Best Dating Rules: A Romantic Comedy (The Best Girls Book 2) (32 page)

“Yeah, Mom. Made it to the second trimester,” said Charlie. “Good job. You’ll make it all the way now, for sure.”

“She’s done more than that. Or she’s going to do something more than that.” Steven’s dimples danced with excitement.

Emily’s brows furrowed. “What are you talking about?”

“Can I say it?” Steven begged.

Anne laughed at her husband’s eagerness—sometimes he seemed like a little boy. She nodded.

“
Twins
,” he said. “Can you believe it? We’re having twins!”

There was a moment of stunned silence before Charlie said, “I’m gonna be afraid to talk to you on Skype anymore. Ohmygosh! Are you kidding?”

“No way!” screamed Emily, as she rushed to give her mom a hug. “How on earth are you so tiny?”

“Don’t worry. I won’t be tiny for long,” Anne said around Emily’s head.

“How on earth could you be pregnant with twins?” Charlie asked.

Steven answered before she could respond. “Women over forty-five have about a one in five chance of having multiples. And,” he boasted, “I’m obviously extraordinarily masculine.”

“Ughh!” Emily groaned, swiping at Steven’s head while he ducked, laughing.

“You make it sound like being extraordinarily masculine is a good thing,” said Charlie.

Anne’s face broke out in a contented smile, watching her family laugh and interact. But her heart broke for Emily. She knew the misery of loving someone when you thought they didn’t love you back.

Spencer struggled with the complicated dance steps. The first night had been relatively easy. He’d quickly conquered the waltz, practicing with a variety of partners, many old enough to be his mother. Then they’d moved on to the cha-cha. He figured he could be passable at this dance after a couple of weeks. But this time the class was all about the tango, a much more intricate and difficult dance.

“I’m never going to get this,” he complained to the teacher.

“It’s your first time to try it,” she said. “It’s a hard dance. You’ll be able to do the basics by the time the wedding rolls around. Why don’t you have your fiancée with you?”

“Oh, I’m not engaged—not yet. But I’m taking my future fiancée to this wedding in five weeks. She loves to dance, so I wanted to surprise her.”

“I think that’s really romantic. When are you planning to ask her to marry you?”

“Soon, I hope.”

“Do you realize you’ve been doing it? You’ve been dancing the tango the whole time you were talking to me.”

He stumbled in surprise. “Shoot! I’m never going to get this.”

“You’ll get it.” She laughed, clapping her hands for attention. “Okay, class is over. You can find pictures on Facebook tomorrow. Good job, everyone. Next Monday, we’ll tackle the salsa.”

It was only nine o’clock, and Spencer wasn’t tired. He was hovering on cloud nine where he’d been floating since Sunday night when he talked to Emily about the future. They were going to be married. Someday. He’d said a year. She’d said longer. But, he could wait a long time. Why not? He’d already waited twenty-five years. And, he was going to get her a ring, maybe even faster than he thought. If he worked one or two more Friday nights, he’d have enough money. Spencer thought Emily might still be at her mom’s apartment. He could surprise her. He decided to check there first and go down to her place if she was gone.

He rang the bell, pacing to calm his nerves until Gherring opened the door. “Hi! Is Emily still here?”

“No, she just left. But come in for a minute.”

“I don’t want to intrude. I only wanted to surprise Emily.”

“That’s okay. Come in. We should talk.”

“Uhmm, okay.” Something in Gherring’s tone made him uneasy. “Hi, Mrs. Gherring. How’re you feeling?”

“Great. Thanks for asking. How’s your mom? Is she enjoying her new job? I really miss having her around.”

“She’s good, and she loves her job. Thanks, Mr. Gherring, for helping her find it.”

“We owe her so much,” said Gherring. “I’ll always be grateful.”

“So, Spencer... What were you doing tonight? Emily said you were working at a homeless shelter,” Anne questioned, her stare intense.

The blood drained from his face. “I, uhmm, I wasn’t really at a homeless shelter. But, it’s a secret. Promise you won’t tell Emily?”

“What’s going on?” Gherring’s voice thundered.

“I’m taking dance lessons.”

“What did you say?” Anne’s mouth hung open.

“Dance lessons. I’m taking ballroom dance lessons so I can dance with Emily at the wedding.”

Gherring began to laugh, and the sound was infectious. Soon all three of them were laughing. Anne had tears in her eyes.

Gherring caught his breath. “Dance lessons? That’s awesome. Emily thinks you’re losing interest in her, and you’re really taking dance lessons for her benefit.”

“Wait. She thinks I’m losing interest? She told you that?”

“I’m afraid so,” said Anne with more sympathy than her husband demonstrated.

“How could she think that after we talked about—” He barely stopped himself in time. He’d almost said they’d talked about getting married, and he hadn’t asked Gherring for permission yet. He gulped. And he wasn’t ready to do it tonight. He needed to be prepared to answer questions about how he was going to support her and take care of her. He needed to think about it and rehearse his answers.

“Well, you’re either going to have to tell her the truth or be a lot more convincing when you lie,” said Anne.

“Oh, man. Thanks for the heads up. I guess I could tell her, but I thought it’d be such a fun surprise.”

“Maybe I could help you think of something,” said Anne.

“Are you kidding?” Gherring scoffed. “You’re the worst liar in the world. He needs a master like me to help him conjure up a good lie. Now, the best lies have an element of truth. Why don’t you say you’re doing some type of exercise? You could be playing pickup basketball or something like that.”

“Yeah, that might work. And my excuse could be I’m not hiking on the weekends anymore.”

Anne frowned at Gherring. “You’re just a little too good at thinking up a quick, plausible lie. Maybe I should be worried.”

“I used my ample skill to snag you. It’s too late to worry about it now.”

“Wish me luck,” said Spencer as he left them, still arguing playfully. He hoped Gherring’s lie worked better than his.

Emily heard a knock on her door. She was already dressed in a sleep-shirt and shorts, hair flowing, face freshly scrubbed and ready for bed. She couldn’t imagine who’d be at the door at nine thirty. She peeped through the hole and spied Spencer. What was he doing here? She pulled back and looked at herself. She was decent enough to open the door.

“Hi. Uhmm, what’re you doing here?”

“I wanted to drop by and see you. I missed you.”

“But I just saw you at work.”

“And it’s been hours since then.” Her insides warmed at his words. Maybe he wasn’t cheating on her after all. “Can I come in? Only for a minute?”

“Well... Okay. I’m actually dressed for bed.”

“That sounds enticing,” he teased as he slipped in past her. “But we really shouldn’t.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

He laughed. “But a guy can dream, right?”

“Spencer!”

“Okay, sorry.” He didn’t look the least bit contrite as he plopped down on her couch. She sat down next to him, eyeing him cautiously.

“How was the shelter?”

“I have a confession. I wasn’t at the shelter.” She held her breath waiting to hear the truth. “I’ve been playing basketball. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I was dying for some exercise, but I thought the shelter sounded better.” He turned his face up to hers, staring with dark brown puppy dog eyes. How could she resist him? He wasn’t losing interest; he only wanted some exercise. She loved his fit body, and she certainly didn’t begrudge him the time he spent doing sports and exercising.

“I’m sorry. Forgive me?” He leaned in and stole a kiss.

She jumped up in alarm. “Oh! You can’t do that. I mean, not here. I mean, not on the couch.”

He bounded up and examined the offending couch. “Why not?”

“It’s against the rules.
No unsupported kissing
.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Well, the first rule is:
No private kissing
. That’s one Mom gave us back in high school. That means you shouldn’t kiss in a place where you have too much privacy—like here, in the apartment. But then the backup rule is if you do kiss in a private place, you have to be supporting your own weight. You know—standing up. Not sitting or lying down. So... No unsupported kissing. It’s a rule to help you not have to depend on your willpower to stop, uhmm... to stop doing stuff.”

“Exactly how many of these dating rules do you have?”

“You think they’re stupid, don’t you?”

“No, I don’t. It’s just I don’t know the rules. I know you have rules to define what a date is. Are there other important rules I should know?”

She hesitated, aware of the heat radiating from her face. “There’s one that might be important. It’s
save the white parts
.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means... well... certain parts don’t ever get a suntan, so they’re white. And you save those for your husband.”

It was his turn to blush. “So you haven’t ever... I mean, you’ve followed the rules?”

By now her face must be glowing red. “Yes, I have. And I intend to keep following them. So, if that makes a difference to you, tell me now.”

“It does make a difference.” He wrapped his arms around her, kissing the top of her head. “It makes you more special.” He rubbed his hands gently up and down her back. “I’m glad to know the rules, and particularly glad you have a nice little tan on your back and your legs.”

“Spencer…” He smothered her protest with another kiss.

“It’s okay, we’re standing.”

She relaxed and reveled in the heady feeling that always overwhelmed her senses when he kissed her. His lips traveled down to her jaw. As her head fell back he moved his mouth below to the side of her neck. Her knees trembled. Her head was dizzy, and she would have slumped without his strong arms holding her weight.

He halted his assault and hugged her close again. “I think I like these rules, just fine.”

“Yes,” she whispered breathlessly. “But this borders on unsupported. Don’t you think?”

“I’ll check with the legal department tomorrow if you want. But we’re definitely standing up.”

“I don’t think the purpose of the rules is to encourage you to test their limits,” she chuckled, regaining the strength in her legs.

“That’s how I’ve always treated rules.” He grinned at her. “It’s too late to change now.”

“So he qui
t
calling you?” Emily was actually surprised Josh had given up. He’d seemed determined to pursue Charlie as long as it took.

“Well, he still calls once a week and leaves a message, but I don’t answer and I don’t call him back. And now he sends me an email every day and a snail-mail letter once a week.”

Emily smiled. That sounded more like Josh. “And you’re still refusing to even consider giving him a chance?”

“Remember, I don’t want advice—only sympathy.”

Emily sighed. “Okay. But I was only trying to clarify the situation.”

“How can I give him a chance? We live across the country from each other.”

“But you could talk to him on the phone,” Emily argued.

“Sympathy only,” reminded Charlie.

“Fine. I do remember how irritated I was when Spencer kept calling and texting when I was in Texas.”

“Exactly. And if you hadn’t moved to New York, y’all wouldn’t have ended up together.”

“And we still probably won’t be together in the end.”

“You’re planning to break up with him?”

“No. But he’s definitely planning to break up with me, in a year or so.”

“That’s ridiculous. No he’s not.”

“No, really, it’s true. We talked about it. He doesn’t want to commit to anything because he graduates in December and he doesn’t know where he’ll get a job.”

“Emily, he’s in love with you. I’m sure of it. Haven’t y’all talked at all about maybe getting married?”

“No, we haven’t. And he’s really gotten into playing basketball lately. The past few weeks, I hardly see him in the evenings. We mostly do stuff on Saturdays during the day.”

“He’s giving up time with you to play basketball?”

“I know, it sounds bad, but he loves to exercise. I’m trying not to complain about it—I don’t want to be a whiny girlfriend. He’s so sweet when he’s with me. And then there’s the kissing.”

“Are you sticking to the rules, Sister?”

“I am, but it’s not easy. I’ve been thinking I need to maybe be more sporty, so he’ll want to spend more time with me.”

“I think he likes you just as you are.”

“But maybe if I could play some sport, we could play together.”

“Okay, why don’t you try racquetball? You get to play inside—you should like that. And it’s got a pretty easy learning curve. You’ll pick it up in no time.”

“If I could find someone to teach me, I could practice while he’s playing basketball. Then I could surprise him.”

“I’m sure Steven could teach you. And maybe even Josh... I wondered... Have you seen him lately? Josh, I mean? I was just curious.”

Emily smiled to herself. So Charlie had some feelings for Josh after all. “No. None of us have seen him lately. Brad told Grace that Josh has dropped all of his old friends, and he doesn’t go out at all anymore. He used to hang around with Brad and Grace, but now he spends all of his spare time, such as it is, volunteering at the free clinic.”

“Oh. So that part, at least, was true. But I still can’t trust him.”

“Brad said he’s totally sworn off women.”

“I’m sure that won’t last.”

“Well, I’d argue with you, but you could be right. I know even Spencer will eventually move on to someone else.”

“Sister, Spencer is nothing like Josh. Believe me. He only wants to be with you.” Emily knew her sister had a blind spot where Spencer was concerned. She was almost as bad as Grace.

“I thought I asked for sympathy, too.”

“Nope, you didn’t ever specify. So I gave you advice.”

“Thanks a lot,” Emily said sarcastically.

“That’s what sisters are for.”

Spencer went to the men’s room one more time before riding up to the Gherring’s apartment. Everything was proceeding according to plan. He’d saved enough money to buy a ring. Well, enough to pay probably two-thirds of the cost and pay the rest off before they got married. Next, he was planning to call Charlie and find out about ring styles, but first he had to ask for permission from her parents. He was so nervous he was tempted to go back down the elevator to the men’s room again.

Would they think it was too soon? Would they agree to an engagement before he’d finished grad school? Would they believe he could support her before he’d even applied for a job?

He rang the doorbell with a vague hope no one would answer.

“Spencer. Come in.” Gherring stepped back from the open door, gesturing with his hand. “We were just having ice cream. Would you like a bowl? Actually, Anne was having ice cream. She had a craving for chocolate chip mint ice cream, so I had to go buy some.”

“Uhmm, no thank you.” he mumbled, shuffling through the door.

“Is something wrong? You seem upset.”

“No, uhmm... No sir. Everything’s fine. But I wanted to talk to you.”

“Come in. Have a seat.” Gherring guided him to a chair near the couch and sat beside Anne.

When Spencer finally looked up, both were staring at him with wide expectant eyes. He tried to speak, but discovered his tongue was sticking to the roof of his mouth.

“Eh-hem. Excuse me,” he croaked. “Could I get a glass of water?”

“Sure.” Gherring disappeared, returning quickly with the promised water.

He gulped down a few swallows, looking everywhere in the room but at the Gherrings.

“I... uhmm... I wanted to ask Emily... I mean... I wanted to ask you if I could ask Emily... to... uhmm... to marry me.” He closed his eyes and cringed. He felt the blood pounding in his head. That was awful. Were they laughing at him? He couldn’t even bring himself to look.

Suddenly, he heard Anne make a funny sound. He looked up and she was giggling with her hand over her mouth. “Steven, was it that hard for you when you asked my dad?”

“Ten times worse,” he admitted with a grin. “And your father grilled me before he gave me an answer.”

They really were laughing at him. Did that mean they were turning him down? Gherring walked over to shake his hand. “I’m sorry, Spencer. We shouldn’t tease you. We’ve been hoping for this, son. You already have our blessing.”

“Really?” He stood up, feeling a weight lifted from his shoulders.

“Of course. We know you’ll take good care of her—you already have.” Anne rose and hugged him.

“I was afraid you’d think I shouldn’t ask while I was in school.”

Anne grimaced. “That’s because you don’t know I married the first time when I was still a sophomore in college. I’m sure you’ll do fine. I assume y’all talked about this a little?”

“Yes, we talked a few weeks ago. She wants to wait a long time. I’d rather not wait so long—a year at the most. But, we’ll work it out.”

“Are you sure y’all talked about it? I’m surprised she didn’t say anything to me. The last time she talked to us, she still thought you were losing interest in the relationship.” Anne chewed her lip.

“No. We talked about it after Sunday night dinner a few weeks ago. Maybe she’s still unsure, though. Maybe she didn’t want to tell you until I’d asked her formally. After I give her the ring, she’ll feel better. I know I’ll feel better to make it official.”

“And your mother and father know?” Gherring asked.

“Yes, sir. They love Emily. And my sisters like her better than me.”

Anne said, “I have a ring that belonged to my mom. I’d love for you to use the stones in her ring. You don’t have to, but it’s going to be hers someday. The ring that belonged to Tom’s mother is going to Charlotte.”

“That would be awesome. Charlie’s going to help me chose a setting for her. But she seems so sentimental—I bet she’d love having the stones from her grandmother’s ring.”

“When are you going to ask her?” Anne asked.

“As soon as I can get the ring and come up with a cool way to ask her. I’ve been working nights parking cars and saving up the money. I’ve hardly seen her the past couple of weeks, between parking cars and dance lessons. But it’ll all be worth it in the end.”

Anne disappeared into the bedroom in search of the heirloom ring, and Gherring was left alone with Spencer.

“Spencer, I have a bit of advice about these Best girls. They get a notion in their heads, and it’s hard to convince them otherwise. Are you positive Emily knows you’re in love with her?”

“I’m sure. But even if she had doubts, she won’t have them after I give her the ring. Right?”

“Yes, the thing is... Well, I almost lost Anne between the time I bought her ring and when I actually asked her to marry me. I really don’t want you to make the same mistake.”

If Gherring wanted to scare Spencer, he’d accomplished his goal. How was he going to make sure he didn’t lose her? “Okay. Thanks for the advice.”

“Here’s the ring,” said Anne, handing him a small box.

“And let me hook you up with my jeweler,” said Gherring. “He owes me. He’ll take care of you and give you top priority.”

“Thanks so much. This wasn’t nearly as awful as I thought it’d be.”

Anne laughed again. “Glad we weren’t as frightening as you thought.”

Becca had been very methodical in her planning. She knew she might only have one opportunity to talk to Spencer. Since she’d taken the ballroom dance classes in the past, she was aware of the schedule. This Wednesday would be the tango roundhouse dance, where every man would rotate dancing with every woman. He’d have to dance with her if she went, unless he wanted to cause a scene. Becca had an in with the dance instructor, who’d already informed her Spencer was talking about getting engaged soon. She had to act fast, to keep him from making the biggest mistake of his life.

She was dressed to entice, in a skin-tight black dress with a deep v in the front that displayed her assets well. The slit on the side of the dress went all the way up to her hip so when she lifted it, her entire leg was exposed. She had on five-inch platform shoes that made her legs look longer. She was certain when he saw what she was offering, he wouldn’t be able to resist. And all she had to do was get a picture with him taking advantage of her, and the uptight, virginal Emily would drop him like a hot rock. The dance studio photographer was in on the plan, although he didn’t know her intentions. She’d only told him she was going to get dirty with Spencer, and she wanted some pictures. She was more than willing to make it worth his while to do her a favor and give her copies of the pictures. Even if Spencer turned her down, she might be able to use one of the pictures with them dancing together. And the photographer was willing to text the picture, so Emily wouldn’t know it came from her.

She wanted Spencer, but she wanted to hurt Emily even more. She was so angry with Steven Gherring for filing charges against her. The search warrant and police questionings were frightening and humiliating. And it had cost her a lot of money to hire an attorney. Granted, her parents had paid for the lawyer, but they’d cut her allowance afterward. Overall, Gherring had made her life miserable for a while, and she’d almost been caught red-handed. She could have been sent to prison. She wanted revenge, and the only way to hurt him, was to hurt Emily. She’d come to despise the sickly sweet girl who’d taken Spencer’s attention away from her. Emily Best didn’t deserve him, anyway.

She peered into the studio where the teacher was explaining the rules for the roundhouse tango. She spied Spencer across the room. She was a little disappointed he hadn’t dressed up. Most of the women wore nice dresses on roundhouse night, and a lot of the men wore slacks and dress shirts. But Spencer was clad in jeans and a sport shirt. Of course, he still looked hot. Nothing could prevent that. But the pictures would have been so much better if they’d both been dressed up.

Alumni were always invited to roundhouse night, so there were a number of other girls that’d returned for the opportunity to practice the tango. Sizing up her rivals, she only found one girl who presented real competition. She was tall, with long blond hair, but her dress was nothing spectacular. Satisfied in being the most alluring girl present, she flung the door open and sauntered across the floor, deliberately ignoring Spencer. She planned to adopt an air of total surprise when she saw him.

Spencer studied his feet while the teacher clarified the rules for the evening. He had to switch partners, dancing with all the women present. A number of extra women and a few extra men from previous classes had joined for the reunion dance. He noticed a lot more girls nearer his age. The thought of dancing with them made him even more nervous than dancing with the older women that were normally in his class. He wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans.

Glancing up at a late entry, he spotted a young girl in a skimpy black dress. He returned to the obsessive contemplation of his shoes, but heard the guy next to him murmuring something about the new girl. He peeked under his eyebrows at her, and felt a heavy rock in his stomach. It was Becca.

His mind raced. She was listening to the teacher and hadn’t seen him yet. Maybe he could slip away without causing a scene. But the teacher clapped her hands, couples paired up, and tango music blared.