“My ex-husband is getting married.”
I blinked and looked up at him. “I didn’t know you used to be married.”
“I wasn’t married that long. We didn’t work out.”
“Was he an asshole?” I asked, growling a bit even though I didn’t know why.
Archer’s lips twitched before his face fell. “Maybe. I don’t know. And that was the problem. I didn’t know. I should have, but I just didn’t see how we weren’t a good fit until it was too late, and then we just broke up. I walked away because I wasn’t the man that he needed me to be, and I didn’t know if I had married the man that I thought he was, or the man he actually was.”
“So, he wasn’t an asshole then, not really?”
“Maybe a little. I don’t know. Anyway, he’s getting married. To a woman named Rebecca.”
“I see.” I frowned. “No, I don’t see. Does that surprise you?”
Archer blinked and looked up at me. “That he’s marrying a woman? No. I knew his sexuality before, and hell, I’ve dated women before too.”
“Makes sense.”
“Yeah. That’s not the problem. And honestly, I know a little bit about this woman, and she totally fucking fits him like a glove.”
“So, what’s the problem?” I asked.
Archer just sighed. “Because my ex-husband’s getting married, and I don’t know what to think about it. There shouldn’t be a problem, but there is because I’m making it one.” He just sighed. “I don’t really want to talk about it anymore.”
I nodded. “Okay. Fine. Forget I asked.”
“But thank you for asking. I haven’t told my family that he’s getting married yet, and it feels weird to me that I hadn’t.”
“Are you close to your family?”
Archer laughed, and I had to wonder if I had said something wrong.
“What?” I asked.
“Sorry. I forget that not everybody knows my family. Yes. We’re close. Really close.”
“I met your cousin. Austin? He did my tattoo.”
Archer grinned. “Small world. If you want a good tattoo, you go to my family.”
“And you guys are close. Why didn’t you tell them?”
“No reason yet. I will.”
“Did they like the guy?”
“No. Which should have been the first clue. They tolerated him and did their best to love him. But it never worked out. It never felt right. Again, I didn’t see it until it was too late. Either way, it’s fine. I’m fine.”
I didn’t know if I actually believed his words, but I didn’t question him. It wasn’t my place to say, and honestly, I was already asking way too much as it was. I wasn’t usually this talkative, and I shouldn’t care this much.
“Why don’t I show you the place?” I asked after a moment, clearing my throat.
“Okay. Sounds good to me. What are you thinking for it?”
“I have plans, sketches, and maps with everything from the old company.”
Archer nodded. “Well, show me. And I will tell you what you need.”
I looked up at him then, swallowed hard, and wondered why those words bothered me.
Because I didn’t need anything. Not anything Archer could give me.
And as that cold realization slid over me, I knew that I needed to get him out of this house quickly.
Because there was nothing for me here.
There hadn’t been before, and even with Archer here, nothing changed.
It never would.