Page 11 of Beautiful Thing

The sun has barely come up, and already, Archer has put my ex in his place, stood guard as I went back inside to grab a fewimportant belongings, and ensured that me and Sky didn’t end up homeless today.

Yet he waves his hand like it’s no big deal. “The hardware store can wait. The whole damn world can wait. They can all just wait until I know that you’re taken care of. Until you and Sky are safe.”

I know that I’m an emotional wreck right now, but that has got to be the sweetest damn thing any human has ever said to me.

My eyes find his and I let out a whimper. His dark stare is full of warmth and comfort, but a fierce protectiveness, too.

He’s wearing the same shirt from last night. A simple black button-down instead of his usual red plaid flannel. The sleeves are rolled up to his elbows, revealing corded, tattooed forearms I need wrapped around me. Suddenly, I just want to hug him. I want to feel the solace I know his arms would bring. The pull is too strong.

Archer reaches out his hand, as though he’s about to touch my face. My eyes flutter shut…and I wait.

And then, I nearly jump right out of my skin when Karli bursts through the front door like an unforecasted hurricane.

Daphne and Ziggy aren’t far behind, begging Karli to calm down.

My bestie’s feral gaze swings around the room, eyeballing Archer then me like a shrewd hawk.

“I’m here now,” she announces, not looking the least bit surprised to find me here. “Spill it. What happened with Razor?” She props a hand on one jutted out hip.

Oh, boy. We’re getting Crazy Karli today.

Out of nowhere, I hear Nicky’s voice. “What’s happening?” she demands. “Tell me what’s happening. I can’t see anything.”

Daphne holds up her phone and I spot both Nicky and Inez already connected on a video call. “Thought I’d save you thetrouble of sharing the news so many times,” Daphne explains sheepishly.

Cheeks warming with embarrassment, I give the girls an awkward little wave on the lit-up screen. Inez is away, being a big star and filming her TV show, and Nicky is at work, making business lady moves in the PR department for Ronan’s hockey team.

It’s days like this that I wish I could get away from Starlight Fallsandthe drama that seems to come along with it. I could have had a career, too. I could have had a college degree and a retirement plan and job security. Or at least a few dollars in my bank account.

But I’ve made so many wrong turns along the way. Days like this remind me of just how much I’ve failed myself and Sky.

Needing some caffeine-infused fortitude, I start to take another sip of my coffee, but I find my mug empty. Archer’s already on his feet. “I’ll get you a refill.”

He takes my mug and disappears. I know he’s giving me a sense of privacy to speak freely with my girls. I’m grateful for that. Although he’s already heard the gory details of what happened with Razor, it will be easier to get through explaining it to my friends without Archer’s handsome eyes drilling into the side of my face.

I take a deep breath, letting the air out slowly before I begin. “Well, you know how I haven’t seen Razor for months?”

Karli, Ziggy and Daphne nod.

“It was too good to be true, thinking he was gone for good,” I mutter bitterly. “He showed up at the house last night while we were at Archer’s birthday party. Thalia was there, babysitting Sky. The poor girl. She’d never seen Razor before in her life, and she had no idea what to do when he barged in.”

I hear Inez groan over the phone’s speaker. “Oh, no. I’m sure Thalia was pretty rattled by that prick. I should give her a call.”

I nod. “Please do. Let her know that she did the right thing. After Razor muscled his way into the house, babbling on and on about being Sky’s dad, Thalia reached out to me immediately. That’s when I ran off from the bar and sped home.”

Karli growls, her face pinched. “Ugh. That scum. Do I even want to know what happened when you were alone with that bastard? Do I need to chop some balls off?”

I crack the smallest smile. It’s not the worst idea. “After Thalia left, I managed to get Sky to sleep for a bit. That’s when Razor tried putting on the charm. Well, for all of five minutes. He kept trying to get me to sleep with him. It was allblow thisandsuck that.It was hard not to puke right in his face.” I grimace.

The floor creaks in the hall outside the living room, giving Archer’s position away. I glance in that direction and he enters with my coffee refill.He slips the mug into my hands and takes a step back to the periphery of the room.

“When I turned Razor down, it was like a switch flipped,” I continue. “He got angry. Then he said that his ex-girl friend is pregnant, and that I needed to get the hell out of his house, so he could move Janet in. We argued all night long, and I tried to reason with him, but he was just acting…insane.” A sigh leaves my lips. “Anyway, that’s about the time that Archer showed up and rescued us.”

My heart skips at the memory of how my handsome neighbor swooped in at exactly the perfect moment.

Archer Brighton is always saving me.

Maybe it’s because of the proximity. Maybe that’s why he always has my back whenever I need him. We do live in a small town, after all. Heck, we live on the same damn street.

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