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But he’d never do that. Make sure I was okay, definitely. But he’d always let me make my own decisions.
Archer was pacing outside the doors, his head snapping up as soon as I stepped out of the office. The sight sent warm tingles through my body, and I rushed to him.
His face lit up as soon as he saw me, his long strides eating up the distance between us. As soon as we were close enough, he pulled me into his arms and crushed his mouth to mine, his kiss hard but ever so delicious.
But no matter how they came, I liked all his kisses.
Pulling back, he put his forehead to mine. “You okay?”
Holding him tight, brushing my nose to his, I inhaled his addictive scent that was all Archer and a hint of cologne. “I’m fine. William is only worried. But he’s happy for us.”
Groaning, he peeled himself away from me. “This is so weird.” He chuckled. “Your husband is basically giving us his blessing.”
My body jolted at his words. Was he regretting getting involved with me? “I didn’t mean to pull you into my mess.” Unable to look at him in fear of seeing relief on his face of being let off the hook, I put a few steps between us.
“Stop right there.” His words were low, his voice coming out in a growl. “I don’t regret anything we did. I meant what I said in the office. I want to be with you. And if I say this situation is weird, that’s because it is. Doesn’t mean I want you any less or that I can stay away from you.”
I was too stunned at his words to see his approach or to react fast enough to evade him when he put his shoulder to my stomach and lifted me up. I flipped upside down, suddenly close to his delectable backside.
Seizing the opportunity, I put my hands on his butt cheeks, relishing their firmness. He really had the perfect body. And for now, it was all mine.
“Why is Aunt Thea over Archer’s shoulder? Was she naughty?”
Sofie’s question made me freeze in my fondling, and I glimpsed Everleigh and Sofie through the curtain of my hair hanging over my face. “Hey, guys,” I squeaked. “I thought you weren’t coming over until later.”
“We wanted to surprise you.” Everleigh threw up her hands. “Surprise.”
Sofie joined in, waving her arms in the air. “Surprise.”
Archer had frozen at Sofie’s voice, but now he slowly slid me down his body. Keeping a hold of my arms, he made sure I was steady before turning and facing his sister and niece. “Hey, Everleigh.” He then winked at Sofie, who waved at him. “Squid, how’s it going?”
Everleigh stared at him with raised brows. “What’s going on?”
Archer grinned. “Thea wasverynaughty, so I was about to bring her back to her bedroom.”
A strangled gasp escaped me, and I lightly slapped Archer’s arm. His response was a deep, throaty chuckle, and then he pulled me into his side in front of his sister and niece. I went rock solid, blinking at Everleigh, who was doing much of the same.
When we kept blinking at each other, Sofie decided she was bored and skipped up to us. Her arms came around me, her elbow going into Archer’s belly. He backed off with a pained groan.
“Hello, gorgeous,” I greeted her, giving her a hug.
She wiggled out of my embrace almost as soon as my arms closed around her. “Can we go swimming?”
“Of course.”
Everleigh came up, holding her arms out. “Where’s my hug?”
Embracing my best friend, I hoped it was a positive sign. After all, she couldn’t be too mad at me if she was hugging me. Unless she planned on luring me into a false sense of security.
Deciding to woman up and talk to her instead of worrying about what she thought about Archer and me, I gave her one last squeeze before releasing her. “You have a minute?”
“Of course.”
Turning to Sofie, I leaned down, brushing the hair out of her face. “Pumpkin, you want to show Archer where we keep the net and balls for the pool?”
“Is he going to teach me to swim really fast today? And how to hold my breath? Mom told me he’s her brother. And my uncle. Does that mean he’ll play with me?” The sentences ran into each other, and she barely took a breath as she was talking. Her eyes were wide, her smile bright at the idea of her uncle playing with us.
I looked up at Archer, who met my unasked question with a nod. Standing back up, I grinned. “I think today might be your lucky day.”
