Читать книгу Like Cats and Dogs - Alexis Stanton - Страница 9

Chapter Five

Dinner was a solitary affair for Spencer. It was also cold—literally. Eating raw meant finding new and different ways to make vegetables exciting, which wasn’t an easy feat. He struggled through lettuce tacos filled with nuts and corn salsa, telling himself the whole time that it was the healthiest option. Last week, he’d read an article that claimed a raw diet increased brainpower, and he needed as much of that as he could get.

“Maybe I should just eat your food, huh, Moz?” he asked his cat as he carried his plate to the sink.

She stared at him as if to say, You’re human. You can eat whatever you want, dummy.

Just before he turned on the tap to rinse his plate, his computer on the counter pinged, letting him know that Susan was calling.

He answered the call, and Susan’s face appeared on the screen. “Are you in the middle of something?” she asked, eyeing the plate in his hand.

“It can wait.”

“We can talk while you clean,” she said.

I guess I’m doing the dishes. He slung a dishtowel over his shoulder and went to the sink.

“So,” Susan said, “how’s the house?”

“It’s beautiful,” he said as he rinsed his plate. “Right on the water. I’m going to get so much work done when they’re gone.”

“When who’s gone?” Susan asked.

Whoops. He took his time as he shut off the sink and dried his plate.

“Spencer,” she said with that warning tone he recognized as a precursor to an explosion. “I thought you were alone in the house.”

“I will be,” he said with a false smile. “It’s just…the rental company, they messed something up. Double-booked the place.”

Was that the front door? If it was, Laura hadn’t announced herself. She must have taken Frank right upstairs.

“With who?” Susan pressed.

His mind spun. Obviously, he couldn’t tell his girlfriend that he was sharing a roof with a freewheeling—but pretty—blonde. “It’s just this old guy. He’s kind of smelly. He’s got this mutt, but they’ll be gone tomorrow.”

Okay, maybe he’d laid it on a little thick, but a harmless little lie never hurt anybody, right?

“Well, that’s good,” Susan said. She fixed him with a cautioning look. “You really need to concentrate, Spencer. My father is counting on you. And so am I,” she added.

As if he needed reminding about the massive pressure he was under. “I know. I will.” Hopefully. It would get better once Laura and her dog were gone. No more distractions. “I miss you. Do you miss me?”

Susan looked slightly exasperated by his question. “It’s been pretty busy around here—”

Not what he wanted to hear.

“—but of course I do.”

He exhaled.

“Good night, Spencer.”

“Good night,” he answered. Then, trying again when his earlier attempt had failed, he said, “I love—”

She ended the call. Again.

“You,” he said to the empty screen. He sighed. So much for having a heartwarming moment. He and Susan had been dating for almost a year, and he’d finally gotten up the courage to tell her that he loved her. But whenever he tried, she found a way to cut him off, and the sentiment was never fully expressed. Was she doing it on purpose? Or maybe she was just so busy focused on getting things done that it was accidental.

Maybe it was better that she wasn’t clingy and emotional. They could lead their lives with a minimum of drama.

With Laura, he’d bet there would be a lot of drama. Excitement, too.

He glanced at Mozart, who seemed to look at him with judgment in her golden eyes.

“What?” he asked the cat. “It wasn’t exactly a lie.” But it totally was.

If he was looking for Mozart to forgive him, he was out of luck. She licked her muzzle as she continued to stare at him.

“Besides,” he said as he walked out of the kitchen toward the stairs, “she’ll be gone tomorrow. Nobody will ever know, and nobody will get hurt.”

His foot connected with something solid and he nearly fell over his suitcases. They were stacked up at the foot of the stairs.

Laura strolled out of the bathroom at the top of the stairs. She wore a bathrobe and was in the middle of brushing her teeth. “Oh!” she said cheerfully. “You found your luggage.”

Luggage that he hadn’t taken from the master bedroom.

“Yes,” he said drily. “Thank you. Good night.”

She smirked at him. “Good night.” Then she ambled back into the bathroom.

He planted his hands on his hips. So, that was how she wanted to play things. He wasn’t a quitter and he didn’t back down from challenges. And Laura was definitely a challenge.

Spencer had trained himself to wake up early and get a start on the day. Most people who complained about a lack of productivity were wasting valuable hours by sleeping. Fortunately, Susan fully supported his habit and they often went for a jog almost an hour before the sun came up.

Just because he was here in South Haven didn’t mean that he’d abandon his routine.

When his alarm went off at 5:45, he hopped out of bed and threw on his workout clothes. Mozart accompanied him as he headed downstairs with his jump rope and exercise mat.

He quickly began warming up by jumping rope in the living room. The rhythmic movement never failed to clear his mind and get him prepared for the hours ahead.

Only minutes into his workout, Laura appeared, wrapped in a robe and her hair mussed from sleep. She glared at him.

“Morning,” he said pleasantly.

“Yeah,” she snapped. “It is.”

He ignored her sharp tone as he stopped. “I like to get an early jump on the day.” He lowered himself down onto the exercise mat.

“At six a.m.?” she demanded.

“Best time to do exercises.” He launched into his sit-ups, and her angry face appeared and disappeared whenever he moved to the upright position. “No noises, no distractions. I can work myself into a calm, meditative state.”

She looked like she was about to say something highly unpleasant, but before she could speak, Frank appeared at the entrance to the living room. The dog spotted Mozart crouched nearby. He barked and lunged for the cat.

“No, Frank!” Laura shouted.

Mozart sprang to her feet and ran away—right across Spencer’s chest. Frank followed, also using Spencer as a highway. Laura chased after both of them, continuing to shout Frank’s name as Mozart yowled.

Spencer lay back on the floor with a long, exasperated exhale. So much for a calm, meditative state. It would be next to impossible to continue to work out with so much chaos around him. He rolled to his feet and went after the parade of human, dog, and cat.

“Easy, Moz,” he said when he gathered her up off the fireplace mantel. He eyed Laura, who held a bristling Frank’s collar. “Can your pet behave?”

“Can you?” she fired back. Tugging Frank with her, she marched out of the living room and up the stairs. Spencer heard her door bang shut.

He carried Mozart up to his room and put the annoyed cat inside. Once she was secure, he decided he could try to get in a little more exercise. Writing was always easier if he worked out, and he felt the burden of his dissertation crushing him the longer it took him to get down to business.

Jumping rope helped dispel some of his irritation with Laura. She’d looked at him as if he had been busy kicking puppies, not exercising. He didn’t know how she stayed so fit, between sleeping in and eating pizza.

Not that he was looking at her figure or anything. No. He certainly wasn’t doing that.

Once his workout was done, he headed upstairs and grabbed his toiletries kit and robe. A nice hot shower never failed to settle his thoughts and prepare him for the day ahead.

He walked to the bathroom and tried the door. It was locked. From inside, he heard the sounds of water running. He knocked.

“Just a minute!” Laura said.

But it wasn’t a minute. For a full five minutes, he stood there, listening to her brushing her teeth. It sounded like she went over every tooth twice, and then added a third time for good measure. He was also treated to the sounds of her gargling and rinsing.

Finally, just as Spencer was ready to bathe in the kitchen sink, the door opened. Laura emerged in a swirl of humid mist.

She beamed at him, showing off her extremely clean teeth. “All yours.” Without a backward glance, she sauntered into her room and closed the door behind her.

Spencer peered into the bathroom. Damp towels were everywhere and the mirrors were fogged. It looked as if an entire sorority had used the bathroom, not one woman.

Even better, only one hand towel remained for him.

With an exasperated grumble, Spencer stalked into the bathroom. He’d just have to make do for now, but this kind of disrespect would not stand. At least it wouldn’t last much longer.