He was sexy in the dim light of the parking lot and the romantic ambiance of Focus, but in the daylight, he’s absolutely breathtaking. His hair is combed and styled and his beard is tame. I think he even has beard oil in it.
“How’s Emmy feeling?” I ask.
“She’s better and I threw out the ice cream so there won’t be a repeat.”
“Smart.”
An awkward silence falls between us. I’m flustered and I never get flustered. I rack my brain trying to think of something to say.
“Can I ask you a question?” He leans back in his chair, stretching his long legs out in front of him.
“Anything,” I say, way too hurriedly.
“Last night you said Sara is tight-lipped with you, but do you think she’s okay?”
“What do you mean?”
“From an employer’s perspective, is she okay at work?” His leg bounces up and down. I can tell he’s concerned for her.
“She’s great. She’s a hard worker, mostly on time, and is friendly with customers.”
“That’s good. I’m glad. After I got home last night, I heard her crying. I don’t know if it’s normal for her to be so down. I don’t have anyone to talk to about it and I know we just met, it’s just—”
“You’re worried.”
“Yeah.”
“She had a shitty thing happen to her. I didn’t know her well before she came to work for me, so I don’t know how she was before the breakup, but I can tell she’s down in the dumps.” I shouldn’t be talking about Sara behind her back, but if this is the only conversation Archer’s willing to have with me, I’ll set aside my ethics.
“You think so?” He blows out a breath and his face falls, like this was the worst news I could tell him.
“Yeah, I mean, I can’t imagine the betrayal she must feel,” I say gently.
“You’re right. I just want her to be happy, you know?” He’s having this conversation with me, but I know I could be anyone at this point. He seems to just need to talk. “I think she does a good job at shielding the kids from it, but she’s not the same person she was when I moved away.”
“I’m sure it’s hard being the older brother, watching her go through all of this.”
“Honestly, I’m more of a parent to her than a brother.”
“Where are your parents?”
“Not in the picture. They never were.” Our gazes lock, and it’s like it hits him that he’s admitting his secrets to me. He stiffens and grips tightly onto his thermos. “Sorry to dump all that on you.”
“It’s okay. People say I’m a good listener.”
“I’m not normally so honest with a stranger.”
“Just with your friends?”
“I, uh, don’t have any of those,” he admits sheepishly.
“Moving to a new town can be hard. Especially a small town like this.” An idea pops into my head and I lean in. “How about you let me give you a tour this weekend?”
“I don’t know. I need to check with Sara.”
“That’s fine. Let me see your cell phone.” I hold my palm out flat. He stares at it for a minute, making me think he’s not going to hand it over, but then he seems to make his mind up and reaches into his pocket. He reluctantly places an older model iPhone in my hand. I quickly send myself a text message and hand it back. “There. I’ll text you later tonight and you can let me know.”
“I better get back.”
“Okay. I’ll see you around?”
“Sure. You’re a good person, Kian. I hope we can be friends.” He walks out and back in the direction of BFB Fishing Company.
I close my laptop and fall face first onto it. Friend zoned. He’s either not gay or isn’t interested. I choose to believe he’s not into men because if he were, there’s no way he could resist me.
I’m irresistible, damn it.
Archer
Saturday morning, I wake up and groggily step into the shower. After going around and around about whether or not to let Kian take me on a tour of the town, I finally gave in.
My first week working has my mind and body drained. Then there was picking up the slack with Sara and the kids. Their house hadn’t been properly maintained and I spent every free moment fixing busted cabinets, unclogging drains, mowing her lawn, and all of the other tasks that had been overlooked since Sara’s douche of an ex left. And that’s on top of babysitting every night.
I love Sara and the kids, I do. But I spent the last year barely able to take care of myself and now overnight I’m suddenly responsible for three more. I’m sure Sara wouldn’t see it that way. She’s stubborn and thinks she’s got everything under control. She doesn’t know I hear her in the early hours of the morning breaking down. When I should be asleep myself, but I’m too worried I’ll have a nightmare and scare her again.
Quite the pair, the two of us are. Both of us trying not to alert the other about what we’re going through and desperately trying to prove to the other that we’re fine.
That’s why, when I got Kian’s text message asking me to take him up on his offer for a tour, I accepted. I need to get out of this house and away from responsibilities. At least for a few hours. But as I scrub my body and wash my hair, I have an internal conversation with myself about oversharing. I don’t exactly know why I feel the need to blurt shit out to Kian, but I need to stop that shit.
I dry off and dress in my usual beat-up jeans and band tee. The only other clothing I have in my closet are a couple pairs of bright orange, rubber bib pants and hoodies, so my decision was easy.
I walk into the kitchen and find Emmy and Lou tucked up to the kitchen island, happily eating frozen waffles. Sara’s standing in front of the kitchen window that overlooks the backyard, cup of coffee in her hands. She has a faraway look in her eyes and her brows are bunched together. I wonder what she’s thinking. It’s not good, whatever it is.
I open the cupboard next to her and pull out a mug. It startles her and coffee sloshes over the side of her cup.
“Shit. Sorry.” I take the mug from her hands and grab a paper towel to clean up the mess.
“No, it’s my fault. I zoned out.” She turns on the faucet and rinses her hands off, then notices I’m dressed with shoes on. “Where are you headed off to?”
“Kian asked to show me around town. Thought it might be a good way to get my bearings. I kind of hit the ground running when I moved in last week.”
“Sorry about that. I should’ve taken you around and introduced you to people.”
“It’s not like you have an abundance of free time.” I squeeze her shoulder and then pour both of us coffee. “Here.”
“Thanks. Do you know where he’s taking you?”
“No. I don’t think he planned anything. Probably just the main points of interest.” I shrug.
She tips her chin down and raises her eyebrows. “You don’t know Kian very well if you think he didn’t make charts, graphs, print out a map, and create an agenda.”
“Really?”