Page 45 of Serving the Couturier

Spencer.

I had figured he would be here and show off his new whatever-she-was. I automatically looked around him, expecting to see Alice at his side.

Except she wasn’t.

“What are you looking so serious about?” Mercedes asked. “This is supposed to be a party.”

I couldn’t do this. I couldn’t stand here and be excited about what was coming while things were still unsettled with Spencer. I needed to talk to him, and this seemed as good a time as any.

“I’ll be back.” I set down my now-empty glass. “Go have some fun.”

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” Mercedes called after me.

“That’s a very short list of restrictions,” I muttered as I left her and walked over to where Spencer stood next to Darrel. The director raised an eyebrow in question while Spencer pretended to ignore me.

I knew he was pretending because I could sense the tension in every line of his body, and I knew I was the reason for it.

“Hi, Darrel.” I nodded at him and then walked around to stand directly in Spencer’s line of sight. “Spencer, can we talk? Maybe somewhere quieter?”

He frowned, but nodded. I motioned for him to follow me and the two of us walked around the edge of the club until we were in the short corridor where the bathrooms were located.

“We can’t keep doing this,” I said. “There’s at least a few more weeks before you return to England, right? We need to be fully focused, and I don’t know about you, but I can’t do that unless we clear the air.”

“I agree,” he said tightly.

“You’ve clarified that you want to pursue ‘other interests’, so why don’t we just keep it simple.”

“Other interests?” Spencer’s eyes flashed, surprising me with his anger. “I’m not the one who went home with a co-star.”

My jaw dropped, and I stared at him. I would’ve asked if he was serious, but it was clear from his expression he was.

“I didn’tgo homewith anyone. Timothy took me back to my place.” I didn’t hide my anger. Finally, letting it out felt good.

“Yes, that’s much better.” Spencer crossed his arms. “The two of you went back to your apartment.”

I mimicked his pose. “I’m surprised you even noticed. You seemed prettybusyyourself. In fact, you’ve beenbusya lot lately with your pretty little brunette.”

“My what?”

The shock on his face threw me enough to shake my certainty about his relationship with the mysterious woman.

“Your girlfriend, Alice, who’s been hanging all over you every night,” I said.

“Alice isn’t my girlfriend.” Spencer took a step toward me. “Not that it’s any of your business, considering you haven’t talked to me since we got back from England.”

“I came to talk to you, but you were already talking with someone else,” I shot back, taking a step toward him.

“And you couldn’t have waited instead of making assumptions?”

“You’re one to talk,” I snapped. “You assumed I slept with Timothy because you saw us leave together.”

“What was I supposed to think? You ignored me and have been spending so much time withhim.” Spencer was so close to me now, I could smell that spicy, masculine scent that was him. “And every time I had to watch you kiss him on that bloody stage, it drove me mad. All I wanted to do–”

“What did you want to do?” I demanded. “What, Spencer? What the hell did you–”

His mouth slammed down on mine, cutting off the rest of what I intended to say. Hands found my waist, pulled me tight against his body, and I leaned into him. My fingers curled into his shirt as my tongue danced with his. Desire burned through me, a fire so fierce I didn’t know if I’d survive. Only when my lungs burned, too, did I pull back. Spencer’s eyes were wide, his breathing as harsh as mine.

“I didn’t sleep with Timothy,” I said, my voice breathless. “I didn’t even want to. I had him take me home because it pissed me off that you seemed to move on to someone else.”

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