Also, yeah, sure, I enjoyed seeing that flare of anger that it sparked in Archer's eyes. It was addictive as all hell.
"None of those things hold any weight in this argument, Kate," he snapped back. "Not for long. The killers, the stalker? They're temporary. The shit with your dad? You'll get your closure when he returns to Shadow Grove. The diamond mine? Fuck it. Give it away for all I care, we don't need it."
My jaw just about hit the floor. I couldn't actually believe what I was hearing from him.
"Archer," I snarled. "I'm nineteen. I'm not even having this conversation right now."
He gave a shrug that made me want to deck him. "You turn twenty soon-ish."
"I just turned nineteen!" I shrieked. "What the actual fuck is happening right now? Jesus Christ Archer, we're not having kids. Period."
His jaw clenched, and the vein over his temple throbbed. Oh good, I'd flipped his alpha male asshole switch on.
"Kate—" he argued, but I wasn't entertaining any more crazy.
"No!" I shouted, slamming my hand down on the counter beside me. "No. Archer this isn't even just about you and me. Did you forget that Steele and Kody are in this too? They're not fucking going anywhere."
His face shifted, and I realized too late that I'd given him a flicker of hope. "So, you're saying this is a question of majority rules?"
I blinked, dumbfounded at his shift in tact. "What? No! Arch—" I broke off with a frustrated snarl. Then I did the only thing I could think of to end the totally ludicrous argument we were engaged in.
I picked up one of the mini wedding cakes and smashed it straight in his sexy, stubborn face.
14
Sometimes in life, we’ve all made choices that might have seemed really stupid, really reckless in hindsight. Sometimes, those choices worked out impeccably well, and the result was better than we could have ever anticipated.
Sometimes... it didn't.
This thought flashed across my mind as Archer stared back at me from a strawberry-champagne-sponge and cream-cheese-frosting covered mess.
The serving plate slipped from my fingers and shattered on the floor, but neither one of us paid it any mind. Archer reached up in goddamn slow motion to wipe the creamy frosting from his eyes, all so he could death-glare at me even harder.
"Oops," I whispered.
He swiped another handful of cake from his face and threw it on the ground. "Oops?" he repeated in disbelief.
Yeah, maybe that hadn't been the most mature way to end an argument. But hey, that just proved my point, right? There was no way in hell I was mother material.
Fuck it, the damage was done now; may as well just double down on it. "Oh, don't be dramatic, Sunshine," I drawled, propping my hands on my hips. "It's just cake; it won't kill you."
He moved lightning fast. One second he was standing two feet away, dripping frosting—damn, that cake had a lot of frosting—and the next he had my hair wrapped around his fist and a plate of cake in his hand.
"No!" I shrieked. "Come on, Arch, I'm sorry, okay? That was childish. I shouldn't have smooshed cake on your face."
His brows rose. Or, I think they did. He was still pretty coated in cake, so it was hard to get a real reading on his expression.
"Oh, you're sorry, huh?" His tone was so hard to read without those subtle facial cues I often relied on. Like the way a small dimple appeared when he was fighting a smile or the way his temple throbbed when he was feeling murderous.
"Yes!" I squeaked, my eyes on the cake in his hand. I really didn't want to wear that one. It was my least favorite of all the flavors Maurice had prepared. "Yes, I'm sorry. Forgive me?"
His grip tightened on my hair, pulling it hard enough to tilt my face up to his. It was such a turn on, even with the threat of cake.
"If you're so sorry," he taunted me, "then prove it. Kiss me, baby girl. Show me how sorry you are."
I groaned, eyeing how much cake was still smeared over his face. Why had I picked up such a moist cake? There was so damn much frosting. "Arch..."
"Kate..." He was mocking me playfully, and apparently that was my kryptonite.
Fuck it, he'd wiped a decent amount of the cake off. I crashed my lips against his, licking frosting from his skin and letting the sugary cream roll over my taste buds. I didn't bother trying