Page 52 of Cruel Love

“With me?”

“With you.”

Archer nods, his chiseled face giving me nothing of his true thoughts. “All right.”

He turns to leave.

“Wait…” I say, stopping him. “What about you?”

“What about me?”

“Do you want kids?”

He frowns. “That’s a little personal, don’t you think?”

I twitch with anger. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

Archer laughs and he lays his hands on my shoulders. “Yes,” he says. “I would absolutely consider maybe someday having adorable babies with you.”

“Okay, then.” I gesture toward the door. “Now, we should probably get out of here before it’s super obvious we’ve been fucking.”

“I’ll go first.” He twists back to look at me. “And, by the way, I have seen you pee.”

I smack his shoulder. “I knew you snuck a peek, you big perv.”

He opens the door and discreetly walks out.

I wait until it slides closed again before I let the smile stretch across my face.

Chapter 15

Boxcar

Home sweet home.

I use the term loosely, of course. Boston was just the last place I spent enough time in to have to pay rent. Home shifts more often than the wind in my case but Boston always ranked pretty high on that list. Great culture, decent booze. Lots of local color to make things interesting. And best of all…

Cherry-cherry cupcakes.

“I remember this place,” Lilah muses as we climb the stairs to my condo. “This is where you stuffed your tail between your legs and ran away to your husband.”

I roll my eyes. “Yep. The same place you and your brother didn’t figure out I hopped out the window for at least ten minutes. Tell me again about how Snake Eyes agents are supposed to be the best in the world.”

“Guys…” Fox says. “Knock it off.”

I glare at Lilah. Her face twisted into an even darker shade of murder the second I mentioned her brother. I’d throw out some sympathy, but she beat up my wife.

I’m just not there yet.

I tap in my access code and swipe my keycard to unlock the door, silently saying a prayer that I didn’t get robbed in the few weeks since I left.

Luckily, a quick scan of the living room puts me at ease.

“Welcome to casa de la Boxcar,” I tell the group. “Don’t touch anything you can’t pronounce. Raid the kitchen if you want but I can’t guarantee anything is fresh…”

They all walk in behind me. I don’t feel great about it. This place was my private sanctuary. Letting three Snake Eyes agents wander around in it makes me more than a little nervous, even if one of them is my best friend.

I lay my bag down on the counter and reach for my phone. A message should be coming in any minute now from Milo to come pick up our order.

---