Help Me Remember (Rose Canyon, #1)(47)

He has no idea how much dirt I have on him. Not only things I’ve overheard or things Isaac told me in confidence but also things I saw when he thought no one was looking.

“Fine. You like pizza because you say anything made on a base of bread is a win. You love dogs, but you won’t get one because your job requires you to travel. Your middle name is Jesus, but you tell everyone it’s Jacob. You have six tattoos, one not many have seen, but I walked in on you after a shower and saw it. Your first kiss was with Jenna’s older sister but you lie and tell everyone it was Marissa.”

“Where did you hear that last one?”

I scoff. “Please. You and Isaac didn’t know what inside voices were, and I learned to put a cup to the wall and eavesdrop very early in life.”

“Marissa was my first kiss.”

“She was not.”

Spencer narrows his eyes. “What else did you hear?”

I smile widely. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” I sink down in my seat and close the door.

I am so ready for today. It’s different from the last few weeks of constant stress. I am tired of appointments and worrying about everything.

Spencer and I will never be an item, but maybe I can pretend for just today that it’s real.

He gets into the car, shaking his head with a smile. “All right, that was impressive.”

“Do you think you can do better?” I ask, turning toward him.

“You hate any food that is purple. You won’t eat eggs because chickens poop them out, therefore it’s crap. You lost your virginity at a party in the warehouse, which is where you now live, to Kyler Smith, who had a black eye the day after.”

“Which you gave him!” I interject.

“Glady gave him. You puke if you drink so much as a sip of tequila. You tell everyone your favorite music is country, but you know every word to every rap song. Oh, and . . . you believe that ghosts haunt your childhood home.”

I roll my eyes and snort. “Please, half of those everyone knows.”

“Which half?”

“My virginity was town gossip, so that doesn’t count. And . . . purple food is unnatural, which everyone also knows I believe. I’m calling a tie.”

“So, then we both get what we want at the end of the date?”

My lips are in a thin line. “A second date, a kiss, and a memory?”

He rests his forearm on the console. “What do you think?”

“I think that we should see how the date goes.”

Oh, I want all of it. I want it all and more, but that doesn’t mean I should reach out and grab it.

He chuckles and then sits back in his seat. “Are you ready to go on the best date that has ever happened?”

I raise my brow. “The best? That’s a pretty lofty boast, my friend.”

“I’m confident this is going to deliver.”

I lean back in the seat. “Then let’s go and see if you know me as well as I know you.”





Chapter Sixteen





SPENCER





I pull up to the park where the event is being held, and I’m really confused. There is supposed to be an adult water balloon fight with rides and all kinds of games. However, based on the number of minivans in the parking lot, it looks like a moms’ group has taken over the park. Plus, I don’t see any rides where they normally are when there’s a carnival here.

“We’re at a park?” she asks.

“Yes, but there’s a huge event here.”

“Okay. Is it a soccer tournament for a kid or something?”

I snort. “Not soccer, but it is a tournament of sorts.”

“I’m intrigued.”

I love the glint of mischief in her eyes, and I grin right back at her. “Come on, let’s go register.”

We get out of the car, and I take her hand, proving it’s a date after all. Brielle looks up at me with a soft smile.

I realize I haven’t told her how beautiful she is, which I really should’ve done. Her long blonde hair is up in a ponytail, and she’s wearing a light-green top and shorts. She always looks pretty, but today, she is really stunning.

We get to the front table, and I smile and prepare for her to be blown away. “Hello, we’d like to register for the event,” I say to the woman sitting in the plastic folding chair.

“You’d like to register?” she repeats before glancing at the woman to her right.

“Yes. The two of us.”

Again, the woman checks with her friend and then looks at me. “Two of who?”

“Us. The two of us. Has the tournament begun?” Maybe I missed it. It said from four to nine. I made sure we’d be here for the start of it so that we could get to dinner by six. After that, we’ll go to the beach, watch the sunset, and I hope to enjoy that kiss she teased me about.

“No, sir, but . . . where are your kids?”

“My what?” I ask a little too loudly.

Brielle giggles. Great, now she really does think I have a secret child.

“Ma’am, I’m here for the tournament and the rides. I read on the flyer that it started now.”

“Mister, could you hurry up?” says a kid behind me. “I don’t want to miss this.”