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Once we land in Alabama, neither of us speaks. The walk to her car is full of the same silence. As soon as Everleigh starts the engine, I clear my throat.
“Are you seriously giving me the silent treatment?” I ask.
“No. I just don’t have anything to say.”
I snort. “I find that extremely hard to believe. You talk my head off most days, and now suddenly you havenothingto say?”
She shrugs, pinching her lips together as if she’s fighting the urge to tell me off. I don’t push her any further as we drive to Lawton Ridge. Before we get home, we stop by her grandparents’ house to pick up Sassy. She licks my face, and Everleigh breaks out into a smile. When our eyes meet, she quickly turns and avoids my gaze.
Fuck.
When we get to the house, Everleigh goes to her room. Sassy plops down on the couch, and I unpack. After an hour, I search for Everleigh, but she’s still in her room.
“Everleigh,” I finally say outside her door. When she doesn’t respond, I try the handle, but it’s locked. Next, I pound my fist. “Let me in.”
She whips open the door, pulling out her AirPods as she scans her eyes up and down the length of my body.
“Jesus. Where’s the fire?”
“Well, you weren’t answering.”
She points at her ears. “I was listenin’ to an audiobook. What’s up?”
“We need to talk,” I say.
“Sorry, I don’t think this is the place for that.”
I roll my eyes at her attempt to mock what I said earlier. “Don’t be like that.”
Everleigh crosses her arms, blocking me from entering. “Fine, then what do you want?”
I pinch the bridge of my nose and inhale. “How am I supposed to be with you and hide it from your brother? Or worse, tell him and he kicks my ass, then fires me? What good am I if I’m completely jobless, with no future, and dependent on you?”
She drops her arms, and her eyes soften. “Your job and living arrangements don’t make you who you are—your kind heart and genuineness are what make you the Archer I’ve fallen for. Tyler will get over it. And if he doesn’t, find another job. I’m not saying it’d be easy to be together, but don’t make excuses because you’re scared.”
“Iamfucking scared,” I admit. “I’d hate to lose either of you, and you asking me to risk it all puts a ton of pressure on me to make it work. I know how I feel about you and what we could have, but I can’t promise I’ll be what or who you need.”
“I don’t wanna have to convince you that it’d be worth trying. Either you want this or you don’t.” She rests a hand on her hip.
“It’s not that easy because all I can think of is what if there’s a fallout? What if it ends badly?”
“Okay, and what if it doesn’t? Honest question, how will you feel when I meet someone else? You’re gonna just sleep across the living room while another man is fucking my brains out? I’m not sure about you, but I couldn’t stand seeing you with another woman. That’s how I know you’re worth the risk. We make it work or we fall apart, but at least we can say we tried.”
“Goddammit, Everleigh.” I blow out an angered breath, feeling the need to punch something. “Don’t put that image in my head because the thought of another man touching you makes me rage.” I scrub my hands through my hair, frustration swirling through me. “I have no idea who’s following us. It could be someone from my past who’s trying to hurt me, which means you could get hurt too. I can’t protect you if I’m not thinking straight, and trust me, it’s nearly impossible when I’m close to you. I’d never forgive myself if something happened to you because I was careless.”
Everleigh closes the gap between us and lifts on her tiptoes, placing a palm on my cheek. Slowly, she presses her lips to mine, and we’re glued together for a solid minute.
“Alright, you’ve made your decision then. I’m not going to beg you. I’d rather you be on the same page, but since you aren’t, I won’t push further. I’ll keep my distance.”
She moves past me before I can stop her or respond. I hate that it’s come to this, especially after an amazing weekend with my family, but I guess it was inevitable. Eventually, we needed to talk about our feelings and unconventional sleeping arrangement. I just hadn’t expected it to be like this.
Later that evening, Everleigh takes a bath, and I get a call from an unknown number. Deciding to answer, I pick it up. “Hello?”
“Is this Archer Boone?” a woman asks.
“Depends who wants to know.”
“Are you the man who took away the only important person in my life? My brother.”
