Page 38 of Mine for a Moment

how’s your ice cream?

My stomach flutters, and I smile to myself as I text him back.

Serenity

two of the places we tried going to were closed, so we’re just walking around now.

My heart skips a beat when he texts me back instantly.

Archer

wow, that’s so weird. I’ve got ice cream at home if you want it.

I bite on my lip when he sends me a photo of him on the sofa, gray sweats hanging low enough to expose his Adonis belt and his entire torso bare, a bowl of ice cream balancing on his thigh and the sexiest smirk on his face. Damn. Just the sight of him has me clenching my thighs.

“Found something?” Theo asks, moving closer. I lock my phone immediately, and he frowns. “What’s wrong?”

“Oh, nothing,” I tell him, trying my best not to act flustered even as I pull my phone to my chest.

He sees right though me, and something unfamiliar flickers through his eyes. “Who—” He shakes his head and buries a hand in his hair. “No, never mind,” he says, reaching for his phone, his movements a little frantic. “Let me look up a place we can go to.”

I study him, wondering why he didn’t just ask me who I was texting. Was he respecting my privacy, or did he just not want to know?

Thirty-Two

Archer

“Shotgun!” Serenity yells over her shoulder as she runs past Ezra and places her hands on the front passenger door handle of my car, her eyes brimming with victory. Fucking adorable.

“You don’t need the front seat,” Ezra tells her, lifting her up and moving her out of the way. “Your legs aren’t long enough to need the space.”

She pushes him and switches places with him. “And we both know you’re just going to sleep through most of the drive, so you may as well sit in the back.”

Serenity looks at me for support, but I just shake my head and get behind the wheel of the new Windsor Motors car Zane gave me. He told me he gifted it to me so I could test it for his brother, but I know him well enough to realize he was just looking for an excuse to give me something he wanted me to have.

“Ezra!” I hear Serenity shout, but I know better than to get involved in sibling fights, so I simply start the car and turn on the seat heating before selecting a playlist. Sure enough, three minutes later,the doors open, and Serenity gets in next to me, while Ezra takes the back seat.

“I don’t know why you even bother,” I tell Ezra. “You have never, in your entire life, not given in to your sister.”

He throws me an irritated look and yanks on the seat belt, putting it on angrily. Meanwhile, Serenity is beaming. “Oooh, seat heaters,” she says, sighing happily.

My heart skips a beat at the sight of her smile, and I look away as I back out of my parking spot.

I try my hardest not to sneak looks at Serenity as I get on the highway, but I can’t help myself. I’ve barely seen her since Ezra has been home all week, and I’ve missed her.

“I can’t believe him,” Serenity whispers, looking over her shoulder when Ezra begins to snore lightly not even thirty minutes into our journey to their parents’ house. “I knew he was going to fall asleep straightaway.”

I chuckle, amused by the level of her outrage when they’ve had this exact argument at least a hundred times. “You got the front seat, like you wanted,” I remind her.

She huffs and reaches for my phone. “Can I change the music?”

I nod, only to hesitate when she points my phone my way. “The code is 0105.” Her expression falls when she recognizes Tyra’s birthday, and a new kind of guilt hits me. “I need to change it,” I murmur, my stomach turning when she looks away.

“No,” she says, her voice soft. “It’s perfect. I never want her to be forgotten, Arch. I never wanted to take her place, and I know I never could. It’s why we work so well together, right? Because I respect the fact that your heart will always be hers. You’re just mine for a moment.”

I tighten my grip on the steering wheel, wishing I could refute herwords without starting an argument. I want more than either of us signed up for, and hell, I’m not sure if that’s even an option.

“Let me know if you want me to take over,” she tells me eventually, her voice soft and sweet. “I can drive if you’d like.”

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