go. Not after Archie has openly admitted he’s seeing someone. I want to avoid arousing any suspicion in my sister’s head. I have to. At. All. Costs. Sorry, Surfer Archie will have to wait a while before I can safely join him in his room.
I’m already resigned to this sad destiny when Lana, unexpectedly, comes to the rescue. Giving me that secretive half-smile again, she stands up, saying, “Guys, I’m going to call it a night as well.”
“Not you, too,” Winter protests. “What’s your excuse?”
“Christian has been busy shooting all day and I haven’t spoken to him yet. Now is the only good time to talk.”
I can’t honestly say how much truth laces Lana’s statement. Does she really plan to call Christian, or is she leaving so that I, too, can leave without giving my sister the wrong impression?
Before I can decide on an answer, the maid of honor blows us kisses and is on her way off into the hotel.
Now or never.
I stand up. “Well, you guys, as much as I’d love to stay and be the third wheel all night, I’m going to go, too.”
Winter snorts. “Don’t be ridiculous. You’ll never be a third wheel with me.”
“I was joking,” I say. The last thing I want is to make my sister uncomfortable. “But you guys haven’t seen each other all day. I’d understand if you wanted to go rest a little.”
Not taking the hint, Winter replies, “I’m not that tired.”
Thankfully, the groom-to-be seems to be more on board with my let’s-ditch-the-barbecue-and-go-have-sex agenda, even if he doesn’t know I’m sharing the same urges.
Logan yawns quite theatrically and gives my sister the look, saying, “Actually, I could use some nappy time.”
The bride finally gets the message, and suddenly an early bedtime becomes appealing to her, too.
She looks up at me. “Are you sure you don’t want to hang out a little longer?”
“Positive. You kids go have fun,” I say, using the tone a benevolent aunt would use when sending her horny niece to fool around—as if I didn’t have a vested, adult-turned-randy-teen interest in the game.
I kiss Winter goodnight, wink at Logan, then rush inside and toward the elevators before anyone can stop me.
When Archie opens his door five minutes later, he greets me with an infuriating, “What took you so long?”
I jokingly poke him in the chest with a finger while pushing him into the room. “Well, next time try not to mention a secret romantic rendezvous in front of my sister and I’ll be faster.”
“She was hounding me like a dog, I had to throw her a bone.”
“Because it’d be so impossible for you not to get laid.” I try to make my comment sound playful and teasing, but the words come out more nagging than intended.
Archie shrugs in a non-answer.
So, I prod him a little more. “If I remember correctly, you came back from the trip to Thailand empty-handed. No conquests made.”
He comes dangerously close to me. “That’s because I had met the wrong Knowles twin.” His words give me an unjustifiable amount of pleasure. Winter and I have never been competitive, but it’s nice to know someone in the world prefers me to her. Since The Mistake, my fan club hasn’t been exactly thriving.
I’d like to tell Archie all of this, but at the same time, I don’t want to. Thankfully, I’m saved the need to talk by his fingertips brushing up my arms.
“This little bow at the back of your neck has been teasing me all night,” Archie whispers. “I’ve so been looking forward to untying it.” He pulls at the strings unbearably slowly, eyes locked on mine.
I shift my gaze lower, to his lips, and he puts me out of my misery with a deep kiss just as my dress slips down my body and pools at my feet. Breaking the kiss, I push back from him and step out of the dress pool. I’m left standing only in my high heels and underwear, exposed but not embarrassed. To be honest, I’ve never felt sexier.
“Certain things are worth waiting for,” I say.
Archie’s eyes darken with desire, and he scoops me up into his arms. “I’ve been waiting for you for a long time.”
Thirteen
Archie
A sense of unease wakes me up. I stir in bed, my hand automatically reaching for Summer. She’s still lying next to me, so I wrap my arms around her, sighing in relief. The ease is short-lived, though, as I realize it was the fear she’d be gone again that woke me.