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Beck breaks eye contact, looking over at Camden with a conspiring smirk. The two of them share a knowing smile that makes me even more annoyed.
Beck looks back at me. “It’s just good to see Camden and I aren’t the only ones completely and obsessively in love with our girls.”
CHAPTER 40
WINNIE
“Did you have fun this weekend?”Archer asks, his lips brushing against my temple.
I nod, snuggling into his body further. “I did. Even though you cut it short a little earlier than we’d planned.”
His chest vibrates against my cheek with his laugh. “I wanted to have you all to myself for part of today. I’m not used to lazy Sundays, but today, I want that with you.”
The private jet’s engine hums around us as we coast through the sky on our way back to Manhattan. We’d had an early morning, all of us waking up and drinking coffee around the table as we celebrated Margo and Beck having a baby.
Emma wanted to go back to Sutten Mountain with Camden and Pippa to help out with a new project at Pippa’s bakery, so it seemed like an easy decision for Archer and me to head back to Manhattan just the two of us. The plan allowed for Margo and Beck to have some alone time together after finding out they’re going to be parents.
“A lazy day does sound nice.” I yawn, exhaustion catching up with me. The past two nights, Archer and I have been up very late—and early—getting tangled in the bedsheets together. It’s been perfect, but the further and further we get away from the Hamptons, the more reality begins to sink in.
Did this weekend change everything, or did it changenothing at all? Will we go back to skirting around the attraction back at the house we share? Will we still go to separate rooms at night? Or did things actually change between us?
If I’m being honest with myself, I’m not sure which I prefer. It’s hard to differentiate what’s real and what’s pretend when Archer’s lips are on mine with no one but us around.
“I was wondering if next weekend you’d want to go on a date with me?” Archer asks, tracing his fingertips over our intertwined hands. His voice sounds a little hesitant, like he might even be nervous to ask me that.
I push off his chest so I can look into his eyes. Our two flight attendants are in the back, leaving us alone in the cabin. I don’t want to admit that I like how intimate he’s being even with no one around. It makes it feel like maybe this isn’t all a charade.
My eyes narrow on him for a moment as I try to figure out what he means by his question. “Is there an event we need to be seen at?” I ask slowly.
He stares right back at me, seemingly unbothered by my question. “There isn’t.”
“We don’t typically do dates unless it’s for a reason.”
“There is a reason,” he answers, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.
“And what is that?” I breathe in, waiting for his answer. His smell surrounds me, the mix of the bergamot and clove completely wrapping me in him as I wait for his answer.
“Because I want to take my wife on a date.”
Blood rushes to my cheeks as my heart rate intensifies. It’s the possessive way he says ‘my wife’ that completely unnerves me. This man, he’s unlike any other, and it’s incredibly dangerous for my heart.
He reaches up, brushing his thumb along my cheekbone and cupping my cheek. “Have I ever told you how much I love it when you blush? You do it more and more lately, and it still drives me crazy every time I see it.”
I fight a smile, not knowing what to say back. Surely thingscan’t all be for show between us when he says things like that. The doubt in the back of my mind tells me that he’s always been charming, and maybe this is just him being just that—charming.
“I hate how much I blush. My skin is pale and gives me away when any extra blood rushes to my cheeks.”
“How could you hate something so beautiful?” he marvels, running his thumb along the heated skin of my cheek.
“Stop saying things like that,” I whisper. At this point, my heart beats so erratically and my pulse thumps so strongly that he must be aware of the effect his words have on me.
“Saying things like the truth? I know you don’t want me to lie to you, Win.”
My heart flutters at his use of my nickname. My whole life, the only people to ever call me that are my two best friends. It’s special to me, and for reasons I don’t want to delve into, I love the sound of it coming from his mouth.
“Please don’t ever lie to me.”
He presses his lips together while his eyes roam my face. I could get lost looking into his deep brown eyes. They’re so much more than just brown. There are flecks of gold in there that captivate me.
