unpleasant mixture of flavors, but the warmth of the liquid was soothing enough. “You’ve convinced yourself the universe owes you simply for existing. You want more than what you have, but you don’t want to work to get it.”
Bryce laughed, the sound incredulous. “You think I don’t work for all this.”
“I don’t mean spending someone else’s money,” Archer said, waving his hand. “And I don’t mean working your cock into whatever willing mouth has promised you money or prestige or attention.”
“I suppose you’re going to tell me that money won’t buy me real happiness,” Bryce said with a sneer.
Archer chuckled, shaking his head as he took another bite of his apple. “Oh, I think money will make you very happy. You have no depth, and money’s an easy thing to fill those shallow holes inside you. I think you and Ashton will be very content. You’ll work that body of yours until it starts to age. Then you’ll twist and tug and pull at yourself in an attempt to stop time. Meanwhile, Ashton will have already moved on. You’ll get money when it’s over—I’m sure you haven’t made that mistake twice.”
Bryce’s jaw was clenched so tight, Archer could see his pulse throbbing in his temple. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that one day you’re going to wake up old, and aged, and lonely, and sad and think back to every single opportunity you squandered in your young life to deserve the sort of love you were offered by someone like Julian. And at that point, I don’t think the zeroes in your bank account are going to do enough to comfort you.”
After a beat Bryce scoffed. “And I suppose you think you’ll be laughing right alongside Julian in this imaginary future?”
Archer offered him a wary smile. “I don’t know that I’ll ever be good enough to earn Julian’s love—but the fact that he’s willing to give me this much is something I will treasure for the rest of my life.” He reached over and gave Bryce’s knee a pat. “But some people have to learn the hard way. I hope your big day goes on without a hitch, Bryce. And I actually do mean that.”
He was trembling a little with adrenaline as he stood up and walked away. He knew fanning the flames of Bryce’s ire was probably a bad idea, but he couldn’t stop himself, and he didn’t want to.
No one would know any truth about him except that he was Rex’s brother, and that he’d just returned from Paris. The fact that he’d spent most of his life shying away from people, for the first time ever, was going to work in his favor.
Chapter 21
There was no sign of Julian, his sister, or his father for most of the late morning. Archer had caught a glimpse of Jacqueline, but she disappeared the second their gazes locked, and he breathed a little easier for it. Bryce had disappeared as well, but Archer assumed it was to regroup and focus since the rehearsal and the dinner was going to be held a few hours from then.
He puttered around the cottage for a while, then decided to head down to the beach, laying a towel on the sand and letting himself drift for a while to the sound of the crashing waves. The ocean wasn’t his favorite place in the world, but the connection between the tide and the moon gave him comfort and made him feel closer to home.
The sun was warm for the first time that week, and he basked in it as he laid back and dug his toes into the sand. He felt his breathing match up with the rise and fall of the shore, the soft spray as the waves crashed onto the sand, and he let his entire body relax. He had just started to drift when a shadow crossed over the sun, and he startled, panicked for a moment until he opened his eyes and he saw Julian staring down at him with a soft ghost of a grin tugging at the corners of his lips.
Archer pushed up onto his elbows and smiled wider when Julian eased down onto the sand beside his towel and curled his arms around his crooked knees. “Everything okay?”
“Yes.” Julian cocked his head to the side, then leaned in closer toward him, likely to hear better. “Sorry I left you for so long.”
Archer shook his head, then lowered back down to the sand. Julian’s hands hung, relaxed and loose,