The Best Man (Alpha Men Book 2)(52)

They had just parked in front of the farm when Daff glanced over at Spencer and gave a horrified shriek. He jolted and shot her an alarmed look.

“What the fuck?”

“Oh my God! Your neck.”

“What? Is it a spider?” He sounded so panicked that for a moment she forgot her own horror and stared at him in fascination.

No way.

“Are you afraid of spiders? Is big, bad Spencer Carlisle terrified of a teensy, weensy wittle spider-wider?”

“Is it a spider, Daff?” he asked urgently, starting to dust at his clothes and his hair. He looked completely freaked out. She clapped a hand over her mouth, trying her best not to laugh, and he glared at her before hopping out of the truck and doing the spider dance, all flapping arms and flailing legs.

Daff was hosing herself with laughter. She practically fell out of the truck and rounded the front of it to watch him flail around. It was too much. This massive specimen of man afraid of a tiny bug. It was absolutely adorable.

“Did I get it?” he asked after he stopped flapping around, both his hair and eyes completely wild.

“Th-there wasn’t one.” She forced the words out between the gales of helpless laughter. “N-no spider, Spenc . . .”

“What the fuck, Daff? Why did you say there was?”

“I—I didn’t . . . it’s the . . . you have . . .” She was bent over, hands braced on her knees as she tried to compose herself. This was serious. He couldn’t talk to her mother looking like that. But she just couldn’t stop laughing. “Hi-hi-hickey. Neck!”

She lifted a hand to point, and he clapped his palm over his neck, somehow looking even more horrified than he had just moments ago. It set Daff off again, and they were both unaware of the group of people on the porch now watching them in bemusement.

“So what’s going on, guys?” It was Mason. Why the hell was Mason here? Daff looked up to see her entire family on the porch, watching her and Spencer. Her mother had a small smile on her face while everybody else just looked befuddled.

“Uh . . .” Daff pointed at Spencer. “Spencer’s afraid of spiders.”

“Yeah. He’s a regular wimp with creepy-crawlies, made me get rid of them when we were growing up. When we got older, I used to charge him for the service. Take note, kid.” This last as an aside to Charlie, who had her best rebellious teen face on.

Spencer, still clutching a hand to his neck, was staring back at everybody silently. He looked confused, trapped, and so unutterably defenseless that it just about broke Daff’s heart.

She straightened and walked over to where he stood, always completely separate from everybody else, and stepped into his little bubble of isolation, taking his free hand into hers.

“Wrong side of your neck, big guy,” she informed him beneath her breath, and his eyes dropped to hers. He looked so achingly vulnerable, and she smiled up at him.

“Just this,” she said. “Spencer and Daff.”

She clutched his big hand between both of hers, and he lowered his hand from his neck as he lifted his head to face her entire family and his.





CHAPTER FOURTEEN



“Why are you guys here so early?” Daff asked Mason as she approached the wide-eyed group. Spencer hesitated for a brief moment but followed before she had to tug him along behind her.

“Daisy and I were dropping Charlie off. She stayed over at ours last night.”

Of course she did. And she’d probably had an awesome time, and now, with that fresh in her mind, she’d have to spend a day in Spencer’s mediocre company. He felt like an ass for resenting his brother a little for that. And for resenting Charlie for so easily creeping into Mason’s affections. He was jealous of the sibling relationship he saw blooming right in front of his eyes and pained by the one that he seemed to be losing with Mason, as well as the one that he couldn’t get off the ground with Charlie.

Daff’s hand tightened around his, and he was once again grateful for her support. It still blew his mind that she’d taken his hand so damned easily, right in front of her family and everybody. Like she was claiming him, like she was proud for the family to know about them. He knew he shouldn’t read too much into it. It wasn’t permanent. Her feelings for him were nowhere near as intense as his were for her, but still this gesture felt . . . significant. And for the first time, he felt like he was wanted and belonged.

“Come on, kid. Time’s a-wasting, and we have shitloads to do today.”

“Daff.”

“Sorry, Mum,” she said cheerfully. “Craploads. We have craploads to do.”

Charlie reluctantly peeled herself away from the group. She already looked like she belonged with them, and Spencer felt that pang of envy again. It wasn’t an admirable trait, and he felt like a shallow asshole. He should be happy that she was fitting in.

Charlie skulked past him and Daff and clambered into the truck.

“See you guys later,” Daff chirped. Spencer lifted a hand in farewell, and Daff only released his hand when it was time for her to get back in the truck.

The first five minutes of the drive was silent, and Daff reached over to put on some music while Spencer stretched his mind for something to say to Charlie. He felt like an idiot around this child. He could never seem to find the right words. Maybe because it meant so much to him.

“Eww!” Charlie exclaimed after a few minutes, finally breaking the increasingly awkward silence. “You have a love bite.”

Shit! Spencer sighed in exasperation. Of course that would be the first thing she remarked on.

“Who did that? Did you do that?” she demanded of Daff.

“Of course I did,” Daff shocked him by admitting. She turned in her seat to grin at Charlie. “It’s an awesome one, isn’t it? I’m quite proud of it.”

“Oh eeeewww.” The girl’s disgust was actually quite comical, and for the first time she struck Spencer as a normal teen. It relaxed him somewhat. “Stop talking about it.”

“You brought it up,” Daff said with a shrug. “So what did you do at Daisy and Mason’s last night?”

“Watched movies and stuff. It was okay.”

“Yeah? I love my sister, but she talks about the wedding a lot.” Spencer checked the rearview mirror to gauge the girl’s reaction, and she bit her lip uncertainly. Obviously not wanting to betray Daisy. “Right?”

“Daisy’s nice,” Charlie finally said, and Daff nodded.

“I know. So nice. Too nice. God, she was such a Goody Two-shoes growing up. Lia was worse. But Daisy was clever, too. Always with her nose in a book, which is awesome and all, but it made Lia and me look bad. And Daisy never knew about makeup and stuff.” Spencer slanted Daff a curious look, wondering where she was going with this.

“Do you know about makeup . . . and stuff?” Charlie asked after a beat.

“Of course I do,” Daff said nonchalantly. “I could give you some makeup tips if you like.”

“She’s a little young, Daff,” Spencer said, and she threw him a look of exaggerated, openmouthed shock.

“A woman is never too young to learn about makeup, Spencer,” she admonished, wagging a finger in his face, and Spencer bit back his response when Charlie giggled at her words. The sound was so sweet, carefree, and innocent that it took the wind clear out of his sails.

“Sorry, ladies. I stand corrected,” he said meekly. When he sneaked another peek at Charlie, he was rewarded by the look of astonishment on her face. Daff reached over and squeezed his thigh in approval.

“Anyway, how can you handle all the lovey-dovey stuff over at Daisy and Mason’s?”

“They kiss a lot,” Charlie admitted, sounding faintly disgusted. “Nobody needs to see that from old people.”

“Tell me about it.” Daff groaned. “Fair warning though, kid. It won’t be as often, or as gross, but you’ll see me kiss your big brother a bit today, too.”

“Ugh, no. What’s wrong with all of you?” she squeaked, and Spencer hid a grin. He was so damned thrilled that she hadn’t protested his title of “big brother.” Daff had slipped it into the conversation so insouciantly that Charlie had just accepted it, instead focusing on the grosser revelations in the sentence. His hand dropped to where hers still rested on his thigh and he squeezed her fingers gratefully.

“It feels good to kiss,” Daff said. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

“No, she won’t,” Spencer snapped, and Daff rolled her eyes. “No kissing, Charlie. Not until you’re thirty-five.”

“Jeez. Big brothers. Your poor boyfriends are going to have a hard time getting past Spencer and Mason.”

“Daff, stop corrupting my sister—” The word slipped out without thought and caught all of them unaware. Daff’s lips curled into a smile and Charlie, quite shockingly, said nothing in protest to his claim. He met her eyes in the rearview mirror, where she was eyeing him speculatively, as if she couldn’t make up her mind about something.

“I like Cooper and Peaches,” Charlie said, unexpectedly changing the subject, her eyes narrowing as they held his.

“Is that right?” Spencer asked, and she nodded, her eyes challenging. He grinned and she blinked, looking completely thrown by his reaction. “You know Mason and Daisy are taking the dogs to Grahamstown with them, right?”