Page 55 of The Archer and his Rosebud

Getting in bed,I can’t stop thinking about Archer moving. I’m not even sure why I’m upset. If I make the choice to return to Michigan I’d be leaving at the same time. But if I stay, Archer won’t be next door anymore. Maybe that’s my reason to go home after all?

My gaze drifts to my bedside table and the bowl of candy Nolan and Eli bagged up for me. Or, maybe our dwindling timetable is the push I need to give a romantic relationship with Archer a chance.

I glance at my phone one last time before hooking it up to my charger and the voicemail notification from Ty glares at me. I don’t have to listen to it to remember what he said. The somber tone of his normally playful frat-boy voice. “Hey, it’s Ty. Can you call me back? We need to talk.”

I hitDELETE.

ChapterEighteen

ARCHER

Something I’ve learnedin the three days since Halloween night: home buying is cutthroat. I called on the house in Leah’s neighborhood and asked about a tour the next day, Willa’s birthday. As luck would have it, the place had just hit the market and was already vacated. According to the listing agent, I had another twenty-four hours to make an offer or lose out. That is how quickly homes move around Burlington these days. I wasn’t taking a chance.

I toured the split level home an hour later with Clementine in tow, because Willa was having a much deserved and needed mommy’s birthday morning with Ruby at a spa. It was perfect. Call me optimistic, but I’d be lying if I didn’t picture Willa and Clem living there as we walked the space. I could imagine an animal-themed nursery in the second bedroom located on the upper level with the owner’s suite. I could picture Willa’s sunshine pillows and worn couch in the lower level bonus space. A place the boys would take over since it’s off the third bedroom they’d share when they slept over. I could even see us converting the unfinished basement space into more rooms for a child of our own—which is getting way ahead of myself, but the dream is there. A family home. A family. The best part, though, the part that sold me from the moment I noticed the house while trick-or-treating, was the proximity to Leah’s. One street between us. Walking distance to my boys every single day. They could cut through yards and eat breakfast at my kitchen island before school each morning. With or without Willa and Clem, the location is key.

Of course, proximity to Leah means seeing Leah. I’ll have to set firm rules, but it will be worth being available to Nolan and Eli. And though Leah gave Willa a bit of attitude the other night, she knows I deserve happiness and wants it for me. Leah will be cool if I find a future with Willa. As hard as it might be to remember the good times some days, with all the drama in our past, Leah and I have too much history—time before we were a couple—to not root for each other.

So, I made an offer on the spot and wrote the owners an email via the listing agent explaining my situation with the boys and how great it would be to live virtually in their backyard. Three days later, and another twenty houses toured, just in case, I received my answer in the middle of walking through a brick ranch with ‘fixer-up potential’ this morning.

Offer accepted.

With my financing pre-approved, as long as the inspection goes well, we can close in plenty of time for me to decorate for Christmas.

I can’t wait to tell Willa. Especially since a crazy thought entered my mind while lying in bed last night. Maybe Clem and Willa could move into the downstairs level as sort of a no rent, renters situation. Money and childcare are Willa’s largest reasons for considering moving back to Michigan. If I present her with her own space and reassure her of my commitment to keeping Clementine while she returns to in-person classes next semester, maybe she’ll decide to stay. We can keep things platonic if that’s what she needs.

Yeah, that’s a lie, Arch.I step off the elevator on our floor. I want to date Willa Hawthorne, not be her friend, but maybe we can do that while living together as roommates? Or maybe I’m absurd. My feet drag as I notice Willa’s front door ajar.

That’s odd.I look behind me as if she’ll appear out of thin air.

“Will?” I call before pushing her door open further. “Hey, your door’s open.” I step inside and freeze next to her modest kitchen table. A cartoon plays on the TV, but they’re nowhere in sight.

“Willa?” I stride into her darkened bedroom, but she’s not there. Returning to the front room, I survey the apartment. Nothing appears out of place, but the diaper bag is leaning against the couch. She wouldn’t leave without it. I can’t remember if I saw her car parked in the lot.Where is she?And then my gaze catches on the small basket of miscellaneous junk she keeps on the edge of the kitchen counter. The contents are strewn across the kitchen floor in front of the stove.

I bolt for my apartment. A few weeks ago, I forced a key on her for if she ever needed anything and I wasn’t home. I can’t jump to conclusions. Maybe she’s there for some reason, waiting for me. When I check the knob, it’s still locked. I jam my key in the deadbolt and burst inside. “Willa?”

My place is dim and quiet.

Leaving my apartment, I dial her number, but the recognizable ring comes from inside her place, and I peek inside again, seeing the phone light up on her countertop. Panic festers. She wouldn’t leave her cell phone, too. I rush for the elevator and mash the down arrow.C’mon, c’mon, c’mon.The doors don’t open fast enough as I slip through them and jab the first-floor button. Legs bouncing, hands pumping in fists at my sides, I can’t stay still for the minute ride to the lobby level. As soon as the doors ding and spread, I tear out the slim space. Barreling for the building’s automatic entrance doors, I stagger to a stop when a familiar squeal carries through the entryway.

I don’t think, I move, marching toward the short hallway off the common area. My steps don’t slow when I find Willa and Clem in the workout room talking with a younger woman dripping sweat as she walks on a treadmill. I steal Clem from her mom’s arms, holding her tight against my chest, my lips pressing to the top of her head, before capturing the back of Willa’s neck and swallowing her gasp as my mouth lands on hers. Only then can I breathe. Inhaling and exhaling through my nose, my lips hold firm, angling, tilting her head because I can’t get close enough. Gravity takes hold of her legs and drags her to the ground, but I keep Willa with me, secure. Her hand molds to the side of my face, finally catching up to me, her tongue peeking out. An uncontrollable hum vibrates in my throat.

Before I lose my head, I withdraw and press a gentle kiss to Willa’s lips, resting my forehead against hers.

“Well. That was…”

“Sorry if that was out of line.” My damp lips rub together. “I’m just so relieved. Your apartment door was left open with all of your stuff still inside, and I couldn’t find you. I started imagining the worst.”

“It’s okay.” Her fingernails graze the scruff of my jawline. “I was going to say, unexpected.”

“So, I think that’s my cue to leave.” The woman I’d wholly ignored stops her treadmill. “And to take a cold shower.”

Unwilling to release Willa, I turn and offer the stranger an apology. “Please don’t leave on my account. I’m sorry for interrupting—”

“Don’t be silly. I was doing my cool down. I’m finished.” Grabbing her phone from the machine, she waves. “Crystal in 2F, by the way. I’ll see you two around.”

When the gym door clicks shut behind Crystal, Willa fists my shirt. “Will you do that again? I wasn’t prepared the first time.”

The edge of my mouth tugs up. “There will be plenty of time for that…and more, but I’d rather not get carried away in our building’s gym with Clem in my arms.”

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