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He lets go of my hand, and I hear him move around the area, his footsteps almost as loud as my joyful heartbeat.
Suddenly, I feel him at my back, unknotting the material behind my head. “Three…two…one.”
At his last word, the blindfold falls away, unveiling my somewhat blurred surroundings.
I blink rapidly, allowing the world to come into focus around me, and when it does, my stomach swoops as goosebumps travel the length and breadth of my body.
We’re on a small dock overlooking a lake that’s been lit by no less than a thousand Christmas lights hanging from the nearby trees. There’s a blanket with two dozen cushions of varying shapes and sizes, all in assorted pink hues. And to one side, there is a bottle of what appears to be champagne chilling in a cooler alongside two glasses.
Caden wraps his arms around my waist, tugging me back against his toned body as he rests his chin on my shoulder.
“Do you like it?”
I suck in a breath, trying to rein in my galloping emotions lest I fall to pieces. Another inhalation dissipates the frog in my throat, though I still don’t trust myself to speak. Instead, I nod, my vision once again blurring, but this time it’s the moisture in my eyes that’s the issue.
This man with a heart of gold, who clearly wants to give me the world, deserves so much more than what I’m doing to him.
It’s with that guilt gnawing at me that I turn in his embrace, grasping his face between my palms to hold his eyes intently.
“Caden, I don’t deserve this. I need to be honest with you now, okay?”
His brow furrows, and he blinks solemnly before nodding, allowing me to continue.
“It goes back to…to…tothen.”
* * *
Archer emerges from the river, dragging an unconscious Caden as Layla and I watch on in horror. Dropping his twin to the ground with a thud, Archer kneels beside him, checking his airways before commencing CPR.
I rush forward, dropping to my knees to seal my mouth over Cade’s while pinching his nose as I blow air into his lungs at Archer’s instruction.
Time seems to stop until suddenly Caden begins coughing, and Archer turns him onto his side to allow his brother to expel the river water from his battered lungs. The coughs wrack his body and seem to go on for an age.
“Layla!”
When Archer barks her name, Layla comes closer. “Run to the house and call an ambulance. Tell Noah there’s no need to call our parents. Cade will be fine.”
Layla loiters there, staring at Archer with confusion running riot in her icy blue gaze. “But, Arch—”
“I said fuckinggo!”
At his bellow, Layla rolls her eyes before turning and heading back in the direction of the house.
“I’ll go with her.”
Archer turns to face me. “You’ve got a promise to keep, little deer.”
I can feel my eyes blow wide with incredulity at the insinuation in his tone. “What,now? Can’t I just make sure—”
“I upheld my part of the bargain. Now it’s your turn.”
Archer speaks the words with such ease and with an utter lack of emotion that my blood turns to ice in my veins. “Archer, I will uphold my end.Later. Once I know your brother will be okay.”
“Has he fucked your ass yet? Layla hates when I take her ass.”
I inhale sharply, but he lays an unconscious Caden back on the grassy riverbank and continues as though he’s not heard me. “I think you’ll like it. You’ve got fire in your belly. Layla’s ice cold inside…”
“Archer, I agreed to—”
