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“Because I am shocked. You’re always taking me by surprise, Archer Moore.”
The smile I give her is genuine. “You know I’ve thought the same thing about you, Winnie Moore.”
Her nose scrunches. “My last name isn’t Moore.”
“It could be.”
She rolls her eyes, not knowing I’m dead serious. I know there are so many reasons why it shouldn’t bother me that her last name is Bishop—but it does. I won’t ask her to change her last name for something that isn’t supposed to be anything more than a contract, but I can’t fight the urge to want her to havemylast name. “No one expects me to change my last name for you, Archer. Anyway…” She bites back a smile. “You’ll really come with us?”
I nod. I know it’d be much smarter for me to stay home. I’m busier than ever, and I shouldn’t be spending any extra time than necessary with Winnie, considering she’s already taking up too much space in my mind.
“Where are we staying?” I ask, starting to walk forward before I lean down and kiss her.
“Beck and Margo apparently have a house there.” She turns to me. “Where do you own houses?”
I laugh. “I own a lot of properties. It’d take a while for me to list them all.”
She bites her lip as we keep walking. We’re nearing the house. Normally, this is the part of the walk where I feel sad because I know that our time together is over, but I don’t feel that today at all. Instead, I feel excited at the prospect of spending all weekend together.
“Why?” I push, wanting to know why it matters to her where I own houses. “Is there somewhere you’d like to have a place? Tell me where, and I’ll buy it.”
She laughs. “If you don’t already own one there.”
“True.” I wait for her to tell me where she envisions herself visiting, but she never answers. I try not to think too hard abouthow serious I was when I told her I’d buy a place anywhere she wanted if that’s what she was looking for.
When we get back to the house, we stop in front of the stairs. She doesn’t make a move to climb them, so I don’t either, wanting to stay locked in this moment a little longer.
“I think they have a jet leaving later this afternoon,” Winnie begins. She sighs, her hot breath mixing with the cold in a cloud of air. “We can always go later if we need to. Or I can go with them, and you can meet us there later. I don’t know what your schedule looks like, but?—”
I press my fingers to her lips. They’re warm against my cold fingertips. “I’ll call Sinclair and see what the plan is. If you want to fly there with them, then that’s what we’ll do.”
She stares at me in disbelief. She’s quiet for so long that I shift from one foot to the other. “What?” I ask.
“I was just expecting some kind of argument from you, is all.”
I bite my tongue, not wanting to admit that with anyone else there would be. With her, everything is different. I still don’t know if that’s a good or a bad thing.
“I’m sure I’ll find something to have an opinion on later,” I tease, trying not to get lost in her eyes.
She smiles. “I’m sure you will.”
And then she turns to climb the stairs, leaving me to wonder if I should really go on this Hamptons trip with them or if I should back out now while I can.
CHAPTER 27
WINNIE
“I’mconvinced youguys don’t even know what a house is,” Emma states as we stand in the driveway of the Hamptons house Beck and Margo purchased not too long ago. When Margo asked us to come stay with them for the weekend, I wasn’t sure if Archer would agree to it. But it was only this morning when he shocked me by saying yes and completely clearing his schedule to come.
Margo walks up between Emma and me, wrapping her arms around our necks as we stare at the huge, beautiful two-story in front of us. “Emma, what are you talking about?”
“You told me you guys bought ahouse. This isn’t a house, Margo. This is amansion.” Her wide eyes slowly track the house, as if she can’t quite believe what she’s seeing.
Margo laughs. “It is a house. We wanted a lot of space so we could have people come visit us.”
“How many rooms does it have?” Emma wonders, mouth parted in awe.
“Seven…I think.”
