Off-Limits Valentine Read online

  Lily and Zane finally joined them in the living room, hand in hand, radiating with happiness and love.

  Harley secretly wished for a relationship like theirs. They didn’t care who was around, they were in love and it showed. Isaac wasn’t big on PDA. Lily and Zane couldn’t seem to keep their hands off one another.

  “Calm down,” Zane said. “We haven’t seen each other today.”

  “You two are going to make me vomit,” Spencer groaned, grabbing the deck of cards and shuffling them. Barely waiting for Lily and Zane to take their place on the couch next to each other, he started dealing out cards.

  For the next couple hours, the four of them played, joked, teased and had a blast. Harley enjoyed their game nights. As the night went on, it was easy to tell Zane and Lily were tired of playing and wanted to spend time alone. It didn’t take too long before they excused themselves to Lily’s room, leaving Spencer and Harley alone.

  “How’s classes?” she asked him, picking up the empty bowls and empty cans. If she cleaned up now, she didn’t have to do it later. And keeping busy made this less awkward.

  “Fine. Stupid. Lame,” Spencer said, bored.

  His one-word answers made her furrow her brow. “Really? Is that all?”

  “Come on, you know how it is.”

  “I don’t. I actually like my classes.” Even though some were a bit boring, but he didn’t need to know that.

  She headed toward the kitchen.

  “You’re a nerd.” He followed her. “Nerds like school.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with liking classes or being a nerd. Even though I am so not one.” She quickly went on the defensive. She considered herself to be pretty hip, and had been accused of being a fashionista many times, but never a nerd.

  “How’s the nerdy boyfriend?” he asked in a sing-song voice.

  “He’s great. We had lunch today.” She didn’t know why she volunteered the information.

  “Oh, lunch? Is that code for anything?” He wiggled his eyebrows.

  “Yes. Food,” she quipped. “It’s the meal between breakfast and dinner.”

  He laughed. “Guess Mr. Lame isn’t rocking your world?”

  “Actually, it’s none of your business,” she snapped at him. “And I hate when you call him that.”

  “Come on, Har. You know he’s not the right man for you,” he snarked.

  This made her step back. “Have you been talking to Lily?” Actually, she didn’t want him to answer that. “You know what, I don’t need to defend my relationship with Isaac to you. Just because you can’t find a suitable partner, doesn’t mean you get to rag on mine.”

  “Whoa, Harley.” He held up his hands. “I’m just messing with you. You don’t have to go all red face.”

  She hadn’t meant to snap at Spencer. “Sorry. It’s been a long day.”

  “If you’re happy, then great.” He moved closer to her. “We’re cool, right?”

  Harley nodded. His enticing cologne swirled around her. Having him this close to her made her heart race a bit more than usual. “Yeah. We’re cool.”

  “Listen, if you see Zane, tell him I headed home.” He gave her a friendly pat on the shoulder, before moving passed her. “Thanks for another great game night. See ya later,” he said.

  “Yep. See you soon,” she called over her shoulder, watching his firm ass as he left. She couldn’t help but stare, the guy was built like a Greek god.

  Spencer was fun and attractive. And he was going to cause her trouble. She could almost feel it.

  Chapter Two

  Spencer

  Spencer rubbed his eyes as he poured a second cup of coffee. It was only the second day back and he chose to sleep in and skip his morning classes. Relaxing in a pair of sweats and eating cereal in front of the television seemed like a much better option than braving the cold and listening to boring lectures.

  After all, it was only day two, how much could he possibly miss?

  The front door opened, and Zane strolled through, rubbing his gloved hands together. “Bro? Didn’t make it to class this morning I see.”

  “Nah.” Spencer waved his concern off and put his empty cereal bowl in the sink. Grabbing his coffee mug, he made his way back to the couch.

  Zane slowly shook his head in disapproval.

  His cousin knew better than to harp on him about school. Zane also knew that Spencer was smart enough not to screw up his classes. He’d pass them all like he always did, even if he skipped a day here and there, or more. He had a gift of book smarts. No matter how many lectures he missed, he still aced the assignments when it counted.

  “Any plans this afternoon?” Zane asked, motioning to the clock that displayed it was just after noon now.

  Shaking his head and turning back to the television, he answered. “No. I’ll head out soon, maybe down to the coffee shop or mall, and see what the world has in store for me.”

  Spontaneous was Spencer’s middle name.

  “What about Anna? Maybe give her a call and meet up for coffee,” Zane pushed.

  “Why?” Spencer shrugged. “That New Year’s Eve date was a bust. The girl is beautiful, but not my type.”

  Anna was a friend that he thought could be more. They went to a New Year’s Eve party together, but there was no spark. Not even the kiss at midnight.

  “I thought beautiful was your type,” Zane replied.

  “Yes, but I need just a little more than that. Don’t get me wrong, a pretty face and a stupid hot body is amazing, but I need to be able to have a conversation with her too. And I’m talking small talk, sports, current events, and entertainment. When her knowledge stops at what’s happening on reality TV, and the current social media influencers, then I’m out. Hot body or not.”

  Zane nodded as if he understood.

  It was true. Anna was gorgeous, everything any man with a pulse could ever want, but she wasn’t for him. And he thought he had made himself clear. When that didn’t work, he blocked her.

  “You know that since you blocked Anna, she’s now texting me for you to call her. She’s blowing up my phone daily. She really can’t take a hint.”

  “Just block her. It’s not like we run into her or anything. I don’t even think Harley talks to her anymore.”

  “Speaking of Harley, Lily was thinking about having a couple’s dinner at the girl’s apartment. Not sure if she was thinking of cooking or ordering out.”

  “Okay,” Spencer answered, uninterested since he was single. “Have fun.”

  “No, you’re invited. And Harley too.”

  He just stated he was single, so that didn’t make much sense. And a couple’s night insinuated couples, which meant Mr. Lame would be there. Not Spencer’s idea of a good time. “I guess that means Isaac-the-Lame will be there?”

  Zane sighed at Spencer’s nickname for Harley’s boyfriend. “I really wish you wouldn’t call him that. He’s not a bad guy. He treats her well. And he’s–”

  “Boring? Lame? Not good enough for her? Lame? Oh wait, I already said that.” And Spencer was being generous.

  “I was going to say nice.” Zane said with a scowl. “Yes, Isaac will be there. That would be what makes Harley a couple.”

  It was true. Isaac was a “nice” guy. A little too nice in Spencer’s opinion. Not that he thought the guy had any ulterior motives, he was simply nice. That’s all there was to him. No excitement, no surprises, no fun. Just boring. Which is why he referred to him as Mr. Lame. Even to Harley’s chagrin.

  Harley was a fun girl, she deserved better than that guy. She deserved someone her own age who knew how to have fun, and how to treat a woman.

  What she needed was him.

  “Cuz, either you and your girl are really bad at math, or you have something else up your sleeve, because me being single does not equal a couple. That would require another person in the equation. And I’m not going to hang around as a fifth wheel. No thank you.”

  “No,” Zane shook his head. “Not a fif
th wheel. Lily actually wants to set you up with her friend.”

  “Oh, nothing could possibly go wrong there,” Spencer answered with pure sarcasm and a good old-fashioned eye roll. “Nope, sorry. Not doing the blind date thing. You go, have fun with the ladies and Mr. Lame. I’ll go down to the bar to watch the hockey game and grab a pizza.”

  Zane shook his head. “Sorry, Cuz. Lily has this all set up. You can take one for the team for one night. Tomorrow night at Lily and Harley’s place. I’ll text you the info. Just be on your best behavior, that’s all I ask. And who knows, maybe you’ll find yourself a date for Valentine’s Day?”

  “Settle down, Cuz. That’s a month away. No need to rush into anything. Not to mention, I’ll be just fine. There’s plenty of lonely ladies out there on Valentine’s Day that are looking for one night to forget all their worries, and I’m just the guy for that.”

  Spencer didn’t need a significant other to enjoy life. He was doing just fine living the single life.

  Shaking his head, Zane responded, “You’ll see. When you find that person, you’ll just know. Then nothing will ever be the same without her.”

  “That’s great for you, Romeo.” Spencer finished his coffee, put the cup in the sink and headed down the hall toward his room, calling behind him, “I’m going to go change and head out. I can’t take much more of your relationship chatter. You sound like an advice column, Sally,” he teased.

  Zane’s phone chimed. “Oh look, there’s Lily now.”

  “Something tells me that your matchmaking skills aren’t nearly as top notch as your academic skills. Lily’s either.”

  He quickly disappeared into his bedroom before Zane could say anything else. The thing was, he did have his sights set on a young lady. But she was with Mr. Lame, which meant she was off limits.

  Unless of course she started to see him as a man she could be with. Then it was game on.

  SPENCER SAT ON LILY and Harley’s couch, staring into his beer bottle. Tonight, was the big “couple’s night” that Lily couldn’t wait to plan. His blind date was not here yet, and looking at his watch, he wondered if he still had time to feign illness and escape.

  If Harley wasn’t going to be here, he probably would’ve backed out of this nonsense already.

  Why did I agree to this? He mentally ran through all the things he could be doing if he wasn’t here. On the top of that list was avoiding Mr. Lame.

  “We’re here!” Harley called as she and Isaac walked in the door. “Sorry, we would’ve been here earlier, but my last class ran late.”

  “Speaking of classes, didn’t you have an afternoon class today, Spence?” Zane asked suspiciously, knowing the answer.

  Spencer waved his cousin’s concern off. “I’m ahead in all my classes and I’ll catch the lecture later. You know me, bro. It’s all good.” He felt as confident as his body language made him look.

  “I’m sure you had more important things to do?” Zane asked.

  “As a matter of a fact, I was at the gym. It was leg day.” Spencer flashed his irresistible smile at Harley as she glanced his way. “Hey, Har.”

  “Spence, hey. I didn’t know you’d be here.” Harley’s voice wavered and she quickly avoided Isaac’s glance. She turned her attention to Lily. “I thought this was a couple’s night, Lily?”

  Harley looked beautiful, as always. Like she stepped right out of a magazine. Her long dark hair loose down her back, a dark purple off the shoulder sweater, leggings that hugged her every curve, and funky combat boots that were oddly enough hot as sin on her.

  Moving his stare to the man standing with her, Isaac, in his shiny dress shoes and his three-piece suit, all he could think was why is she even with him?

  “Spencer,” Lily said from beside him, pulling his attention away from Harley. “Your date should be here in a few minutes. Her name is Joy. She is smart, funny, and–” Just then the doorbell rang. “She’s here!”

  Lily jumped with child-like excitement.

  “Who’s here?” Harley asked.

  Zane sat down beside him in Lily’s place. “Ready, Spence?”

  Shaking his head, he chuckled. “I highly doubt it.”

  “Spencer, I would like you to meet Joy.” Lily’s face was red with anticipation, and she continued to bounce in place like she had too much sugar. She looked as if she was going to bust with delight. “Joy, this is Spencer.”

  “Pleasure to meet you, Joy.” Spencer stood to shake her hand.

  Joy was pretty, shoulder-length wavy dark blonde hair, blue eyes, and those fake lashes all the girls wear. Her pink sweater matched her lipstick. Model-thin, like she never tasted a carbohydrate in her life. She was cute, just not his type. What was Lily thinking?

  “I’m going to go check on dinner while you two get acquainted.” Lily couldn’t have been more obvious as she dragged Zane into the kitchen with her.

  “So, Joy, are you a football fan? Or hockey?” Spencer figured he’d start off with small talk.

  “Neither. No. I don’t do sports.” She fiddled with her long, perfectly manicured nails.

  Spencer cleared his throat. Strike one. “What do you do in your spare time? Me? I like to kick back and relax, watch sports on TV, or grab a beer with the guys.”

  She batted her eyelashes. “I like to watch make-up tutorials.”

  He looked around for Lily, because clearly this was a joke. Was he being punked? But Lily was nowhere to be found. “Make-up, huh? Watching tutorials, that’s a thing?”

  Didn’t he just go through this with Anna? Lily sure knew how to pick them. Did she even know him at all?

  “Yeah. I have a blog as well. I’m studying law, so the world of make-up is a nice escape.” She smiled sweetly. “Lily tells me you are majoring in business. What’s that like?”

  “Um,” no one had ever asked him that before. It’s business. It’s boring.

  “Dinner’s ready!” Lily called as she brought the food to the table.

  Luckily, he was saved by the dinner bell. He nodded to the dining room and helped Joy up from the couch, immediately dropping her hand. He wasn’t really a hand holder anyway, so that was no offense to her.

  Seated at the table, he looked up, meeting Harley’s eyes across the table. He didn’t care that Isaac was sitting next to her or that Joy was sitting next to him, his attention was on Harley the entire meal. Every suave comment or suggestive joke was aimed in her direction.

  Once dinner was over, Zane was deep in conversation with Isaac about something computer-related. Harley began to clear the plates from the table. Absent-mindedly forgetting about Joy, Spencer jumped to help Harley.

  “Did she really set you up on a blind date? And you let her?” Harley asked once they were alone in the kitchen. She leaned against the counter with her drink. Her relaxed body language told him she was in no hurry to get back to the table, or maybe he was just being hopeful.

  “Yep she did. And you know Lily, telling her no was not an option,” Spencer said. “I was ready to bounce right before you showed up.”

  “And how were you going to do that?” Harley said with a laugh.

  “You know me, Har, I was going to make something up on the fly. Food poisoning or smallpox or something.”

  “Smallpox!” Harley spit her drink out as she laughed.

  “Or something.” Spencer shook his head and laughed with her.

  “So I spoiled your plans by showing up?” she joked.

  “Um, well, I wouldn’t say spoiled.” His voice trailed off. He wanted to tell her that she made his night one hundred percent better, except for bringing Mr. Lame, that part she had right.

  “Spencer,” Lily hurried next to him. “What do you think about Joy? Perfect, right?”

  He had more class than to be mean to a lady, or about a lady, and he had to come up with a gentle way to tell her that Joy just wasn’t his type.

  “Lily?” Joy called from across the room and waved for Lily to come over.

  “Her ears
must’ve been burning. I’ll be right back,” Lily said in a sing-song voice.

  “I never had any doubt,” Spencer mumbled.

  “You know she’s just trying to help, in her own twisted way. Right?” Harley whispered.

  “Twisted? What do you mean?” he asked.

  “Come on, you don’t see it? You have nothing in common with that girl. And she is so not your type. She didn’t do you any favors with this one,” Harley stated.

  Spencer stared at Harley. She was right. Joy was not his type, not even close. He was looking right at his type, and she didn’t even know it.

  “You know who she reminds me of?” Harley whispered to him.

  “Anna,” Spencer said.

  Harley nodded in agreement. Her brow arched in confusion. “Exactly. I mean, she’s so...”

  “Not my type,” Spencer said.

  “I was going to say stiff,” Harley said with a laugh. “I mean, seriously, did she even eat anything at dinner?” Harley teased as she dumped her almost full plate of food into the trash.

  Spencer looked around for Isaac, who was focused on his conversation with a very bored looking Zane. And if the discussion made his cousin bored, it must’ve been terribly lame.

  “So you think that you know what my type is?” he asked Harley, a sly tone purposely in his voice.

  “Maybe,” she playfully answered.

  He had no doubt that she could go toe to toe with him on anything, and he liked the challenge.

  Moving close enough to her that he could almost see her tremble at his words, he added, “My type of girl definitely has the confidence to pull off combat boots on any occasion.”

  They both looked down at her boots.

  Spencer looked up just in time to see her biting at her lip.

  He forgot that there was anyone else in the room until Lily rushed over to them, flushed and looking annoyed. “Way to go, Spence.”

  He couldn’t help but groan, as his blood started to rush back to his extremities.

  “What’s wrong?” Harley asked, taking a step away from him, and taking a drink of her pop.