“Yes, and listening to TED talks.”
“What about the weather?”
“Well, the summers are much nicer here. We had temps in the upper nineties and over a hundred for most of June, July and August. But, we only had a bit of snow. I’m afraid I’m going to be in for a shock when winter gets here.”
“We need to get you some good warm clothes. I’ll take you shopping in the fall.”
“I hate shopping.”
“How could I forget? But somebody has to take care of you.”
Emily warmed inside. That didn’t sound like a guy who was ready to move on to another girl. Maybe he loved her after all. Maybe tonight he’d tell her so. If he said the words, she was ready to say them back.
Abruptly the kitchen door opened and they were inundated with Spencer’s sisters, complete with talking, yelling, and laughter. Marshall family dinner had begun.
Spencer was so distracted he could hardly eat. Why had she worn that outfit to the family dinner? She looked good—too good. He had a hard enough time controlling himself around her, without seeing those amazing legs in that short skirt. And when she sat down next to him, he noticed that it inched up a little further. She caught him checking her out and smiled. That’s when he realized the truth. She was teasing him, on purpose. First she’d told him they couldn’t kiss, and then she’d worn this super short skirt, simply to test him. Well, two could play at that game.
He returned her smile. And on pretense of adjusting his napkin, he slipped his left hand under the shield of the tablecloth to rest on the soft smooth skin of her thigh. His fingers traced tiny circles on her skin with the lightest of touches. He was pleased to see her struggling to keep her eyes open, breathing shallowly. She clamped her hand over his to hold his fingers still. He maintained a neutral expression, forking a bite of black beans into his mouth. She pushed his hand away, attempting to cross her legs, but bumped her knee on the table.
“Ow!” she cried.
“What did you do to her?” asked Grace.
“It wasn’t him. I tried to cross my legs, but these heels make my legs too tall to cross them under the table.”
“I love your shoes,” said Olivia. “Actually, I love the whole outfit.”
“Don’t we wear the same size shoes and skirt? You could borrow them any time.”
“No!” He must have spoken a bit too loudly, because his entire family was staring at him. “I don’t... I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
Grace grinned, “He means he doesn’t want his sister looking that hot. Right, Spencer?”
“She’s too young,” he objected.
“Give me a break, Spencer. I’m twenty-one.” Olivia turned back to Emily. “I’ve got a super cute skirt and shoes that match. We can trade sometime.”
“That’s a great idea,” said Hannah.
“Hannah likes to steal my clothes,” explained Olivia.
“Not steal—borrow.”
“Except, I have to go digging through your drawers and closet to get my things back.”
“Claire’s worse than I am,” defended Hannah.
Grace told Emily, “At least I’m safe from the marauders.”
“That’s not really true,” said Olivia. “Since her clothes don’t fit, we all steal her jewelry.”
Spencer was relieved the attention had been drawn away from him. He eased his hand back onto Emily’s leg and resumed his ministrations to her soft skin. When she failed in her attempts to remove his hand, she stood up swiftly, forcing him to withdraw.
“I’ll get dessert.” Emily ripped him to shreds with her eyes. His gaze followed her all the way to the counter and back. When she bent over to throw away her napkin, he almost cho
ked. He quickly grabbed his water and gulped it down
“Grace, don’t you have papers to grade?” he asked.