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“Yeah, well, you’re not too far off.” His face soured. “ButIdon’t have a bedroom, so I can’t exactly be sure.”
“You’re not the jump-into-bed kind of guy.”
She seemed to have struck a nerve. “So everyone tells me.”
Brielle winced. She waited for him to explain more, but he had nothing more to say.
“Do you think—” she started.
“But what about your comic book hottie?” said Gavin at the same time.
Just as she got a text:
It’s Archer. I got your number from my mother. Are you free today? Do you want to go on a date—just the two of us this time?
“Uh,” said Brielle, minimizing the video chat and staring at the text. “He just asked me on a date.”
* * *
“I’msorry I don’t really have anywhere else to take you.” Apologizing for what had to be the twentieth time in the five minutes since he and Brielle had set off for the park, Archer rolled his wheels again and again with such finesse, it was practically a struggle for Brielle to keep pace with him.
“I don’t mind.” Brielle caught sight of the tote bag on Archer’s lap, not for the first time. He’d offered to meet her at his condo and go with her to the park, where he promised a lunch. She wondered what he’d made—and if she was going to have to clean it up tomorrow.
Why was that even a thought that had crossed her mind? She still wasn’t used to thinking of herself as anything but his house cleaner. Even after the chaotic comic book signing.
“I’m sorry, too, if you thought it was rude of me to message you. I know you gave your number to my mother, but—”
Brielle laughed. “You’re sorry you asked me on a date?”
“No.” His face reddened. “I just thought… I should have asked you in person.”
“Kind of more awkward to ask when I’m elbow-deep in yellow rubber gloves, right?”
“About that…” Just as they finally reached the park, Archer slowed and turned around to face her. “I’m afraid my mother is canceling my service.”
A warm breeze rustled through the late spring air, but Brielle still found herself shivering as she grabbed a chunk of her hair to prevent it from hitting her eyes. “Did I… offend her?”
He grimaced. “No, I thinkIdid.”
“Does she think we…?” Brielle pointed to herself and to Archer, unable to voice the rest of it.
Averting his gaze, he tapped his wheels again. “Maybe. But that’s not why. It had nothing to do with you.”
If it had nothing to do with me, why does she think I’m dating you and then coincidentally decide to fire me?She pointed to a picnic table that sat under the shade of a giant oak tree. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“Oh? Right. Sorry.” He pivoted and headed toward the table, gesturing toward his lap as he pulled beside it. “I’m already sitting, but I should have thought you’d be more comfortable if I didn’t make you stand…”
Brielle felt a mixture of emotions as she took her place at the table. Giddy because of the date. Nervous about why his mother had canceled the cleaning service. Happy because maybe it was better if she didn’t socialize with one of the service’s clients anyway. Apprehensive about what her own mom might say when she found out. And she certainly hadn’t found out yet, or Brielle would have heard about it. “Don’t worry about it,” she said, to herself as much as to him.
“Oh, wait!”
She paused halfway crouched to the bench and watched as Archer dug into his tote bag and pulled out a vinyl tablecloth, followed by a blanket. He arranged the blanket nicely on the table bench beneath Brielle, patting it when finished.
“Thank you,” said Brielle, tossing her hair behind her shoulders as she sat. She helped Archer lay the tablecloth out across half of the picnic table, grinning as she thought about how cute but pointless protecting the worn and weathered table from their mess was. Folding her fingers together, she leaned her elbows on the table and watched, wide-eyed, as Archer pulled a fake-looking candle out of his bag and turned it over, flicking it on with a switch. He glanced sheepishly out of the corner of his eye at her and placed it on the table as far as his arm would reach.
“What else have you got in that enchanted bag?” joked Brielle, crossing her legs and staring at him. His cheeks were definitely a deeper, adorable shade. She couldn’t believe this was the same guy who’d almost frightened her last week. Suddenly, she felt more in charge, like he’d crumble at the slightest bat of her eyes.
A burst of warmth spread through her abdomen all the way down to the bench beneath her. She uncrossed and crossed her legs again and took a deep breath, fighting the first thing that popped into her mind.
