Page 144 of Tangled in Vows

He shrugs. “Who cares? The only thing that matters is that I know who you are.”

“Oh yeah?” I smile. “And who am I?”

“You’re mine.”

Holden pullsme through the kitchen, out the patio doors, and down the path that leads to Archer’s pool house.

The man in question slips out the door before we make it there and slams it closed behind him. He grins at me. “Hey.”

“Hey.” I’m sure I’m red from my chest to the tips of my ears.

He looks back and forth between us. “You guys have fun?”

Holden grumbles. “Fuck off, Arch.”

Archer only laughs. At this point, it’s pretty much his hobby to push Holden’s buttons, especially regarding me.

Holden peers at the pool house and the drawn curtains. “Everything okay in there?”

Archer nods. “Just peachy.”

His phone pings with a notification, and he gets it out of his pocket—something he has done a lot this week. Holden and I have been wondering if it has to do with the woman we caught Archer staring at last week. She left the Fox Hideout with a baby in her arms, and we’ve seen him checking the security footage more often than usual since then. It’s like he’s trying to catch another glimpse of her. I wanted to ask him about it, but Holden said he’ll tell us when he’s ready.

Archer’s lost in thought until a bark snaps him out of it.

I glance toward the pool house. “Is Stormy in there?”

“She is.” He chuckles. “Are we ready?”

Holden turns to me. “You ready for your surprise?”

I blow out a breath, still having no idea what to expect. “I think?”

Archer walks to the door and opens it.

Stormy bolts out of it, as if she’s been locked up for days. Such a drama queen. But she’s not alone. A large black-and-white dog bounds outside after her. It only takes him a split second to realize there are newcomers, and he stops and makes his way toward us. He accepts Holden’s pets before he slowly sniffs my hand.

“Hurricane, this is Hugo. He’s an Akita who needed a home. I thought it was time to expand our family and get someone for Stormy to play with too.”

My eyebrows draw together. “You got me a dog?”

“I did.” He squeezes my hand.

It takes some time for the blurriness to subside and for the dog to fully come back into focus. “Hi, Hugo. Welcome home.”

He’s adorable, with his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth and his unique eyes—one blue and one brown, with black fur circles around them.

I continue to pet him but stare at Holden. “Where did you get him?”

“From the shelter.”

I lean against him. “Thank you. I love him.”

We’ve talked about getting more dogs before, but the timing wasn’t the best with everything going on with my album release. But now that it’s finally done and over with, and I decided not to extend my contract with my label, it’s perfect.

Everyone was shocked when I announced a break from my music. But even though it’s scary, I know it’s the right thing to do. After everything that happened, I deserve a break.Wedeserve a break.

I want to enjoy some downtime with my husband and focus on us without my hectic schedule and my career’s constant stress and pressure. I’m not done with music and never will be, but it was time to hit the brakes and take a hard look at my life and my priorities.

---