Page 36 of You Found Me
As dinner continues, I have two more glasses of wine and only listen to the chaos of everyone talking animatedly about this and that. From the corner of my eye, I notice Spencer looking down at the wrist Chance grabbed. Confused, I look down, only to notice there’s a bruise forming from the force of his grip, I quickly cover my hands in my lap.
Right as he opens his mouth to say something, I excuse myself, backing out from the table in a rush. I hide in one of Theo’s guest rooms, and as soon as I sit on the bed, I let the tears flow.
After a few minutes, there’s a soft knock on the door before it slowly opens. Figuring it’s just Colette, I continue to softly cry, waiting for her to come sit beside me.
Instead, it’s Spencer.
He kneels on the floor in front of me rather than sitting next to me on the bed. “What’s going on?”
“I’m fine,” I say as I wipe away the tears. “It was just a long day. I’m sorry. I’m tired and maybe a little tipsy. Don’t worry about me,” I fake a laugh, waving him off.
He gently grabs my hand, brushing his thumb against the bruises that have formed on my wrist. “What happened here?”
“Oh that, um, it’s nothing.”
“Well, nothing sure looks a lot like bruises,” he says with a raised brow. And I can’t help but stare at the scar that runs through his brow, it adds a bit of ruggedness to his entire “sweet boy” vibe.
“Spencer, it’s really nothing. Hazard of the job is all. Come on.” I start to stand. “Let’s go back out before they start to wonder where we’ve run off to.”
He steps in front of me without being too close. “Emmaline, seriously. Please tell me who did this to you. Is there not some protection or law for patients becoming violent with staff? I mean you said it happened at work so there has to be some kind of rule.”
“There aren’t nearly enough rules and laws about that but that’s beside the point.” I pause, deciding to take a risk and trust him with the truth. “It was Chance.”
“What do you mean it was Chance? He did this to you?”
The clench of his jaw tells me he’s disturbed by this news, and I just don’t have it in me to hold in my tears to keep him from becoming more upset.
“He called me earlier tonight at work and when I didn’t give him the answer he wanted, he took that as a sign to show up. He cornered me out by my car and when I tried to leave, he grabbed my wrist—hard. He only let go because a coworker was walking to her car and asked if everything was okay. But it’s fine, he left.”
“Emmaline, none of that is fine. He’s not only harassing you, hehurtyou.”
“I know, I know. He’s just been under a lot of pressure since being traded and—”
“Pressure or not, he should have never laid a finger on you. You shouldn’t make excuses for him. Can I do anything to help?”
“I’m not sure there’s anything you can do. I honestly think he was more upset when he thought I was dressed up for a date. Maybe that could be what gets him to finally leave me alone.”
“Are you ready to start dating again?” he asks.
“Not really. I’m a broken mess. I can’t force this on some poor unsuspecting soul.”
“You’re not a broken mess. It might feel that way right now but it’s just a bad day. Maybe a bad few months. But you’ll bounce back, I’m sure of it.”
“Maybe.”
“I bet as soon as you’re ready to date—hell, probably even before—the busybodies in town will have you set up in no time,” he tells me with a smile.
That pulls a quiet chuckle out of me. “So, you’ve had some experience with it?”
Spencer laughs, his dimple popping out. “Unfortunately. What about me screams ‘I’m desperate, find me a woman?’ I’m trying to focus on my career, my two jobs keep me pretty busy. Yet, the women in my life, whether they’re related to me or not, seem to think I don’t have a girlfriend because I can’t get one. Idon’t know what the dating pool is like on the women’s side of things, but from this side it’s pretty atrocious.”
I snort, then realize what I did and hang my head in embarrassment. “Sorry. That caught me off guard. I’m not sure what it’s like—I’ve been off the market, remember?”
“I’ve never thought a snort could sound so cute,” he says with a smirk.
“Oh, shut up. It slipped. I’m guessing your mom tried setting you up recently?”
“That’s not very neighborly of you,” he pouts. “But yeah, she tried last weekend.”
