Free Finding Their Girl (Town of Trio, #1) by Mikayla Selover Page B

to explain further. Not understanding.
    She felt obliged to do so. “I didn’t want to play favorites, like wearing the Rocky slippers more often than the Bullwinkle slippers.”
    “Ahhhhh.” He made a long drawn out sound of understanding, then held out a large hand and introduced himself. “I’m Spencer Anderson and my childhood nickname was Rocky. My brother was Bullwinkle.”
    She took his hand and grinned, “I’m Barbara Natasha Malikov, but I go by Barb.”
    He looked around the empty laundry room. “Is there a Boris somewhere?”
    She laughed. “Nope. No Boris.”
    *****
    I t was laundry day again... As she did every week now, Barb loaded her laundry supplies on top of the dirty clothes, then put the thermos of coffee and two mugs on top.
    She and Spencer did their laundry together on a regular basis, which had turned the boring task from drudgery into the high spot of her week. He was a Culinary Institute of America trained chef - with a degree in pastry arts. He’d be bringing something fabulous to go with the coffee. If she was lucky, it might be his Swedish Coffee Cake, her current favorite.
    They’d become good friends since they’d met several months ago in the apartment complex laundry room. They’d started hanging out together outside of the laundry room.
    Last week they’d gone to the big flea market. Barb had found a huge ugly blue leather recliner. It fit her perfectly and was by far the most comfortable chair she’d ever sat in. It had been for sale at a killer price, but she’d had to pass on it. Money was tight for her as she was climbing out of debt, thanks to skanky ex-fiance Raymond.
    Spencer had liked the recliner too and he’d bought it. If she couldn’t have it, second best was Spencer getting it. He was nice enough to let her sit in it when she was visiting his apartment.
    She was still secretly in love with Spencer but he’d never moved beyond close friendship. She and herself were still waiting for the official word that he was gay, so their Haagen Dazs bet could be resolved. He never went on dates and hadn’t mentioned a girlfriend, so she figured it was just a matter of time.
    Now, laundry!
    *****
    S pencer had paused in one of the flea market booths and now, as he reentered the aisle, Barb had wandered out of sight.
    They were there because he was desperate to spend time with Barb. He knew that her budget was extremely limited, so he’d decided that asking Barb to take him on a tour of the local secondhand places would be an acceptable outing. They could spend time together without spending becoming an issue.
    To his surprise, he found himself enjoying the experience. This was their third stop today and it was by far the largest of the thrift stores. It was housed in a former supermarket and sported row upon row of small individual booths.
    There was a lot to look at, with items to fill any need or interest. Now, however, he needed to locate the object of his affection — Barb. She was just 5’4” tall and, as he was discovering, easily misplaced in the bustling secondhand store.
    Walking along the busy aisle, Spencer took full advantage of his 6’2” height. He’d made it down the row before he saw her in the last booth.
    Actually, he almost walked right past. If she hadn’t been wearing screaming orange sneakers, he’d have missed her completely.
    What he did see was a huge, blue leather recliner, situated with its back to the aisle, and hanging over one broad arm were two small orange shoes.
    Upon closer inspection, the shoes were attached to the feet of his prey. They were twitching slightly and Spencer grinned when he realized that Barb was rocking in the huge chair. The foot twitches were providing the impetus to move the hulking leather behemoth.
    Carefully skirting the other junk in the booth, Spencer stepped around the chair. Barb had her eyes closed. From the blissful expression on her face, she was in her happy place.
    He reached out a hand and lightly