“Hm?” Rebecca looked up and into blue eyes. Not just any blueeyes, though. Blue eyes she knew well. Blue eyes she’d memorized. Blue eyesshe’d missed. “Spencer. Hi.” She sat up straighter, and the smile broke acrossher face with no permission from her. All on its own, just parted her lips,showed Spencer her teeth, made it alarmingly obvious how happy she was to seeher.
Spencer gestured to Stacy’s empty chair. “I don’t want tointerrupt. I just…” She jerked a thumb over her shoulder. “I was sitting overthere and saw you, and…” Her voice trailed off for a beat, and she cleared herthroat. “I wanted to say hi.”
“I’m glad you did. I haven’t seen you in a long time.” The truthwas, she hadn’t seen Spencer since that day in the gym. The day she’d told hernot to get married. Spencer hadn’t come back to finish the bride class. Anytime Rebecca asked Sherry if she’d seen Spencer in spin class—and she didn’task often because she didn’t want Sherry’s judgey looks—she was told no.
“Yeah, I know.” Spencer looked down at her feet, then up and outthe window past Rebecca. “I’m sorry about that. I meant to text you. Ineeded…do you…I just…” A beat went by before she wet her lips, then returnedher gaze to Rebecca’s, snagged her eyes and held them. “Can we get togethersome time? I…” She looked down again, then back up, but didn’t say any more.
There was something different about her. Rebecca couldn’t put afinger on it, but it was there. A new shine. A polish. A surety. Before sheknew what she was doing, Rebecca said, “I’d like that. Very much.”
“I’m sorry, am I interrupting?” Stacy’s voice startled Rebecca.And Spencer, too, if the slight flinch she made was any indication. She pointedto the chair where Spencer stood.
“Oh. No. Sorry.” Spencer stepped to the side to allow Stacy accessto her chair. “I was just saying hello to my…” Her smile was genuine and itmade Rebecca feel warm. “Trainer.”
Stacy studied Spencer as Rebecca watched with interest. Theylooked at one another, the smile on Stacy’s face slightly forced. Spencer’ssmile was unassuming, but there was a flicker of something in her eyes thatRebecca couldn’t quite place.
“Spencer Thompson,” Spencer said, holding her hand out to Stacy.
That yanked Rebecca out of her analysis, and she winced. “I’m sosorry. Stacy, Spencer took a class of mine at the gym last year. Spencer, thisis Stacy, my—”
“Date,” Stacy supplied, before Rebecca could finish her sentence.
Spencer nodded, seemed to not miss a beat, and they shook hands.“It’s nice to meet you.” There was a quick moment of slightly awkward silencebefore she continued. “Well. I’ve got to run. It was good seeing you, Rebecca.And nice to meet you, Stacy.” She turned and left, her heels clicking on thetile floor as Rebecca followed the exit with her eyes.
“Looks like I nipped that in the bud,” Stacy said, her expressionsatisfied.
“I’m sorry?”
“I saw how she looked at you.” Stacy smiled, gave a shrug. “Ineeded to mark my territory.”
Rebecca blinked at her, brow furrowed, mind boggled.
* * *
“I don’t think she wastryingto turn me off,” Rebecca said to Nick later, as he sweated profusely on thestair climber and she stood next to it poking buttons and changing theresistance.
“Cut it out, goddamn it,” he said, through heaving breaths. Hisgray tank top was drenched, as was his face, which he mopped with a white gymtowel. “Nah, she probably wasn’t.”
“But that’s what happened,” she said. “She called me herterritory. I felt like a tree she was about to pee on.”
Nick chuckled. Or tried anyway, given how out of breath he was. Heclimbed in silence for another three minutes before he reached thetwenty-minute mark and Rebecca told him to ease off. He stepped down, wiped hisface again, then turned to her. “And what about the other one?”
“The other one what?” Rebecca asked, feigning confusion. She knewexactly what other one he was talking about.
“Spencer.”
“What about her?”
They were headed toward the free weights, but Nick stopped andgave her a look. “Really? We’re gonna play this game?”
Rebecca sighed. “I don’t know about her. That’s the truth.” And itwas. Coffee had been several hours ago and she’d taught a Power Fit class andmet with four different clients, but the entire time, Spencer had been on hermind. Again. Just like that. Sometimes, in the forefront, super-prominent, withher beautiful smile and those ridiculous eyes. Other times, she hung out in thebackground and gave Rebecca a little wave if her thoughts drifted close.
“You wanna meet up with her?” Nick asked, as he situated himselfin front of a mirror, a dumbbell in each hand.
“I don’t know.” Again, the truth. “I mean, nothing’s changed,right?”
Nick shrugged, then began curling the weights. “Maybe. Maybe not.”
“What does that mean?”
