Page 18 of The Sounds of Her
“I knew what I was getting into. What I didn’t expect was getting pregnant.”
“Must have been tough, especially in college.”
“Yeah, mom and dad tried not to show it, but they were disappointed,” she looks into her glass. “But it never crossed my mind not to have him. Or give up college. I stayed until it was too difficult to get to classes, then switched to online.”
“Good for you.” I clink her glass. “Nothing can keep us down.”
“Amen.”
“So what happened with Adam?” I remind her how this story started.
“He beat the shit out of him.”
My eyes widen as a short laugh bursts out of me. “Adam did?”
“Yep. Senior QB for the college and Adam laid him out. That was after he found out about the baby but told me it wasn’t his, and if it was, he’d either pay for me to get rid of it or buy me off.”
“What a shit stain,” I scowl. “But hey, I’m kinda looking at Adam in a whole new light.”
“Why’s that?”
I turn at the rich voice behind me. A quick shiver runs down my spine as he stares at me. Not only is he rocking the beard, but Archer’s hair is longer too. Even in the dim light, I can make out his hazel eyes, not quite brown, not green, they’re almost whiskey coloured. Mesmerizing.
Shit. He’s off limits, I remind myself. No more rockstars. No more men who aren’t looking for something serious.
“Hey Arch,” Keira smiles. “Hi,” she waves at the other men. “I was telling her about Adam’s show of testosterone when he beat up Jake’s dad.”
“Oh,” he grins. “That. So you’re impressed with that?” he asks me. He pulls out the stuffed stool beside me and takes a seat. Two of the men he came in with also pull up chairs.
“A guy standing up for his sister’s honour? Why wouldn’t I be?” I sip my champagne, looking at him over the top of the glass. He watches me drink it. Fuck, are we flirting?
“Well, he was a dick,” he says. “He deserved it.”
“Violence is never the answer,” Keira interjects.
My eyes are drawn away from Archer’s. Whatever spell I was under, it’s broken. And I remind myself again that I’m not here looking for a man, or to get laid. Although…
“Who are your friends?” I ask.
Archer stares at me for a beat, his gaze intense.
“Sam,” he points to the first man, who also has a short beard. It’s not as sexy on him. “And Tyler,” he points to the second man. “My brothers.”
“Brothers?” Now I see the resemblance. They’re both handsome, not on Archer’s level, but definitely good looking. There is a third guy with them standing behind Tyler. Archer introduces him as Zach, his cousin. He’s the guy Keira is interested in.
She flushes when she draws her eyes away from him. “Where is Daniel?” she asks. “His other brother,” she says to me. “The baby of the family.”
“He’s with his baby,” Tyler says. “Can’t drag his ass out of the house anymore.”
“They have a newborn,” Sam points out.
“Doesn’t stop him going out once in a while.”
“Danny’s never been the partying type,” Archer says. He glances around and waves towards someone at the bar. I try not to see who, not wanting to know if it’s a woman. “Just because you two assholes weren’t the same when your kids were babies.”
That sets off an argument, Sam, and Tyler filling me in on their kids. While they’re talking, a server comes over and leans in close to Archer as he stretches his neck up to whisper something. I don’t acknowledge why that pisses me off. Even when the woman nods with a small smile and walks away. Archer catches me looking and raises a brow. I ignore him.
But I am appeased when the woman comes back with a tray full of beer bottles. She sets it down on the table and smiles at Archer. He winks and thanks her but has no further conversation.