Page 15 of Archer

He let out an adorable little giggle that made me smile. He really was about the cutest thing I’d ever seen. “My ducks are absolutely not in row. Hell, I don’t even know where my ducks are at this point.”

“Well, I’m an excellent duck wrangler. What do you say? Do you want to come up to my place and see if we can get this all finished?”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. Luxe has a fabulous caramel cheesecake. How about if we get a couple pieces to go? I can put on a pot of coffee, and we can knock this out.”

“Okay, if you’re sure you don’t mind.”

“I’m sure. Go grab anything you need from your studio while I order our dessert. I’ll meet you in the lobby.”

I walked over to the counter and waited while Terrance took a young woman’s order. When he was finished, he turned to me. “Can I get you anything else, Archer?”

“Actually, I want two pieces of your cheesecake to go.”

“Two, huh? Is the guy who was with you joining you for dessert?”

“It’s nothing, I’m just doing him a favor.”

“He’s a cutie, though.”

“Mhmm.” I agreed.

“I wouldn’t spend too much timedoing him a favor or you might miss your chance.” He slid two pieces of the cheesecake across the counter to me.

“Yeah, thanks for the advice.” I had no intention of blowing my opportunity, but that was none of his business. I picked up our to-go order and went to meet Crispin.

I found him waiting for me in the old hotel’s lobby with a laptop tucked under his arm. I held up the bag containing our dessert. “Got them.”

“I’ve never seen the inside of one of the apartments. I’ve always wanted to, but ringing the doorbell and handing the food over is the closest I’ve ever come.”

“Hopefully you won’t find my place a disappointment. I put most of my creativity into my photography, so my condo is nothing fancy.”

“At least it’s yours. I’m staying with my brother, so I don’t even have my own place right now.” He ran his hand over the railing as we went up the stairs to my floor. I could hear the awe in his voice, and I got it. This hotel had been a grand place in its day, and this staircase was stunning. “Taking this old hotel and turning it into a living space was so smart, and keeping the original lobby was genius. It gives the place such a cool vibe.”

“It does have a cool vibe, doesn’t it? It was all my friend Hitch’s idea. I love living here.”

We made it up to my place, and I opened the door, letting him walk into my living room. “Oh wow. I don’t know what you’re talking about when you say it isn’t fancy. This place is awesome.”

I looked around at it, trying to see it through his eyes. It was an awesome place. It had an open floor plan with high ceilings and nice big open windows. I was one of the first people to buy one of the condos, and I’d been here long enough that I sometimes forgot just how amazing this place actually was.

“Let me put our coffee on, and we can get started.”

Crispin

“Okay. That sounds good.”

Archer only took a few steps toward the kitchen before he stopped and grinned. “Crispin, you can come all the way in and have a seat. Make yourself comfortable.”

“Okay.” He smiled at me again and made his way into the kitchen while I wandered farther toward the couch. I didn’t know why I was suddenly so nervous, but I suspected it had more to do with the man himself than this project we were working on.

What he wanted for the website itself was pretty cut and dry. There was already a schedule, and I could easily list off what each class was and the benefits. TheAbout Mepage would be a little harder since I wasn’t all that interesting. No, my nerves had everything to do with the tall, handsome man who wasn’t near as brooding as I’d originally thought. In fact, all he’d shown me today was kindness. What the hell was he even doing wasting his time on a hot mess like me? Especially since I didn’t have the funds to pay for any of this.

“Crispin, sit down.”

Startled by the sound of his voice, I dropped down onto the edge of the couch and perched there.

Archer clucked his tongue and shook his head. He placed two mugs of coffee and the bag with the cheesecakes on the middle of the coffee table and took a seat. He patted the couch cushion in the middle, which would put me right next to him. “Scoot over here and relax. I promise I won’t bite.” He winked.