that man with both hands and hold on tight,” she says in a tone that brooks no argument.
Straightening, I meet her knowing gaze as she picks up her glass of sparkling grape juice and takes a delicate sip. I look to my two best friends, who nod their agreement.
“Okay, say I listen to you lot; how would you suggest I proceed?” I ask, my gaze traveling around the table. These three women all have incredible men in their lives, and their take on the situation so far has been pretty spot-on.
“Oh, oh, I’ve got this one,” Kins says, waving her hand in my face.
I chuckle. “Alright, let’s have it.”
“Ask Archer to be your date to the wedding,” she proclaims.
“What wedding?” I ask.
Her cheeks pink up, and a big beautiful smile spreads across her face. “Mine.”
My brows furrow in confusion. “That’s not for what, like, a year or something?”
“Umm, well, not quite,” she says. “We’re getting married in a month.”
I cough, choking on my wine. “I’m sorry, what?”
“Nooo,” Emory whines. “I’m going to be as fat as a whale.”
“I think that might be the point,” Storm says to Em, patting her hand. “I’m guessing Kins doesn’t want to be the whale in her wedding photos.”
“Ugh, fine,” Em grumbles. “I’ll take one for the team.”
Kins laughs. “Gee thanks, Emmy.” Then something catches her eye, and she waves at someone across the room. A chick with long, pink hair strides toward us, and Kins stands to hug her when she’s close enough. “Guys, this is Hannah. She’s married to Atticus’s cousin Sam.”
Hannah drags a free chair over from another table and joins us. After we all exchange greetings and proper introductions are made, Kins says, “Sam had to almost drown in a shark tank before Hannah would admit she loved him.”
“What?!” Em, Storm, and I yelp.
“It sounds bad when you say it like that,” Hannah says, rolling her eyes.
“You guys can’t give me shit for being a hard-ass anymore,” I state. “I got nothing on this chick.”
When I get home, I’m feeling lighter than I have all week, thanks to tonight’s girl time.
Turns out, Hannah works at the restaurant we were at, looking after the sharks that live in the aquarium. Meeting her and hearing how she and Sam got together makes me hopeful I can sort my own shit out. Hannah was just as resistant to relationships as me, but for Sam, she got past her issues. The way she tells it, taking that leap of faith with him was the best thing she’s ever done.
The more I think about it, the more certain I am that a life without Archer is not one I’m interested in. I just need to find a way to show him that I’m ready to let him in. The girls had some solid suggestions, but none of them were really me.
The Lumineers are playing softly as I lie on top of my comforter, staring at the ceiling while I try to come up with a way to ask Arch to come to Kins’ wedding with me.
A knock sounds at my bedroom door, and I call out, “Yo.”
“Mind if I come in?” Archer asks, poking his head inside.
I prop myself up on my elbows. “Sure.” Then it dawns on me—I’m thinking way too hard about all this. I need to just put it out there like I do with everything else. “There’s actually something I wanted to ask you.”
Archer closes the door behind him and approaches the bed, then he veers off to the armchair in the corner. After sitting, he leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
He’s so freaking hot. My gaze trails over him from the baseball cap twisted backwards on his head to his bare feet. Sooo hot.
“You need to quit looking at me like that.”
I smirk. “Why? I thought you wanted me to stop fighting this?”
“Fuckin’ A,” he grumbles under his breath. He shifts his gaze to the wall. “I came in here to talk, and the longer you give me fuck-me eyes, the less I want to talk.”
“Fiiine,” I drawl. “What’s up?”
He lifts his eyes to meet mine. “Bates,” he says.
I sit up fully, shuffling to lean against my headboard. “What about him?”
“Something’s off with him. Any time I try to bring it up, he shuts me out. It’s not like Bates.”
“I know,” I say, running a hand through my messy hair, my fingers getting caught on a snag. Leaning over, I grab a comb from my side table and rake