Page 22 of Clueless Romeo

However, I did realize I was sort of being a dick to Caleb. Once I locked the door behind us, I paused and scrubbed my hand over my face. "No. I'm good. Just stressed with a to-do list a mile long."

"I'll help more," he promised.

When I glanced at him, he appeared sincere. I had little doubt he meant it at that moment. The problem with Caleb was that he didn't really have a responsible bone in his body, except when it had come to basketball, and even that had fallen to the wayside.

Instead of pointing any of that out, I nodded. "I'd appreciate it, but we can talk about it later."

With a nod of agreement, we both slid into the Jeep, and I shivered as cold air blasted through the vents. Within thirty seconds, Caleb's phone rang, and he began talking to his girl. If I had to speak to my twin that often, I'd stab myself in the eye. Not really. But I'd at least invest in earplugs, which I wished I had at the moment as their conversation morphed into lovesick sappiness. Gag.

Once the heat kicked in, and I stopped shaking, I shifted into drive and pulled away from the curb. The drive to the small cafe in downtown Atlanta took fifteen minutes. It was located halfway between our new place and the house where Archer and Phoenix still lived next door to my best friend's uncle.

The ride was spent in silence, at least on my end. With Caleb on the phone, my thoughts once again turned to Roman.

What kind of guy would he match me with? How could he possibly know what I'd be interested in after only a few conversations? As the little bistro came into view, I shoved the thoughts away to deal with later and pulled into a space right out front.

The place was small, and only a handful of people lined the sidewalk instead of the usual buzzing crowd you'd expect to see on a Saturday morning. An oversized beige-and-black striped cloth awning covered a narrow strip of cast iron tables that were vacated, no doubt thanks to the cold temperature.

As I shut off the engine, I heard Caleb end his call. We slid out of my Jeep without a word and headed for the front door. Inside, the place was busier than the exterior had let on, and I scanned the bustling restaurant.

"You see Arch?" I asked Caleb just as my gaze landed on a familiar mop of auburn curls. "Never mind."

Sitting at one of the tables, Archer sipped on what looked to be coffee as he scrolled on his phone while waiting for us to arrive.

Caleb whistled a catcall when he stepped next to me, and Archer looked up from his phone, wide dark eyes blinking before he appeared to sigh at Caleb's theatrics.

"I'm here, babe," Caleb continued, and I punched his side.

"Shut up, Caleb. For fuck's sake, do you always have to act like an idiot?" I whispered.

"What can I say? I was born this way." He grinned before striding toward the table.

"Ignore him," I said as I reached the table and slid into the chair on Archer's left while Caleb took the right side.

Archer snorted. "I know how to deal with Caleb."

"Feisty Archer is in the house," Caleb said louder than necessary and on purpose, of course.

Archer waved off the comment, utterly unfazed, a drastic change from the red that used to fill his cheeks when he was embarrassed. Phoenix had been more than good for Archer. He had more confidence, which radiated from him as he simply ignored Caleb's comment. "I ordered a round of coffees but waited on food."

I nodded. "Coffee sounds amazing right now."

Caleb sat forward, elbows on the table. "I haven't heard from Isaac in a while. How's your dickhead uncle?"

"I'm telling him you said that," Archer threatened with a raised brow, and we both chuckled when Caleb scowled.

"I don't care," Caleb insisted, but he did. Isaac had taken an immediate liking to both of us. But especially Caleb, for some reason I'd never understand. Whether Caleb would admit it or not, the feeling was mutual. "You tell him he's been rude and hasn't once checked in on me to make sure I haven't been doing anything stupid."

Sometimes I wondered if Caleb actually heard the words coming out of his mouth.

"Why would he need to ask when he knows the answer already?" I taunted.

Archer laughed, and Caleb stared at me with narrowed eyes. "If anyone's been acting stupid—"

"The hell have I done?" I arched my brows. As far as he knew, nothing about me had changed. I'd never accuse my twin of being observant. He was too self-absorbed for that.

"Okay," Archer interrupted. "Save it for later, preferably when you two are alone, and no one else has to listen."

I slouched in my chair, and Caleb followed suit, sufficiently chastised.

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