Page 35 of The Sounds of Her
“Romantic,” he chuckles. He eyes me, the pale brown orbs probing as I stare back.
“What about you? I don’t see you sending flowers to a special girl.”
He laughs. “Yeah, well, you and I are a lot alike. Although if the rest of the world got its way, I’d be walking down the aisle too. I’m sick of people asking me when I’m gonna settle down, find a nice girl, and do the whole wedding thing.”
I’ve heard the chatter and seen the interviews where they ask Archer about his love life. With the rest of the guys in serious, committed relationships, I suppose it would be big news if the last man standing were to fall.
“That has to be a lot of pressure,” I remark.
Archer shrugs. “I’ve never let anyone push me into something I don’t want to do before, why start now? This will take the pressure off. Everyone will clamour to find out about the wedding. It’ll give me some peace for a while.”
“Do you believe that?”
“Don’t shatter my dreams, Brooke.”
“Dreams? What are they?”
“Fuck, this is getting into some heavy shit.”
“I promise I’m not always this miserable. It won’t be a fake smile as I watch Jenna marry the man of her dreams. They are the real deal. They’re lucky.”
We sit in silence for a while, sipping our drinks. It’s getting late and I’m going to have a lot of explaining to do when I catch up with Jen. Although I won’t tell her the truth, it will break her giant romantic heart. And piss her off.
What could be worse for a hopeless romantic than having her best friend forced to marry a man she doesn’t love? For money, and not even money I will benefit from. No matter how much Roman offers to share. I don’t want his dirty money.
“I’m guessing whatever brought you here early is something you don’t want to bother Jenna with.”
My gaze narrows on him, wondering how he sees there is something wrong. I’ve not stopped thinking about what my parents have done. Mom called non-stop, so much so, I blocked her.
She will be pissed, but I don’t care. It’s taken away the stress of dodging her calls.
Again, it hits me like a bomb under my feet. My mother arranged a marriage for me. It’s too stupid to say. But it’s true.
“Just some shit with my mom. Why must people try to force us to conform, Archer?”
“Yeah, especially when most of them don’t have their own shit together.”
“The first to throw stones. Am I right?”
He grins, and we clink our glasses. He’s getting the idea I’m not going to share.
We make small talk, he tells me about the island and what to expect tomorrow. He’s not pushing or probing and when we’re quiet, it’s comfortable. It could be the tequila, but he has a way of putting me at ease.
I get up and walk towards the doors at the back of the villa. I pull the cord to raise the screen so I can see out back. My eyes widen at the pool.
“This place is amazing.”
Archer is silent behind me. I go to take another drink, but the smell of the alcohol makes me nauseous. I set it down on the side table beside me, open the doors and step outside, walking to the edge of the lap pool and down the couple of steps to the water.
Not my wisest choice, given I’ve been drinking. I’m fully clothed so I won’t go any further. Unless I strip off, but that would be way too reckless in front of Archer, even for me.
Out of the corner of my eye, I watch Archer taking a seat on the end of a double sized lounger on the deck. His hands are between his legs, holding his glass.
“What are you doing?” he asks.
“Testing the water.”
“And?”