BEN SPENCER PUT A HAND over his heart and gave his chest a few pats. “You,” he said dramatically, “look incredible.”
I laughed, holding open the front door, and ducked my chin, both pleased and a bit flustered. Since I’d shown up to our first date looking frazzled and stressed from the day spent catering to Mrs. Bennett, I was determined to look my absolute best tonight when he took me out a second time. I was glad that the bright-pink denim dress with the high collar I had on was working its charm.
“How’re you?” I asked him as he came close to put his hands on my hips and stare down at me. I felt flushed and giggly in his presence. So uncool.
“Better now,” he said. For a moment I thought he was going to lean in for a kiss, and a surge of excitement coursed through me. I sucked in a breath, because I was unprepared for it. Spence caught my reaction and immediately dropped his hands to step away.
“Sorry,” he said. “You just look so hot in that dress.”
I laughed again. “You’re forgiven. Should we go?”
“Amber?” Momma called. I held in a groan. I’d been hoping to avoid having to introduce Spence to my parents. Momma was going to pepper him with questions, and Daddy was probably going to try and scare him off. It’d be humiliating.
But Spence waved and then extended his hand when my parents appeared. “Mr. Greeley, Mrs. Greeley, it’s very good to meet you. You have a beautiful home here.”
It was a pretty formal introductory speech, but as I watched Spence make small talk with my parents, Daddy’s expression changed from barely veiled suspicion to one of surprised delight. And within a matter of a few minutes, Spence had totally won both my parents over.
At last we were free to leave, and Spence held my hand as he led me down the walk to his car. I loved that he was old enough to drive!
“Madame,” he said, opening the car door for me with a flourish.
“Why, thank you, kind sir,” I said, laughing as I turned sideways to scooch into the seat. Spence closed the door and got in. The second he turned the ignition, Yes’s “Owner of a Lonely Heart” blasted from the speakers. Spence jumped to turn the volume down.
“You like it loud, huh?” I asked.
“Naw,” Spence said, with a wink at me. “I’m just the owner of a lonely heart.”
I smiled and tried to hold in the giggle bubbling up again. He was so clever, he kept surprising me. But then he reached to his back pocket and made a face.
“Aww, crap,” he muttered, covering his eyes with his hand.
“What’s the matter?”
Lifting his face, he said, “I left my wallet at home.”
I held up my purse. “I can cover us.”
He winced. “No way, Amber. And if I ever let you pay for me, break my heart and dump me, okay?”
I frowned at him. “What is this, caveman times? Are you going to drag me into the movie by my hair and buy me a brontosaurus burger later?”
It was Spence’s turn to chuckle. “Hey, don’t knock the brontosaurus burger. It tastes like chicken.” Then he sighed and said, “I really want this to be on me, okay?”
I pointed to the digital clock on the dashboard. “It’s still early. We have tons of time before the movie starts.”
He smiled again and said, “My house is on the way. We can make a quick stop and not be late.”
We talked easily as we drove to Spence’s house, and I was eager to see where he lived, but as we got close, the neighborhood changed to something a bit seedier.
Spence stopped in front of a two-story white home with black shingles. For a moment he seemed to look up at the house, which had a light on in the front window, and I saw the flash of a grimace there.
“It’ll just be a sec,” he said, and hurried out of the car.
He bounded up the front walk and rushed inside. While I waited, I tried to find the charm in his house, because how could someone like Spence live in a place that didn’t have a little appeal?
But the more I looked, the more neglect I noticed. There was a flowerpot on the front porch that held only dry, dead flowers. Two weatherworn plastic chairs stood slightly askew, and one had a broken leg, which caused it to list to the side. A pink bike leaned up against a tree in the front yard, but even it looked like it’d seen far better days.
With a sigh, I rolled down the window and tried to figure out what was taking Spence so long. Maybe he couldn’t find his wallet? That’s when I heard an eruption of noise coming from inside his home and I flinched in alarm. Two voices, one male, one female, were shouting at each other, and while I couldn’t hear the words, the sentiment was loud and clear.