Page 42 of Mine for a Moment

“Archer,” she says, grinning. “I’ve been meaning to introduce you to Amari. She also works in fintech, and I thought you’d get on great.” She all but pushes Amari forward, toward him. “She’s single,” she adds without even a single hint of subtlety, and my heart drops.

I move closer, a deep and unfamiliar kind of unease unfurling in my stomach when Archer smiles at her. My chest begins to ache when she looks at him appreciatively, and every inch of my body screamsmine. Why would Mom introduce the two of them like that? We’ve all been so respectful of his past with Tyra, but it seems she thinks it’s time he moves on. I just don’t understand: why now, and why Amari?

Archer doesn’t even look at me as he asks her what she does and where she works, nor does he notice me as I walk up to them, moving between him and Ezra, so I’m standing on his other side.

Ezra raises a brow, a hint of a smile on his face as he steps aside. “For me?” he asks, taking my drink from me.

“Yeah,” I lie, realizing my brother just unknowingly gave me an excuse. Amari places her hand on Archer’s arm, and I grit my teeth as I stare up at him. “What about you, Archer? Do you want a drink? You seem thirsty.”

He glances at me and shakes his head. “I’m good,” he says, before turning back to my cousin, completely ignoring my little dig. “What about you, Amari?” he asks. “Can I grab you a drink?”

She smiles up at him and nods, leaving me standing rooted in place as he leads her back to the drinks table, his hand on her lower back. “They’d make a nice couple,” Theo says, and Ezra hums in agreement.

I turn toward them to find both looking at me, and I realize I’ve been staring at Archer. “Would they?” I ask, my voice coming out a lot more strained than I expected.

“Of course,” Ezra says. “They’re about the same age, aren’t they? If I recall correctly, she’s a pretty senior employee in her current company, so I imagine they’d have a lot to talk about.”

Theo nods. “Besides, they look pretty good together. Most women look tiny next to Archer, but Amari’s height suits his perfectly.”

I bite on my lip as their words sink in, and realization soon follows. This thing between Archer and me will end in just a few more months at most, and someday, I’ll have to watch him be with someone else. I’ll have to live with the knowledge that he’ll give everything he gives me to someone else. Someday, hewillmove on, and it won’t be with me.

“Right,” I whisper, my heart breaking in a way it never has before. I reach for the cup Ezra stole from me, and much to my surprise, he doesn’t even bat an eye when I knock it back. He just raises a brow, looking irritatingly amused. “I need a refill.”

Theo falls into step with me as I reluctantly walk back to the drinks table, feeling both awkward and miserable. “What’s wrong?” he asks, frowning.

I shake my head and try my best to ignore the way Amari laughs at something Archer said, the two of them standing right next to the table, only a few paces away. “Nothing.”

“You sure?” he asks as he pours me another drink.

I take it from him and nod. “Yeah, just have a headache,” I lie, my voice trembling. “You know what? I think I’ll just go lie down for a few minutes.”

“Do you want me to come with you?” Theo asks.

I could swear I see Archer tense from my peripheral vision, but when I glance at him, he’s smiling at Amari, giving her his undivided attention.

Thirty-Five

Archer

I tense when I hear Theo ask Serenity if she wants him to come with her when she just told him she’s going to her bedroom. What does he think he’s going to do—get into bed with her? Over my dead fucking body.

“So,” Amari says, smiling sweetly. “I take it you’re seeing Serenity, and Ezra doesn’t know?”

My eyes widen, and she chuckles, her eyes twinkling in that way that Sera’s do when we share an inside joke.

“It’s fine, you don’t have to admit it. I can tell by the way you can’t keep your eyes off her for more than two seconds—and by the way she lost her composure when her mother introduced us to each other.” She grins as Serenity walks past us and into the house. “Tell me you’re serious about her, and I’ll keep Ezra and her parents distracted for a while.”

I hesitate, looking her over. “Theo too,” I murmur, tipping my head toward him. “Her best friend.”

“Ah, the competition,” she says, nodding.

“Hardly,” I snap.

She laughs, clearly amused by my reaction. “Fine, I’ll keep an eye on him too.”

“In that case,yes. I’m far more serious about her than I have any right to be, and I have no fucking clue how to undo it.”

“Then don’t,” she says, gently pushing me toward the patio doors.

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