Page 71 of Beautiful Thing

Nolan smirks. “I’m starving. Let’s go eat.”

With a hard shove, he thrusts me back into the chaos of his house. Pop music is playing loudly now. Inez speaks above the ruckus, telling Layla all about her vision for the renovations.

Stella is setting the table and Sky begins to fuss when she doesn’t allow him to help. Layla scoops the little boy into her arms, dancing around with him as she sets a big bowl of salad in the middle of the table.

She glances toward the doorway and she spots me. Her eyes light up and she gives me the widest, most heart-stopping smile.

In this moment, I know that my brother is right. For a smile like that, risking my heart might just be worth it.

30

LAYLA

Archer had to stay overtime at the hardware store tonight. A delivery truck showed up late, right when I was leaving to pick up Sky from daycare.

I don’t expect him to be home anytime soon because the Brighton siblings are at The North Node tonight. At least that’s what Karli said when we were texting earlier.

Archer may not be here in the flesh. But he’s been running on a loop in my mind. The scent of his skin lingered on the edge of my senses as I prepared dinner. The feel of his fingers gripping my hair played in my mind as I gave Sky his bath. The gravelly rumble in his voice spun like a vinyl record on repeat in my head as I sang to my son and got him dressed in his pajamas.

I’m a possessive man, Belle.

A kiss means something to me.

Once I kiss these lips, you’re mine, Layla.

Holy shit!

I’ve had a crush on Archer for the longest time. But now, I can say that I’m officially obsessed.

Haven’t I learned my lesson? I should be more careful than this. I still vividly remember how much it hurt the night heturned down my kiss. Although I can now see that his reasons were valid, it doesn’t change the fact that the pain I felt was real. This man has the power to cut me deep. I like him enough that he can do some big damage to my heart. I can’t let myself forget that.

Even still, butterflies take flight in my stomach when I finally hear the front door open.He’s home…

Floorboards creak under careful footsteps as he moves through the house. Archer is trying to be quiet so he won’t disturb Sky as I put him to bed. He’s so considerate. It makes me smile. My ears strain, trying to pick up every sound he makes as he moves around on the other side of the wall.

Sky is listening in, too as I lay him in his new crib. “Hewo Mista Musdache…” my little boy mumbles to himself as he drifts off to sleep, his lumberjack teddy bear cuddled to his chest. It’s the most adorable thing.

“I love you, my Sky.” I whisper with a soft laugh as I hover above his crib, watching him sleep for a while. The idea of Archer sleeping in this very same crib as a baby makes my heart squeeze.

Archer…Oh, Archer.

I crawl into my own bed, pulling the blankets up around my shoulders and trying to fall asleep. The bedside clock tells me that it’s 8:43. I know that tomorrow will be a long day at work, dealing with this new inventory delivery we received tonight. But all I can think of is coming up with some excuse to go to Archer right now.

He may be perfectly at ease with the heavy silence that hovers over this house every night when the lights go out. But I’m not.

Tonight, I feel lonely.

We all need human interaction to survive and thrive, don’t we? I need someone to talk to right now. And by ‘someone’,I specifically mean the big, closed-off, somewhat intimidating lumberjack who’s built up a multi-layered wall against me.

Finally, I decide to go check on him. There’s nothing weird about checking to see if he noticed the dinner plate I left in the fridge for him. Innocent enough, right?

Moving stealthily across the bedroom floor, I open the door and step out into the quiet, shadowy hallway. I glance down the hallway and, as always, a sliver of warm light pours from beneath the door to Archer’s study. On my tiptoes, I travel in that direction.

I peek through the crack in the doorway and see Archer slightly reclined in a cozy leather armchair. Hair disheveled. Eyes focused on his puzzle book. Red flannel shirt with the top buttons undone. And glasses—oh my god—Archer is wearing glasses right now.

Gah!

Glasses have never particularly been a turn-on for me. But on Archer? That’s a whole different story. He looks so fucking hot. Professor Grumpy Lumberjack hot.

---