The Agent Next Door (20 page)

“Too busy to meet his girlfriend’s family?”
her mother asked.

“Oh, don’t feel singled out, Mrs. Bradley.
Nobody I know seems to have met him either.”

Beth glanced down at her nails. “Isobel
has.”

“That’s funny,” he said. “She couldn’t seem
to find any pictures of him when I asked her. Not on her phone. Not
on your Facebook page.”

Beth’s heart started to race. “He…he doesn’t
like to have his picture taken.”

“That sounds believable.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Beth asked,
leaning forward, her hands visibly shaking.

“I don’t know, Beth. You tell me.”

Beth drew in a sharp breath. She didn’t have
to take Spencer’s crap. Even if it was the truth.

Especially
since it was the truth.

Beth stood up. “I’m going to go get myself a
drink.”

“Yeah, why don’t you do that,” Spencer
said.

She shot him a glare that only widened his
smile. He spread his arms behind him on the sofa.

A little grunt slipped from her lips as she
turned. She was only a few steps away when she heard the staccato
beat of her mother’s heels behind her.

“Beth, wait,” her mother said.

Beth only stopped once she’d turned the
corner and was out Spencer’s line of sight.

“Why did you let him weasel his way onto that
couch? You had to know he only wanted to torment me.”

“Now, darling.” For a moment, Beth was drawn
in by the look of real compassion in her mother’s eyes. “At least
now you know that he still thinks about you.”

The moment quickly died.

“I don’t want Spencer thinking about me.”
Impotent rage filled her chest. What was the point of having a
mother if she wasn’t going to take your side? “Did you know that he
once told me that he wouldn’t have had to break up with me if I had
only lost a couple of pounds?”

“Well, it’s just a couple of pounds, dear.
I’m sure with a little willpower you can get them off in no
time.”

Beth threw her hands up towards the ceiling.
“I’m walking away now, Mother.”

“Where are you going?”

“I don’t know,” Beth called out behind her.
It didn’t matter where she went. She just had to get away.

She thought for a moment about going back up
to Isobel’s room, but quickly discarded the idea. It would be
selfish of her to bring down her friend’s happiness with her own
petty problems.

And they were petty. Beth knew it. Just like
she knew she had brought all of this grief on herself.

She strode past the bar and headed straight
for the set of double doors at the end of the hall. If she just got
some air, maybe she could think a little clearer.

She had gotten herself into this mess. Now
she was going to have to figure a way out.

About The Author

Adrienne Bell has lived her entire life in
Northern California. She now resides on the far edge of the San
Francisco Bay Area with her husband and kids. You can follow the
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