When he turned around, he wore a delighted grin, and I gaped at him. Even the cold air rushing in couldn’t cool the heat raging through me. I wasn’t just turned on—though admittedly, him standing out there on that chilly balcony wearing nothing definitely did it for me. He marched back in and closed the doors, then swept me up.
“You’re crazy,” I informed him.
“About you? Absolutely.” Then he kissed me. Even the roots of my hair seemed like they were on fire. Still kissing me, he carried me back to the bed. “I love you,” he whispered in between kisses, and I shuddered. “You’re always there for me…”
“Archie, that’s not entirely true.”
“That was then,” he said, dismissing my concern about the summer. “If the guys had actually gotten to you and told you about the appendectomy, would you have come?” Everything in his expression demanded an answer. “Even mad as hell at us for what we did, would you have come?”
“Yes.” No hesitation. “I wish I had known, that I hadn’t ignored the calls…”
“You had a reason. See, this is how I know, you’ve always been there for me. I want to always be there for you.”
“You are. You have been.”
“Good.” Then, “Does this mean you picked me?”
My stomach bottomed out, and I hesitated. That wasn’t what I’d meant. Suddenly, I was trembling. “Archie…”
“Eh,” he said with a wry smile. “A guy can dream, but no—that wasn’t what you meant.”
I shook my head slowly. “Not in a, I’m not going to date the other guys kind of way.”
Oh man.
“I do love you though.” It got a little easier each time I said it. “I loved you before.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” I loved all of them. I had for a long time, but admitting it aloud was different. Admitting it to them was something else altogether. “I didn’t—I don’t say that to anyone a lot. Maddy’s not demonstrative, if you haven’t noticed.”
“I get that,” he said, settling against me again until we were curled together. “And I’m glad you can tell me.”
“But I don’t want to choose between you guys.” It took everything I had to say that. “I know you all think I’m going to—especially Ian.” I swallowed and met Archie’s gaze. “But I don’t want to. I like…love all of you.”
“Good,” he whispered, then nuzzled a kiss against the corner of my mouth.
Really?
“I want you to choose me,” he said. “If you’re going to choose, I want it to be me. No lie. I’ll fight with everything I have to prove to you I’m the right pick. But if you don’t choose—then I get to keep my best friends and you, and I don’t have to fight them.”
Relief swarmed me.
“You know I have no idea how this works.”
“One day at a time,” Archie said. “I think we’ve been doing pretty awesome the last few weeks. We’re almost living together.”
We were. “I’ve gotten really used to having you guys there.”
“So, not kicking us to the curb yet?” he teased.
“No…”
“Does that mean we can finally clear out the master and fix it up so we have more space and get you a bigger bed?”
I groaned. “Archie…”
“Look, I like how snuggly we get in your bed. But more space never hurt anyone, and I think getting rid of the rest of her things would be good for you. I don’t want you holding on to some idea she’s going to come back and suddenly everything will work out.”