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“She finally moved on,” Thea says. “I think it’ll be best if you two leave.”
“You’re asking us to live without the other part of ourselves.” Derek looks at the three of them, and takes my hand, intertwining our fingers. “Could you do it? Could you choose just one of you and leave the other behind because an outsider thinks it would be best?”
Matt narrows his gaze. “Why now and not before?”
I hesitate, unsure of how much to reveal to these strangers. “I would rather tell that to Piper,” I say. “It would be great if you can give us your blessing, but if you can’t we’ll do this on our own.”
I can sense they’re not convinced, but I hope that in time they will understand the depth of our love for Piper and the sacrifices we are willing to make for her. And I hope that Piper can forgive me for not being there for her when she needed me the most.
Tristan runs his hands through his hair, a hint of frustration etched on his face as he glances around the bar. He turns toward Matt, his voice resolute but tinged with uncertainty. “Be back here tomorrow morning at eight,” he says. “You’ll train all day, and we’ll put you into the rotation and see how that works.”
“Babe?” Matt furrows his brows, staring at Tristan in bewilderment. “You’re unleashing them in the bar?” he asks, disbelief creeping into his voice.
Tristan shrugs, a hint of optimism playing in his voice. “They seem genuine. And if your plan worked for us, I don’t see how it wouldn’t work for them,” he explains. But despite his words, there’s a hint of hesitation in his eyes, as if he’s not entirely sure if this is the right decision.
It’s as if he can see the potential in us, but he also knows the risks involved in allowing us close to his daughter.
Thea steps closer to me, her fingers caressing my face tenderly as a mother would do to her long-lost son. “I’m glad you’re okay, but why do you want to do this? Do you love her, or is it just instinct?”
A lump forms in my throat as I try to form the right words. She needs to know we’re genuine, that we want Piper—that we love her with all our being. “I know deep down that I love her. She owns my soul, and I have so many feelings for her. I want to fall in love with her again. I want her to meet the man I became after we lost everything we built and share the love I have for Derek with her.”
A gentle smile breaks across Thea’s face as she looks into my eyes with warmth and understanding. “She’s right. There’s still a part of Archer in there,” she says.
And maybe that was the tiny spark that kept me human throughout all the hardships of living with the cartel and almost losing my soul. It’s hard not to think about those years and the things that I had to do that still haunt me to this day.
But I have my chance. Derek and I have our chance to belong to Piper. I turn to him and say, “Let’s go. We have a lot to do tomorrow morning.”
I can’t help but feel a sense of excitement for what the future holds for us.
This has to work—it has to.
ChapterFifty-Eight
Piper
Last night Derekand Finn disappeared without saying goodbye, and I’m thankful for that.I wasn’t ready to hear any explanations. What did they read that made them think they could barge back into my life?
Does his wife know he’s here?
Has he ever told her about me?
Obviously not, because he can’t remember.
Maybe Derek is here to sell me his part of the practice. They seemed a lot closer than they were before. Is he now part of Finn and his wife?
A twinge of jealousy pinches my heart. I shouldn’t care, it’s not my place to feel any jealousy. Neither one of them are mine—they are my past.
Instead of thinking about them, I shift my focus to my own life. I have a long night ahead of me training two new employees who start today.
I don’t understand why my parents hired them to start this morning and added them to the schedule right away. This just increases my growing suspicion that they don’t want me here anymore. They want to push me out of my comfort zone and hope I start my life.
I guess they don’t believe me that I’m leaving soon. The plans are set into motion. Soon enough, if everything goes according to plan, I won’t have to stay in Santa Barbara. After all, working all night at a bar will be impossible with my new project.
As I enter the bar through the back door, Dad is coming out.
“Hey,” I greet him, giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “You’re not staying to help me?”
“He shakes his head.”
