Christmas in His Bed

Patton’s phone rang, so he put it on speaker. “Yep.”

“Patton, is Spencer there?” It was their mother.

“I’m here,” Spencer answered.

“I’m trying to confirm rooms. Is Tatum still coming to the wedding?” she asked.

“I have no idea,” Spencer answered honestly. He’d tried to think of Tatum as little as possible over the last few days. He ached for her, missed her. He’d picked up the phone a dozen times but never hit Send.

“You talked to her?” his mother asked.

“No,” he snapped.

There was a long silence.

“Spencer Lee Ryan.” His mother didn’t tolerate disrespect. “You don’t need to use that tone with me, young man. If you and Tatum are having trouble, that’s your business. But I need to know—”

“Mom, can you give Lucy a call?” Patton intervened. “She’ll know.”

“Yes, yes, I’ll do that. You two have a safe flight. We’ll see you soon.” And the line went dead.

“Promise me that whatever is going on between the two of you won’t affect the wedding,” Patton said.

His brother might be a sullen son of a bitch, but Spencer was happy for him. He’d be on his best behavior for the wedding. Spencer smiled. “Yes, sir.”

It wouldn’t be easy. Seeing Tatum would hurt. But not seeing her was worse. His heart felt like it was squeezed by a vise every second of every day for the last five days. It helped to know he would eventually recover, even if it felt like his world was coming apart.

Patton wasn’t big on small talk, so Spencer didn’t bother filling the silence. He stared at the same magazine pages for ten minutes, indulging in various reunion scenarios with Tatum. Reality would likely be cool civility, and that would be a stretch for him. It was too much to hope for more than that.

He dozed for the length of the flight and woke up with a crick in his neck. His mood continued to nose-dive when his luggage was nowhere to be found. And the rental car they’d requested wasn’t ready. He paced the airport while Patton stayed busy—talking to Cady on the phone.

When they finally reached the hotel, he wanted a drink and, possibly, a nap.

His mother greeted him with a “Stop frowning” and a quick hug.

“Good to see you two,” Zach said. “A little too much estrogen around here. Please tell me my big brothers have something big lined up for tonight?”

“You mean the bachelor-party thing?” Spencer asked, perking up.

Zach nodded.

Patton shook his head. “No. We’re having rehearsal in an hour and dinner after that.”

Zach and Spencer exchanged frowns.

“Buzz kill,” Zach said, laughing.

Spencer’s phone rang. It was the airline. They’d found his bag but wouldn’t be able to deliver until the next afternoon.

“Spencer?” his mother asked.

“Airline found my bag,” he said.

“Good. Can you pick up Tatum? Lucy said she’s having a hard time getting a car.” His mother waited, her blue eyes steady upon him.

Maybe picking up Tatum, alone, would give them a chance to deal with anything lingering—so nothing sullied the mood for Patton and Cady’s big day.

He nodded. But after he’d hung up the phone and was driving toward the airport, he knew he had to be strong. He’d missed her, yes. He wanted her. He loved her. But Tatum had made it clear they were done and his heart was too shredded for more rejection.