Her cheeks flush as she scurries up and off into the ensuite.
Yep, I’m really going to miss this.
**********
We load the back of my car with Hayleigh’s bags; she doesn’t have much with her, some clothes and personal items, no furniture for her new home.Maybe I should have filled her home with furniture while I was doing up the place. I break out of my daydream as Archie slinks past us to sit in the backseat.
He still hasn’t spoken to us this morning. I have to hold in my chuckle when he crosses his arms and huffs like a giant toddler.
Hayleigh nudges my arm as she whispers. “Do you think he heard us this morning?”
I nod my head. “One hundred per cent, but it serves him right for creeping.”
We hear a gasp from inside the car, then Archie swivels in his seat to glare at us through the open boot. “I wasnotcreeping. I madewaffles, Nate. Waffles.” He swivels back around to face forward.
I climb into the driver's seat as Hayleigh climbs into the passenger seat. She turns around to Archie. “I’m sorry, forgive us?”
I look in the rearview mirror and see him roll his eyes. “Fine, but just know I canneverscrub my brain fromthosenoises.”
She giggles beside me. “Would it make you feel better if I told you it was an audiobook–”
She doesn’t get to finish what she’s saying before Archie gags. “Please, for the love of the smut goddess, donotruin smutty audiobooks for me, too.”
Hayleigh holds her hands up in surrender. “Okay, I’m sorry. I’ll buy you pizza for dinner.”
They bicker and talk back and forth about some book they’ve both been reading, and you may call me a softy, but my eyes sting, knowing that they’ve found each other. One day, I know I’ll have to leave Archie, he’ll meet someone, and I might finally get to live with Hayleigh. It’s something that scares me but also excites me.
I only hope Archie knows I’ll always be there for him, no matter what
We arrive at Hayleigh’s new home, and I’m nervous for her to see in person everything that Archie and I have done while she was away and for her to finally see the rocking chair that I spent countless hours on.
She unlocks the door but doesn’t walk through it; she spins round to face us, a giddy smile on her face. “I can’t believe I’m really doing this.” Then she turns back around and pushes the door open.
She walks through the hallway; the dirty floorboards are gone; they’ve been cleaned and restored throughout the home. The walls have been replastered thanks to Rafe and his college days of plastering. Ethan helped set up her security system.Cole ensured the foundations were structurally sound and the interior walls were solid.
All Hayleigh needs to do now is decorate it and choose her furniture.
She moves through the home, oohing and ahhing now and then, but when she walks through the door that leads to what will be her reading room, she lets a sob. I rush forward, and as I reach her, she spins round, throwing her arms around my neck and burying her face in my chest.
She mumbles. “Nate, I-I, oh god…”
For a minute, I worry that I’ve overstepped or that the rocking chair isn’t right; the last time she saw it, I had only just started it. “If it’s not right, I can make another.”
She pulls back and whacks me in the chest before wiping her eyes. “Don’t you dare.” She looks around the room, smiling. “This whole, I mean, it’s, wow.” She laughs.
“It wasn’t all me, my brothers helped, Archie a lot more than most.” I nod my head towards Archie, whose cheeks flush with red.
He shrugs. “I was happy to help.”
Hayleigh unwraps her arms from around me and launches herself towards Archie, mumbling a thank you as she hugs him tight.
He wraps his arms around her, patting her back. “I added my own little touch to this room. Take a look in the drawers over there.” Archie nods towards the custom-built bookcases I made for Hayleigh with drawers at the bottom.
She scrambles over to them, opening the drawers, her hands fly to her mouth when she sees it’s full to the brim with brand new books, all handpicked by Archie. I walk over to him, nudging him with my shoulder.
“Thank you for helping me and making her smile.”
He shrugs at me and smiles. “Don’t mention it. She means the world to you, and she means the world to me. I want you both to be happy, and I know one day I’m going to have to go it alone, but…I’m glad you have her, Nate.”
