Page 50 of The Archer and his Rosebud

I flip the drink menu over and over, settling my nerves. “So, I think I’m ready for that beer.”

“Oh, yeah, you should have one. I can drive back if necessary.” Rubbing her pink lips, she shifts, looking out at the people walking by on the street. “I’ll be twenty-one in three days. Legally able to drink.”

I huff a laugh and dip my head for her attention. “Willa?” Her wide innocent gaze lands on me. “I’m ready forthatbeer.”

“That… Oh,thatbeer.” She straightens. “Okay, sure.”

“But first, why are you so glum about such a big birthday?”

She sighs. “There was a time when I couldn’t wait, like twenty-one was the final confirmation of adulthood, and being able to toast, legally, with champagne seemed like a big deal.” She chuckles. “It’s nothing but another birthday now. I think I grew up the day I found out about Clem.”

“I know that feeling well. We definitely don’t need numbers on a cake to tell us if we’re an adult. You’re eight years younger than Leah and probably five years more mature.”

“Only five?” Willa tilts her head.

“That’s now. When she was your age she was more like a child,” I deadpan. Though, I’m not really lying.

Pressing her fingertips to her lips, Willa’s eyes sparkle with laughter. “I’m sorry. It’s not funny.”

I reach across the table and hook her pinky with mine. “No, some of it is. Most of it isn’t, but…” I release an exhale. “I want to lay my past all out for you. I want you to know me, so you’ll know I didn’t ask to take you out to get you into my bed at the end of the night. This means something to me.”

Willa’s coffee eyes pop for a fraction of a second before she composes herself, and nods. Maybe I stunned her with the getting her into bed comment. Not that I don’t want to do that—not tonight though—but I want her to separate me from the lousy men in her life. I won’t treat her the way they have.

“Leah did a number on me. When she got pregnant with Nolan, it was a shock of course, but I never wavered. I loved her. I’d loved her for years, and I was in it for the long haul. My biggest fear was supporting her and our unborn child, and I couldn’t figure out how to do that and go to school, too. I took the job on the rig because I’d grown up around those guys. My dad is a rig supervisor. He’d worked his way through the ranks and made great money, and I had a happy childhood. I thought it was a smart decision.

“Leah led me to believe it was good. She was happy. Until she got pregnant with Eli and realized the baby might not be mine.”

Willa sits in silence as I work out how to explain the mess that was the end of Leah and me. Before I get far, the server stops by our table and takes our order, which is probably for the best. There’s a lot to unpack.

Once alone, I say, “With Nolan, I was scared to death of what was to come. With Eli, I was ecstatic. My sister Paige and her husband had a one year old. I loved being a dad. I was close to finishing my degree. It was one of those times in life where everything was going right. Then when she was about seven months along, I got the call from her while I was on the rig that she didn’t know if he was mine.” I take a moment to tilt back a swig of my drink. “That call took the breath from my lungs. Especially when she said she was leaving me forhim. The man she’d been having an affair with on and off for over a year.”

Willa breathes out, “Archer…”

“I was stunned. I convinced her not to move out of our house. I didn’t know anything about the guy. I didn’t want Nolan around the man who broke up my marriage. I stayed with my parents or sister when I was home. Leah refused to be around me, so we used Paige as the go between for months.”

“I can’t even imagine, and the fact that she wouldn’t see you? Archer, that’s…” She loses words, shaking her head.

“I’ve never known pain like that. Falling in love with the idea of Eli, anticipating the changes for our family, only to learn he might not be mine. Then to find out he was after she gave birth, just to lose the future I’d planned with Leah since we were kids.”

Scrubbing my face, I falter, searching for composure, the right words for my past.

“You don’t have to tell me this.”

“But I feel like I should.” I open my mouth to say more, but Willa reaches across the table, curling her hand around mine clutching a napkin.

“There’s a lot of personal history here, and you don’t owe me anything. You know that, right? I trust you. If that’s what this is about. And I like you, Archer. Like really,reallylike you. You’re a loyal, dependable guy. We’ve had real crap partners, but I know you’d never do anything to intentionally hurt me. I’m just trying to figure out what my future looks like with Clem, where we go from here.”

I stare into her earnest, pure eyes, putting so much faith in me, and drop my gaze. “That’s not completely why I’m telling you this.” I flip my palm up to lace my fingers with Willa’s dainty ones and swallow. “I want you to understand me when I say it took me a while to come to terms with Leah’s betrayal. I’ve been living for my weekends. All I did was work, sleep, and bide my time for the days I had my boys. Then, this crazy girl came banging on my door, accusing me of making too much noise, and suddenly I wasn’t willing my days away.”

She tucks her bottom lip between her teeth.

“You two have given me a reason to stop working and enjoy what life has to offer. You made me unafraid of starting again. And I’m aware we’re at different stages in our lives, and things could get messy. I’m aware that life with Clem is unpredictable, and you’re trying to find your rhythm as a single mom in college. We can continue doing what we’re doing. Our friendship is important to me—more important than any other I’ve had in a long time—but I’m not sure I can stop what I’m feeling. I’m not sure I can keep my hands to myself anymore.”

Her teeth release her lip, her mouth dropping open a fraction.

“So, I guess what I want to know is, would you want to try with me?”

Willa tugs her hands from mine, folding them in her lap. I can’t see if she’s nervously twisting them or wiping her sweaty palms the way I am now that I’ve asked a question I can’t take back. This woman has me in knots.

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