thrusting his hands in his pockets as he gave me a rueful look. “I’m not good at talking to girls, Lily.”
“You’re no Dylan,” I said, but that was a good thing, I liked Dylan, but he was intimidating. Archer was more approachable—when he wasn’t ignoring me. Archer pulled a face and I knew I’d just hurt him, even though I hadn’t meant to. “I don’t mean that—”
He shook his head. “It’s fine.”
It wasn’t fine, and I didn’t know how to make it better.
“I’m not good at talking to anyone,” I said as the two of us started down the sidewalk again. “I don’t know why I’m like this.”
He glanced at me sideways, as if he was debating what to say next. Finally he asked, “What happened in Scarborough?”
I didn’t know how to sum up my four years of college and my year-and-a-half in Scarborough, from Brad to the job. So instead, I told him why I left. “You know, I never felt like I could grow up here in Silver Springs? I’d always be the same old Lily to everyone.”
“What was wrong with that?”
I shrugged. I didn’t want to talk about what was wrong with the same old Lily. “So I went away to college. Got a boyfriend. A crappy boyfriend. Got a job. That turned out to be crappy too.”
“You can’t even trust him to leave your stuff alone.” Archer looked worried. “That’s not normal, Lily.”
“It was a messy breakup,” I admitted, thinking of the wreckage I’d left behind. My cat self had one hell of an epic temper tantrum. Maybe I couldn’t even blame Brad for wrecking my stuff after what I had done.
“What a dick,” Archer said, and he never swore, so it made me laugh out loud.
“What have you been doing the last few years?” I asked. I had a feeling Lupine had told the guys what I was up to, just as I’d gotten updates on them from Lupine. They might make me crazy but I’d still been curious.
“I went to college too,” he said, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Got a dual degree in Computer Programming and Business. I started a little side business along the way—you know how I used to mess around making apps.”
“Oh yeah. Made any apps I might’ve heard of?”
I was teasing, but his tone was mild and he didn’t meet my gaze when he said, “Maybe. You know Heart Portal?”
“Get out,” I said, slapping his shoulder.
He smiled, just a half-smile, but somehow when he looked up into my eyes, that smile beamed directly into my heart. “I’m serious.”
“Every lonely-hearted paranormal on the planet is using Heart Portal,” I said, thinking of how many times I’d almost downloaded the app, but hadn’t, because I had Brad.
But I’d still been lonely.
He pulled a face. “Maybe not every one. I don’t use it—except to check for bugs.”
“You’re lonely-hearted?” I asked, and then felt silly because that was my grandfather’s old-fashioned phrase. Before he could answer, I rushed on, “Well, Mr. Big Tech Guy, what are you doing back here in Silver Springs?”
He shrugged. “Blake and Dylan always had a dream. Hot Wheels. So here I am.”
The stereotypical image of a rich playboy reclining on a yacht, draped in beautiful, bikini-clad women, rose to my mind. “But you could be anywhere.”
He turned to face me. “Yes, Lily. I could.”
This was a suddenly confident version of Archer. The man who had acted so silly up on the stage. The man who faced me could be in the French Riviera or the Caribbean right now, but instead, he was walking me home while I inadvertently insulted him.
I’d wondered how the three of them had paid for that big new state-of-the art garage. And the reason was a blue-eyed, broad shouldered man standing right in front of me, with a smile on his lips and a big heart.
I licked my lips as I faced him. “I’m sorry I’m so awkward.”
“I’d say I’m sorry I am.” He stepped in toward me, and his newfound confidence washed over me like the clean scent of his cologne. “But if we’re both weird, then this should be a no-judgment zone. Maybe we can be awkward together.”
“I don’t understand why you would put up with me,” I said.
He laughed. “Is that what you think this is? Me putting up with you? I don’t know what happened to you when you left Silver Springs, Lily, but I’m not ‘putting up with you’. I want you.”
The words hung between us.
This time when