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Archer
Archer felt like a caged animal, pacing and waiting for Grace to get home. He just hoped like hell that her plan worked, and she showed up with Jon in tow. He was a complete fool to tell Jon to never come back because that was all he wanted now—to see his handsome face and tell him how sorry he was.
“We’re home,” Grace called from the front foyer. Archer rushed out to see not only Grace but Jon sanding by the front door.
He couldn’t help his tears. “I’m so sorry,” he said. He didn’t make a move toward Jon, not knowing if he’d be forgiven or not. One thing he was sure of—if he wasn’t, he’d never give up trying. He wanted Jon in his life—he needed him as much as he needed Grace and he just wished that his best friend could see that.
“Nothing to be sorry about, babe,” Jon promised. “I’m the one who should apologize to you. I’m the one who walked away from you and Grace and our baby. I’m sorry that I gave up on you both, but I was afraid and thought that I was doing the right thing.”
“You don’t have to ever be sorry for being afraid, Jon,” Archer said. “We’ll be by your side for everything, even telling your parents. I love you,” he said.
“I love you too, Arch. I love both of you,” Jon said. He took Gracie’s hand and when he reached for Archer, he quickly closed the space between them, wrapping his arms around them both. He was finally holding his entire world in his arms and there was no way that Archer would ever let them go again.
“I hate to break this up,” Grace said. “But I’ve got to pee and I’m starving.” Her pregnancy cravings had really ramped up over the past week.
“It’s a good thing that I love to cook,” Archer said. “Because Grace and our baby are going to eat us out of house and home.” She slapped at his arm and disappeared into the bathroom.
“We’re really good?” Archer asked.
Jon nodded and gently kissed his lips. “We’re really good,” he promised.
Grace walked back out of the powder room and clapped her hands together. “Who’s hungry?” she asked, patting her tummy. Archer and Jon laughed and led her to the dining room which Arch had already set up for the three of them.
“Babe, this is beautiful,” Jon breathed.
“Thanks and I made your favorite—beef stew with baguettes to remind us of our time in France—well, the good parts at least.”
“We’ll only focus on the good parts from here on out,” Gracie promised. “Eat up boys because I have plans for the two of you after dinner.” She gave them her devious smile and Archer couldn’t wait.
“And tomorrow, we have appointments to start looking for our new home—one that we can all fit into. I’m sorry that you had to put your stuff into storage and felt like an afterthought, Jon,” Archer said. “We never meant for any of that to happen.”
“I think that was part of why I struggled so much. I know that you and Grace would never think of me as a third wheel but moving into your already established lives didn’t help matters. I felt like a square peg trying to fit into a round hole and well, I should have said something sooner. Maybe if I had, I wouldn’t have let it just build up inside of me until I erupted in France.”
“We’ll work on all of that,” Grace promised. “Archer and I have had a lot of success with therapy. I’m hoping that our therapist will agree to see the three of us together. I bet she’ll be able to work through everything—hopefully before this baby comes,” she said, patting her tummy.
“Look at it this way,” Archer said. “We’re a work in progress,” he teased.
“A messy work in progress, but we’ll get there,” Grace said. “Hopefully.”
“We will,” Jon agreed. “Now, let’s eat.”
“You don’t have to ask me twice,” Grace said. “I’m—”
“Starving,” both men finished for her in unison, causing her to giggle.
* * *
They woke early the next morning, mostly because Grace was trapped between them and had to get up to pee at the break of dawn. They had a leisurely breakfast and talked about their hopes and dreams for the house that they would hopefully find today.
Time was of the essence, really. They had put their brownstone on the market and their realtor called to tell Archer that they had three full-price offers on their place. They’d have to find a new place to move into sooner rather than later, and that was just fine by him. He wanted to get the three of them settled together before they became the four of them.
They met their agent who had set up over a dozen tours for them to get through and they were about halfway through them when Gracie burst into tears. They were standing in the kitchen of a home that was definitely not “the one” when she broke down sobbing. “Honey,” Archer said, “tell us what’s wrong.” They were both flanking her side and the agent said to take a minute, and that she’d be waiting for them outside.
“I just feel like we’re never going to find the house that we talked about this morning. You know, the one with great outdoor space so that we can play outside as a family. And one with a big kitchen and family room, for movie nights with popcorn.”
“Don’t forget the possibility of a pool and fire pit outback,” Jon reminded. Archer shot him a look and he shrugged. “Well, I want a pool,” he insisted.
“Not helping, man,” Archer grumbled.
