He’ll have to leave at some stage, Caley. What are you going to do then? He has a life. A job. Putting your head in the sand over all of that doesn’t make it go away.
He only lives a few hours away.
What? And you think he’d be happy visiting? That he’d want to do long-distance?
Groan. She really should have thought all this through before she agreed to anything. And now…now she was in so deep she couldn’t end things. It would break her. He would have to do it.
Which he would likely do soon with the way she was holding back on him.
And now Archer was leaving. Her partner in teasing Issy out of his grumpy moods. She liked having someone to gang up on him with her. Although she got the feeling that in anything serious, he’d be on Issy’s side.
She didn’t want him to go. But that was incredibly selfish of her.
“Hey, Caley, don’t look so glum,” Archer sat down on the sofa beside her. He reached over and gave her hand a small squeeze. “I know being left with this guy is a daunting prospect, but if his bossiness gets out of control, you can call or FaceTime me. I’ll help you corral him, okay?”
She gave him a small smile. It was early in the morning and they were headed to Bozeman. Archer to catch a flight. Issy to do some shopping. For what, she wasn’t sure. Although she guessed some of it was for groceries.
Issy had wanted her to say her goodbyes last night rather than getting up so early, but there was no way that was happening. She’d just start work once they left and be able to finish early.
For the first time since Dave died, she had something else to do other than work. She used it as a crutch. A way to protect herself. A distraction. But she was now ahead of schedule, so it wasn’t like she had an excuse not to take some time off.
“I could come with you guys,” she offered again.
Archer shook his head. “You’ve nearly finished your book. And airport goodbyes suck.”
The rental people had brought the car up the mountain last night. She hated to think what Archer had paid them to get them to do that.
“We best go,” Issy said. He held out a travel mug to Archer. “Here’s the first of your twenty daily coffees.”
“I don’t drink that much,” Archer said, standing to take the mug. “But thanks.”
“Caley, there’s a fresh pot of coffee there. Enough to last you through the day. Don’t drink any more than that. I’ve put a big bottle of water by your desk. I expect that to be all gone by the time I get back. And there’s a sandwich in the fridge for your lunch. Stop and eat it. Understood? I’ll text you a few times during the day, I expect a text back within thirty minutes or I’ll start calling.”
“Sir, yes, Sir.”
Archer grinned while Issy rolled his eyes. “Such trouble.” He drew her close and gave her a kiss then a sharp smack on the butt that had her yelping. “Behave yourself or your ass is toast when I get home. I’ll be waiting in the car.”
He walked out, surprising her by giving them some privacy. She looked at Archer for a moment. He studied her.
“Well…” he said.
She threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his waist. She knew she should probably have held back. But she couldn’t.
“I’ll miss you,” she whispered, squeezing him so tight he could probably scarcely breathe.
Don’t go. Stay.
She didn’t say the words, of course. They weren’t fair. He had a life of his own. He couldn’t stay here just because she wasn’t ready to say goodbye.
“Miss you too, poppet,” he said quietly. “Remember, our friendship is not dependent on your relationship with my brother. You can call me anytime, for anything. Understood?”
“Yes.” She had to bite off the Sir. He wasn’t as overtly dominant as Issy. Definitely more understated. Much like the man himself. But it was still there. And while in the beginning she’d thought him less dominant than his brother, she’d come to realize he just kept that side of himself tightly under rein.
She wondered what would happen if Archer ever lost some of that epic control. If he let himself actually fall for someone.
She had a feeling he might blow Isaac’s overprotectiveness out of the water.
She leaned back to look up at him. He bent down and pressed a kiss to one cheek then the other.