“Help yourself to the cream and sugar.”
“Thanks, but I like it plain.” He sips it, and his eyes go wide. “That’s strong enough to put hair on your chest.”
A small smile hits Tyler’s lips. “Better than that instant shit, isn’t it?”
“You want some?” I glance at him.
He shakes his head. “I’m good.”
I meet Archer’s gaze. “You ready for the big house tour?”
Swiping away loose strands of hair that have fallen from my bun, I’m somewhat embarrassed by the first impression I’ve given him. Tyler’s need to call me out for it hasn’t helped.
“Yeah, that’d be great,” he says.
With a smile, I lead him to his room. Since I knew he was coming today, I made sure to change the sheets and wash the comforter. I also moved all my spare clothes out of the closet so he’d have more room. Though I don’t think he brought much with him.
Archer looks around, but I can’t quite read him.
“Is it okay?”
He turns with a perfect smile and kind eyes. “It’s amazing.”
“It’s not a huge room, but…”
“It’s more than enough. Thank you,” he says genuinely.
“I’m happy to help. You’re a dog person, right?” I ask when Sassy saunters in and jumps on the bed.
Archer chuckles. “I can be.”
I lead him to the main bathroom, and he peeks inside. “There are two in the house. This one only has a shower, but the master suite has a tub, and if you ever wanna use it, go ahead.”
“Great, thanks,” he says.
“And this is the laundry room.”
Archer scans over my scattered dirty clothes on the floor.
“Sorry for the mess,” I admit. “I’ll try to be a bit more tidy since you’re here.”
“Everleigh,” he says. I love the sound of my name rolling off his tongue. “It’s not a big deal. I was in prison for five years. Seriously, this is already a million times better. Even with a naked dude on the couch.”
That has me laughing hard, which only makes my head pound more, but at least he sees the humor in all of this. “Well, I’m glad I haven’t made you want to run away yet. So some ground rules….” I say, moving back to the living room.
“Oh, Tyler already laid some of those down.”
“Did he?” I pop a brow, watching Tyler clean the mess in the kitchen.
“Yep. I sure did,” he admits, and I roll my eyes at his fatherly tone.
“I’m sure they’re nothing likemyrules.” I give Archer a wink.
A smirk meets his lips, and I can only imagine what my brother has said about me. I halfway wonder if Archer got the same “off-limits” talk as I did. Tyler drove it home that I wasn’t to lead Archer on, sleep with him, or flirt with him. I explained that flirting was a hard limit of mine and laughed it off. As I’ve told him a million times before, I dowhateverI want.
I glare at Tyler, then meet Archer’s chestnut brown eyes again. “Well, my rules are simple. Clean up after yourself. Treat Sassy like the queen she is and take her out if you can. She gets fed twice a day and gets treats after she goes potty. I like to spoil my sweet little baby.” I bend down as Sassy runs over, then starts jumping and licking my face.“Yes, you are my sweet baby girl.”
Tyler rolls his eyes.