AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Archie bows his head for a second as if to collect his thoughts, then raises his gaze again. “In the past, I’ve never felt anything more than a fleeting attraction for the women I’ve been with. And even in the strongest cases, it burned away quickly, a few weeks at most—”
“We haven’t known each other for more than a week.” I’m being pushy, but if I’m going to open my heart again, I need to be positive he means what he’s saying. Because he’s the one man who could crush my soul so thoroughly there would be no coming back. “How can you be sure this will be any different? That your infatuation won’t just disappear?”
“Because yesterday”—he puts a hand over his chest—“when you left me at the restaurant, I was in physical pain. I couldn’t breathe, Summer, not being able to hold you, to kiss you.” He emphasizes the need with a brief touch of his lips on mine. “It drove me crazy. I’ve never felt that way about anyone or anything. I can’t lose you.”
“But last night—”
Archie scoffs, interrupting me. “Last night we had exactly two conversations. You were unreasonable for the first one, and a randy drunk for the second.”
I gasp in mock offense. “Who are you calling a randy drunk?”
The best man grins. “Hey, I’ll take randy over sad or angry any day.”
I hide my face in the nook of his shoulder. “How can you still want to be with me after the way I behaved?”
“Because I love you, all of you. I love unreasonable you. I love randy drunk you. And I love regular you most of all. Listen, I know it won’t be super easy right off the bat. I will have to find a job in LA—”
This time it’s me silencing him with a hand over his mouth. I search his eyes again for any sign this is a trick, but only find sincerity in them. “You’ve really thought about this. You’d give up your job for me?”
I lower my hand so he can speak.
Archie scratches the back of his head. “To be honest, the way things are going I’ll need to find a new job soon, anyway. Tucker is quitting next month. And Logan will cut back on his travels as soon as his work in Thailand is complete. And if he’s not with me, I’m done, too. Wouldn’t be the same.”
Doubts assail me again. “Is that what this is? Your life is falling apart, and you’re getting attached to me as an anchor?”
“No, no, no, and no. I’m in love with you, and even if everything stayed the same, I’d move to LA in a heartbeat.”
“That’s a pity,” I say, and his face falls. So I smirk, and add, “Because I don’t want to stay in LA. There’s nothing left for me there.” Archie’s eyes shine with hope again. “I started looking for jobs in San Francisco the moment Winter told me she was moving up here.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, I have a couple of interviews scheduled for next week.”
He pulls me closer and kisses me again. “So, it’s settled; you can move in with me. I rent a studio apartment, but we can search for something bigger or closer to your office once you find a new job. We can find a yoga studio and keep doing Acro together. And I can’t wait to show you all my favorite places in Berkley and San Francisco. It’s perfect.”
Almost, I think. Because so far we’ve talked about everything except the most important question.
I brace myself, and ask, “What about kids?”
Archie goes a little rigid underneath me; I’m still sitting on his lap, and my body stiffens in response.
With the hand that’s not wrapped around my waist, he pushes away a loose strand of hair from my forehead. “For the first time in my life, I can see myself as a father. I don’t know, all this time I thought I was incapable of love. And if I couldn’t fall in love with a woman how could I ever start a family? But with you, I even imagined what she’d look like.”
“Who?”
“Our daughter.” My heart starts a raging pounding in my chest. “She’d have your hair and my mother’s nose. She’d be as smart as her mother and as much of a troublemaker as her father. And if we had a boy instead, he’d still be brilliant. And we would love both of them with all our hearts.” He pauses, a slight frown on his face. “Can I make a request though?”
I nod.
“I’ve researched the whole IVF thing, and I’m not a fan. Can we make the babies the old-fashioned way?”
“You’ve researched IVF?” A single tear rolls down my cheek. “Is this for real?”
“What do I have to do to convince you, you stubborn woman?” He groans in frustration and settles me on the bench next to him. “Drop to one knee?” Archie bends to the ground and takes hold of both my hands. “Summer Knowles, will you—”
Before he can finish, I use our joined hands to pull him back onto the bench. “You don’t have to propose right away!”
“Hey, I was grand-gesturing you. Are you sure you don’t want all this?” He waves at the wedding set-up in the distance. “The fairy-tale wedding, the happily ever after?”
