Page 87 of Ruthless Legacy

He reaches into his blazer pocket and pulls out a clenched fist.

“I have something for you,” he tells me as he walks around to where I’m sitting. He spins the bar stool so that I’m facing him and, holding out his fist, he opens it. “I planned to give it to you to wear at the charity dinner, but you were being particularly difficult that day, so I didn’t.”

I look down into his open palm to find a necklace. Its silver, or possibly white gold, and the pendant is a playing card. I look up into Archer’s unreadable expression and lift it out of his hand to take a closer look. The playing card is the queen of diamonds.

“Archer, it’s beautiful.” I look up at him and smile. “Why are you giving me jewellery?”

He looks at me, conflicted. Like he is warring with a battle inside him. “All the females get a necklace. Theirs is usually a club card. You wear an Ace like Vee.”

“Oh, okay.” What a stupid idiot I am. Thinking that he got this especially for me. I’m just his fuck buddy, nothing more. “Well, it’s cute. Thanks.” I move my hair to the side and undo the clasp.

“Here, I’ll do it,” he says, taking it from me and turning my chair until I have my back to him again. His fingers brush my neck as he places it around me and fiddles with the clasp. I place my hand over the pendant and whisper a thank you. “We should get going,” he announces, clearing his throat and walking away from me towards the front of the house.

I sit there for a beat, running my fingers over the pendant. The revelation hits me like a dagger in the chest. I care about the reason for the necklace, because I have caught feelings for Archer Savage. Something shifted for me last night. “Fuck,” I say to myself, as I come to terms with the fact that someone has managed to knock down the carefully constructed walls around my heart and it scares the ever-loving crap out of me.

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