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“…Okay. Yeah. Sure, it’s not a problem, CT.” I smile at the polite words on the other end of the line and nod my head. “Okay, great. I’ll see you next week then.”
“Thanks, Viv. I’m glad we can make it work.”
“You kidding? You’re making my job easy by coming all the way here.”
“Well, good thing for horse shows then.”
“I’m excited to see you in action.”
I’m currently walking up to my floor and stop when I see a figure standing by my door. I frown and when the man turns, I smile when I see it’s Archer. He arches a brow at my comment, and I chuckle.
“Well, I just got home, but we’ll connect next week.” I say goodbye to CT and make my way to Archer, grinning up at him and asking, “What are you doing here?”
The little flutter of hope in my chest won’t go away. Is he really just here to see me?
Careful, Viv.Hope is dangerous. You’ve been in the friend zone since you were a teen.
Right… but still… he’s here.
“Who was that on the phone that you ‘can’t wait to see in action?’”
If I listen carefully, will I detect a hint of jealousy in his tone? Jealousy is good, jealousy means feelings.
Wait, no. Quit getting ahead of yourself. I shake my head at myself and refocus.
“CT,” I answer with a smile and say, “He’ll be in town next week and wants to talk marketing.”
He grins and I note the Blake Construction shirt across his chest and gasp, grabbing his arm. “Oh my gosh, I spaced! You started your new job today!”
“I did.” He chuckles and waits for me to open my door and follows me in. I set down my bag and sigh, grateful to not be lugging my heavy laptop around anymore.
I turn on him. “So? How was day one?”
He grins. “It was great. I mean.” He laughs at himself and I feel myself smiling in response. “I got ragged on a bit, being the new kid. But I loved it. I forgot how much I really love the whole atmosphere.”
“That’s amazing!” I head to my kitchen and grab a glass. Judging by his messy hair and slightly dirty clothes, I’m guessing he headed straight here from work. The thought allows for the bubble of hope to rise again. I gesture to the glass, and he nods. I fill our waters and hand him one, watching as he chugs the whole thing, the muscles and veins in his neck bulging slightly with every swallow and before I know what I’m doing, my hand rises to fan myself.
“Are you okay?”
I jerk and look at him, he’s eyeing me with concern. “Huh?” I look to where my hand is suspended midair. “Oh! Yeah. Yes, I’m fine.” I lower my hand and look away as I take a few sips of my drink.
“So anyway, I thought I’d come see if you wanted to grab some food, maybe talk.”
“Oh yes, please!” I blurt the words before I can think better and hide a wince.
Don’t be such an eager beaver, Viviana.I really need to stop talking to myself.
He grins broadly and nods. “Great. Yeah, I figured we should make a game plan for Thursday.”
And just like that, that balloon of hope pops. “Oh, right. Thursday. Yes. We should definitely talk about it.”
Talk about the fact that we’re going to be sharing close quarters and pretending to be madly in love while I salivate over you—privately, of course—and convince my hopefully new boss that we’re an item? Easy.
“What’s your dream woman like?” The words pop out of my mouth before I realize what I’m asking.
Archer stops midbite and glances around the room like he’s looking for who I’m talking to. When he doesn’t see someone else I could be randomly asking, he raises an eyebrow and chews his bite before swallowing. “Um.” He sets down his taco and reaches for his glass of water. He takes a small sip before he clears his throat. “Why do you ask?”
This time I’m uncomfortable, mostly because I hadn’t even meant to ask the question in the first place, but I had, and put him on the spot. “No reason, just wondering if there was a specific type of someone that turned your crank.”
