I nod and work on pulling myself together. “Can you please let Archer know we’re okay?”
She reaches for her phone and dials his number. He’s been waiting a block down the road.
“It’s done. We’re headed back to my place. Okay, see you soon.”
The makeup is gone. I’ve had a long, hot shower, and I’m back in my regular clothes. I walk out to the pool area of Lia’s home, where she and Archer are chatting with a man I haven’t met yet.
“You look like you again,” Lia says with a smile as she jumps up to give me a hug. “How do you feel?”
“A little raw. Sad. Relieved.”
My eyes are on Archer’s. He’s clearly been worried sick. I can see it in the lines around his eyes. I want to cuddle up in his lap, and I know he would welcome that, but I’m not there yet.
I’m too vulnerable, and Archer and I still have some work to do. Who am I kidding, there’s no work to do. I’m going back to Bandon. Alone. There’s no reason to snuggle him because nothing has changed.
We can’t be together.
“I’d like you to meet my husband, Wyatt,” Lia says, gesturing to the handsome man who just stood to offer me his hand.
“It’s a pleasure. I’ve heard a lot about you,” he says. He has kind eyes.
“I can’t say the same,” I say with a smile. “But it’s nice to meet you, too.”
“I was just telling Wyatt that he would love the cathedral we were in today. He’s an architect.”
“You’ve never been?” I ask, surprised.
“Not inside,” he replies. “But it sounds like Lia will be dragging me there soon. I mean, taking me there soon.”
I sit on the loveseat next to Archer and watch the blue water shimmer in the pool. It’s warm today, despite summer almost being over.
“How are you?” Archer asks.
“Exhausted,” I reply honestly. “I don’t think anyone recognized me, even after my contact fell out. I was afraid that my cousin may have placed me because, of course, he looked at me after the lens fell out, but he just kept walking.”
“There’s no way anyone knew who you were,” Lia says with confidence. “You didn’t speak, and your disguise was iron-clad. You’re safe.”
I nod. “Thank you. So much. I don’t think I can ever repay you for today.”
“You don’t need to repay me,” Lia says. “You’re my friend, Elena. Even after all this time. And friends help each other.”
The tears want to come again. God, how I missed this family. The Montgomerys were always so loving, so welcoming to me. I felt at home with them, and it seems that even after all this time, nothing has changed.
I wish things were different. I’d love to make a life with Archer and his wonderful family.
But that’s not meant to be, and I have a life in Oregon to get back to.
“We should go,” I say, turning to Archer.
He raises a brow. “Where are we going?”
“Back to where you found me, of course. I have work tomorrow, and I need to get out of Seattle.”
Lia’s face falls. “Can’t you stay for a day or two? You can stay here, with us.”
“Thank you so much for the offer, but no. I need to go. And as much as it hurts me to say this, I won’t be back, Lia. Not anytime soon, anyway.”
“But Anastasia hasn’t seen you, and she’ll be so upset.”
My head whips around to Archer. “Does she know I’m here?”
“She knows I found you, but I haven’t said anything else.” He turns to Lia. “Did you?”
“Well, of course not, because Elena told me not to. But—”
“Good.” I sigh in relief. “The fewer people who know I’m here, the better. I really do have to go. It’s not safe for me to be here. For any of you either.”
“I hate this,” Lia says as we stand, and she hugs me once more. She’s done that a lot today. I know she was young when everything between Archer and me went down, but we always liked each other very much. “Please stay safe. And come home when you can. I’ve really missed you.”
The guilt is swift and deep. I didn’t expect to feel so much of that. “Same here. Take care, okay?”
Archer hasn’t said much, and once we’re in his car and headed out of town, he’s still quiet.
“You don’t agree with what I’m doing.”
He rubs his fingers over his lips. “No. I don’t.”
“I’ve been gone for a long time. Grandma didn’t ask the family for permission to help me disappear. For all I know, she never told them that she helped me. I just left one day. So, I don’t know if they were looking for me. I don’t know anything about how it went down for them. But it was made clear to me that there would be repercussions for my leaving. Because this isn’t permanent. You don’t just leave the mob, even if you’re born into it and involved through no fault of your own.”
“If you don’t even know if they’re looking for you, why do you have to hide?”
“Because they might be. Or worse, the people responsible for my parents’ murders could be looking for me. I don’t know what they were involved in that caused their deaths. It could have been as simple as being in the family, and someone was trying to teach us all a lesson.”
“Why wouldn’t your uncle and the others simply retaliate? Kill them all?”
“Oh, they will. Eventually. It’s rarely swift. The mafia has a long memory, Archer. Which is why I can’t risk my life in Oregon. I love it there, and if they find me, they’ll demand I come back to work for the family.”
“Work how?”
I shrug. “In any way they need me.”
“Christ.”
The farther behind us Seattle gets, the more I relax. I truly am exhausted. I lean my head on the passenger window and close my eyes, enjoying the sunshine on my skin.
“Hey, sweetheart. Time to wake up.”
I blink my eyes open and frown when I see that it’s dark and we’re parked in front of my cottage.
“Holy shit, how did I sleep so long?”
“Exhaustion will do that to you,” Archer says as I stretch my sore neck. “I tried to wake you when I stopped for gas, but you were out cold.”
“I’m sorry that I didn’t help with the driving,” I murmur but realize he’s already left the car and is rounding the hood to open my door.
I’m totally out of it.
“Come on.” He holds out his hand for mine and then tugs me out of the car. He has my duffle bag in his other hand and guides me to the door.
Archer has always taken care of me. He’s the kind of guy who fills your car with gas and makes sure you’re fed. He always used to ask me if I was cold and offer me his sweatshirt.
I still have one of them. And I’m not sorry for never giving it back.
I unlock the door, and we walk inside, turning on the lights as we go.
“Are you headed back to Seattle tonight?” I ask.
“No.”
I frown as he sets my duffle bag down and then turns and walks back outside. Before I can look out the window to see what he’s doing, he walks back in with a bag of his own, shuts and locks the door, and turns back to me.