Isaac waved him o
ff. “Don’t. Really. I don’t want your sympathy. I don’t deserve it. I acted like a kid who’d had their favorite toy taken from them. I know it was all her. I always did. Just didn’t want to admit that I’d been played like a fool. I treated you badly, man and I’m sorry for it.”
“I didn’t know she was interested in me. She wasn’t even my type.”
Isaac sent him a look of disbelief. “Not your type?”
“I’m not a Daddy Dom.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t think Evelyn was even a Little.”
“What do you mean?” Archer frowned.
“Think she was playing at it to reel me in. She used me to get to you.”
“Seems like a pretty elaborate plan just to get to me. Pretending to be a Little. Getting involved with you. Why didn’t she just come straight to me?”
“I don’t know. Maybe she just saw her opportunity and ran with it. Perhaps she was just using me then met you and realized I was her stepping stone.”
“I don’t know how she ever thought that I would choose her over you.”
Isaac looked at him. “What do you mean?”
Archer frowned. “I mean, I don’t know why she thought I would open my arms to her when she’d fucked you over. Like I would want anything to do with someone that hurt you. Didn’t you know that?”
He could tell from the look on his brother’s face that he hadn’t known that.
“Issy, you didn’t know that? You don’t know that I’d take your side over anyone else’s? You’re my brother. I’m always here for you. I never wanted Evelyn. I didn’t do anything to encourage her. I let her into the apartment because she said you were coming to get her soon. When I found her naked in my bed…I felt ill. I tried to get her up and out. I fucking told her I wanted nothing to do with her. That’s what you walked in on, me trying to get rid of that skank.”
Isaac leaned forward, resting his elbows on his legs. “I should have stayed to listen to you. Should have answered one of your calls, instead I ran away to lick my wounds.”
“All the way to a ranch in the middle of nowhere Montana.” Archer winked at him to let him know he was teasing.
“It’s my home now.”
“I know. I’m glad you found your place.”
Isaac nodded then stood. “Good. So can we damn well stop talking this shit out? You know I don’t do good with feelings and emotions and shit. Rather hit something than sit down and discuss it.”
Archer just rolled his eyes.
“You’d think Caley would at least have some beer around here. Something to make me feel more manly.”
“We could go try to wrestle a bear or chop down a tree or something if it would make you feel better.”
“Maybe another day.” He eyed the door to the office as though thinking about going to find his woman.
“Don’t even think about it. She’s working.” Archer stood and stretched. He knew what his brother’s problem was. He wasn’t used to not having much to do. Archer felt the same.
“You could let me punch on you a while. That would get rid of this excess energy.” Isaac shook out his hands.
“Think Caley might object to us fighting in her house.”
“Then we’ll go outside.”
Archer raised an eyebrow. “Wrestling in the mud? Sounds more like that would be Caley’s fantasy than yours.”
He nearly winced as he said that. He hadn’t meant that he was part of Caley’s fantasy but Isaac just grinned.