Page 50 of Love In Hiding

“We were only at the plant a few hours this morning,” she said. “And this time in the conference room on another floor. Guess we got lucky.”

“Do you want some dinner? Did you eat?”

“Food would be nice,” she said over her shoulder. “Anything you put out, I’ll eat. Give me twenty minutes.”

She marched to her room pulling her empty bag with her, and resisted the urge to chuck it in the closet. Barely.

Instead, she pushed it in there, grabbed a pair of shorts, a T-shirt, and a change of undergarments, then turned the water on in her shower while she stripped.

The sigh escaped when she stepped under the hot spray. Much stronger than the inn had been, and she let it beat on her shoulders with the hope of releasing some of the tension still coiled in her body.

It worked, a little.

Maybe it was just being home that helped.

And when she walked into the kitchen and saw a plate of spaghetti covered in chicken and veggies with a glass of wine next to it, she went for the wine first.

Probably a mistake after last night, but she needed it to quiet the nerves that were standing on edge. The ones that wanted to scream at Spencer to stop being so... gentlemanly.

Ugh!

She didn’t know why that bothered her so much.

Or that he was being so... realistic.

“Slow down,” Paris said. “You almost chugged that in one gulp. You’ve had time to think of what to say to me, but I know you’ll say it all so don’t know why you wasted your time.”

She picked the fork up and stabbed the chicken. “You know we rub each other the wrong way.”

“I do,” Paris said. “I’m not sure why. I like him. I find him nice and patient. Which of course would drive you nuts so I guess that is the answer in itself.”

“Yes. Everything blends together. The first day there, they weren’t ready for me. You know all of that. I told you.”

“You did. How did Spencer react to it? You didn’t tell me that.”

“It’s too long to get into. But I got enough glares from him to cool it. You know the looks we get when we go into places.”

“You get more than me. You tend to deal with more men than I do. Then in a plant, that would be worse.”

“It was. And I have to admit, Spencer made sure it didn’t happen again.”

“Really? What did he say?”

“He didn’t have to say a word. It was a look that told everyone to be respectful.” She had to admit she was impressed. Just didn’t mean she had to say it out loud.

“That’s good. And I’m sure you let some of your frustration show.”

“I did at first. In the end it was fine. But we got to thehotel after that first frustrating day and to find out we have to share a room was just one more level of annoyance.”

“It can’t have been that bad. I get it, it’s awkward. He’s still a stranger.”

“Not anymore,” she mumbled. “I saw him without a shirt on.”

There was no stopping the flush and she wasn’t even going to try. Paris laughed and that made it worse. “I bet he’s in good shape.”

“Much better than I thought. I saw another side to him. No, that’s wrong. He’s a considerate person and left while I showered to get us wine, beer, and snacks. Even that bag for our stinky clothes so it didn’t ruin our luggage.”

“Very considerate of him,” Paris agreed.