Page 26 of Beautiful Thing

Jasper chuckles as he gathers up his tools and drops them in his toolbox. “Um, Emma and I are considering some renovations on our, uh, back deck. And Archer has the best prices on light fixtures around. I drove up here to check them out today.”

Why does that sound like a well-practiced lie? Did Archer tell him to say that?

“Still doesn’t explain why there are new tires on my car,” I say, my eyes finding Archer’s. “How much did all this cost?”

The man won’t even look at me.

“Archer…” I hiss his name and Karli snorts.

Glad to see she thinks this is funny.

Meanwhile, I’m trying to remember the name of that website where you can sell your used underwear to make some quick cash. Because that’s my only hope at this point.

He shrugs. “Um, Jasper owed me a favor. I cashed it in.” Clearly another lie.

Wow—the two of them can’t even keep their story straight. Frustrating men!

Archer snatches up two of my old tires, one in each arm. And that’s the end of the conversation as he heads off toward the storage shed with my old tires.

I glance at Jasper. “Any chance you’re going to tell me how much this cost?”

He smirks, tossing his toolbox into the back and getting behind the wheel of his car. “Not a chance.”

I growl.

Jasper snorts a laugh. “In any case, your car is all checked out and safe for the road.”

My shoulders heave on a sigh. Despite my annoyance, I am so grateful. “Thank you.”

Karli waves after Jasper. “Give Grammy a kiss for me! Mason and I will visit soon.”

I seethe as we watch Jasper roll out of the driveway. “Can you believe your brother? I can’t believe him!”

“Yeah. Bad, bad Archer,” Karli says, only pretending to take my side. “Making sure your car is safe and you don’t skid off the road into a ditch. Such a bad man.”

Grrr! Karli is pretty frustrating, too!

She gives Sky a kiss goodbye. She grins at me as she slips back behind the wheel of her SUV.

“Go get that lettuce watered, bitch.” She smirks, and then she’s backing down the driveway.

10

ARCHER

Today’s been a slow day here at Hammers and Hardware. On the bright side, it’s given me time to tackle my unending to-do list.

I’ve spent most of the afternoon up on a ladder, finally taking down the Christmas ornaments and replacing blown light bulbs. My employees have kept themselves busy with dusting and organizing and arranging the merchandise around the store.

Between ringing up the occasional customer, Layla’s been restocking the candies and candles on display at the front. And I’ve been trying my best to keep from getting a boner every time my eyes land on her.

She sings along with the radio, wiggling her shoulders and subtly shaking her hips. I can tell that she’s holding back the ‘big moves’ but even still, she’s sexy as hell. My head travels back to the night of my birthday party when she was dancing withme.

As fucked up as it sounds, I’d give my left foot for a legitimate reason to hold her in my arms like that again.

I stop my thoughts in their tracks.

I promised myself that I’d stop letting my mind wander away when it comes to Layla. She’s a friend, and after what she’s been through recently, I’m just glad she’s in a good place right now.

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