Page 63 of Tangled in Vows

Me: Nothing that I know of. She knows Felix is dead. But she seemed fine this morning. Heather was here earlier. Once she left, Olivia seemed shaken and went straight into her room.

My phone rings.

“You told her about Felix?” Archer whistles in my ear.

“Yup.”

“Wow. How did she take it?”

I close my eyes. “She was obviously shocked.”

“I bet she was. You didn’t tell her about your involvement though?”

He whispersinvolvementas if Olivia could hear him through the phone.

“No, Archer. I didn’t tell her about myinvolvement.”

“Well, there’s always tomorrow, I guess.”

I raise a brow, although I know he can’t see me. “Why are you so eager for me to tell her?”

The line goes quiet, so I pull my phone away to check the call is still connected. “Arch?”

He exhales loudly. “Because I like her, and I’m tired of this standing between you two.”

This is the first time he’s mentioned anything like this. “Why?”

“First of all, I think she deserves the truth. And I also think you should figure out your shit together. You both seem a bit lost.”

This time, I stay quiet, so he adds, “Maybe you should take the leap and see what’s waiting for you on the other side. You might be surprised by what you find.”

For a second, it’s hard to breathe. Damn Archer. He’s ninety-eight percent fun and games and two percent insightful and caring friend. I’m unsure which part I needed more today, but that wasn’t my choice anyway.

His words repeat in my head.

Take the leap. Take the leap.Take the leap.

“I . . .” Images of Olivia calling me terrible names and regarding me with utter disgust and fear in her eyes flit through my mind.

I don’t know if I can do this.

What if she kicks me out of her life and something horrible happens to her because of that?

I’d never forgive myself for that.

I clear my throat. “I’ll think about it.”

“Fair enough.” Archer sighs. “I’ll be gone for a bit later, but hopefully, I’ll catch you whenever you get here.”

“Thanks, Arch.” I’m not sure what I’m thanking him for. His help, his advice, giving me a call? It doesn’t matter.

While Phoenix and I bonded in prison, Archer and I bonded as teenagers. Both of us wild and hungry for life. Both a bit violent and lost.

“Anytime, man. And keep me updated. If anything seems weird or out of the ordinary, let me know. At this point, we shouldn’t rule out a single thing or person, no matter how strange they seem.”

“Got it.”

We hang up, and I stare at my phone before I heave a deep breath and head toward Olivia’s room.

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