Page 38 of I Hate You More

Spencer laughed—a deep, rumbling sound that made her glad her shirt was on and her jeans buttoned back up.

“What?” she asked. “Why is that so funny?”

“We’re not in a seedy motel, but I think that counts as exhibitionism, don’t you? This was my very first porcupine.”

Ruby’s mouth fell open. He was doing it. He was saying the word.

“Say that again.”

“What?” He quirked a smile. “Porcupine?”

She leaped to her feet and drew closer. For reasons she didn’t entirely understand, she was careful not to step over the line that separated the two sides of the room. “One more time.”

He shook his head—and, for the first time since he’d walked into the house, appeared slightly abashed. “I don’t think I can right now.”

“Right now?” she echoed. That phrase implied that hecouldanother time—that this experience between them was the start of something more. What that something might be, she had no idea, but her every limb quaked at the thought. “Does that mean you want me to be on call for the next time you say it?”

Both his smile and his sheepishness deepened. Ruby was having a difficult time telling which of those two responses was affecting her more, but she was leaning toward the sheepishness. It was such a charming, natural,humanresponse to what they’d just shared.

“That won’t be anything new for you, will it?” he asked.

She halted, suddenly unsure what he was getting at—or, worse,exactlyaware of what he was getting at—when he clarified with one disastrous sentence.

“I always thought that being on call was tough for a veterinarian, but it’s probably nothing on what you have to put up with.”

Her heart gave a lurch before settling somewhere near the pit of her stomach.On call.Right. Because as far as Spencer knew, she was a geriatric doctor working around the clock at a nursing home—a woman with an advanced degree and all the financial perks that came with it. And the worst part was, she had no one to blame for that but herself. She’d been so annoyed at him assuming she couldn’t go to medical school that she’d never made any attempt to set the record straight.

“I don’t understand it, to be honest,” he said, shaking his head at her. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met—not to mention intelligent, driven, and successful. How are you still single?”

Ruby tried to answer him; she really did. The words were hovering right there, and all she had to do was utter them.I’m not intelligent. I’m not driven. I’m not successful. I’m hovering one financial emergency away from bankruptcy, unskilled and unequipped for life in the real world. I’m not trained to do anything but smile and look pretty, and even that doesn’t carry nearly as much weight as it used to.

But her mouth went dry, her tongue cleaved to the roof of her mouth. The moment she said those words out loud—admitted to Spencer that the only thing she had to offer was what he was looking at—she knew that anything between them would come to an end.

So she did what she always fell back on when faced with a difficult situation. She turned it into a game.

“I could ask the same thing of you. You’re a successful veterinarian and dog-show judge. You’re hot as hell. And having just caught a firsthand glimpse of the way you handle yourself, I’m willing to bet you know your way around the bedroom.”

As she’d hoped, mentioning Spencer’s ability tohandlehimself had the effect of wiping all other thoughts from his mind. He went white all over and then pink, the tips of his ears taking the brunt of the color. She expected him to give her back her own again, as was their custom, but when he spoke, it was with a serious tone that snagged at her heart.

“I should think it was pretty obvious,” he said. “You’ve met my brother.”

“Yeah, I’ve met him. And I took his measure in the first twenty seconds.” She narrowed her eyes, unable to believe what she was hearing. Did Spencer really think that when it came to the two of them, he was thelessattractive twin? “You’re worth two dozen of him, Spencer. Easily. Any woman who sees the two of you side by side and can’t immediately tell the difference is an idiot.”

Spencer’s entire body went still. He looked like a man who’d been struck by lightning—and who wasn’t sure he enjoyed the experience.

“You mean that,” he said, no hint of a question in his voice. “You’re being serious.”

She couldn’t help laughing a little. A reassuring hug would have been a more appropriate response—no man looked as though he needed one more—but that wasn’t the nature of their relationship.

Yet.

“Of course I’m serious. I know you think you’re the expert when it comes to judging people, but believe me, I’ve had plenty of practice. When it comes to dogs and men, I know what I like.”

At the mention of dogs, Spencer once again glanced over to the sliding glass door. Caesar was still sitting with the patience and calm of a well-trained animal, but Wheezy had discovered some kind of residue on the glass and was licking it in slow, repetitive circles.

Spencer was forced into a chuckle. “Why do I get the feeling that wasn’t a compliment?”

She had the answer ready—and even more importantly, she meant it.