I was going to be busy today until we meet this evening in the town square. All he said was “no worries. I love you.”I made sure not to spiral too much about the first part of that response because he also reminded me thathe loves me. So, imagine my surprise when not even twenty minutes later, I see a walking, talking, Christmas tree in the form of my hunky boyfriend.
Rushing over, I swat his chest. “Whydidn’t you tell me you’d be here?”
Spencer smiles, big and bright. “Colette called me the other day to see if I would help out. Whoever was supposed to man the Santa sign-in table ended up needing surgery and couldn’t make it. I agreed and her only requirement was to ‘be festive.’” He shrugs, sweeping a hand over his outfit. “What’s more festive than a Christmas tree?”
Shaking my head. “You’re telling me you had this sweater tucked away somewhere? Meaning you’ve worn it before?” The sweater itself is your usual holiday green, but what makes it look like a tree? Well, that would be the tinsel garland wrapped around the whole thing with several tacky small ornaments attached.
