Page 17 of Archer
His eyes twinkled. “Oh, I really do.”
Chapter 8
Archer
Crispin was absolutely adorable, and contrary to what he seemed to believe, he was one of the most interesting men I’d met. The whole point of him coming up to my place was to work on his webpage, but all I’d done was listen while he told me all about his life.
He was so passionate about helping others that, I swear, if money wasn’t necessary, he’d make every single thing at Harmony and Joy free. To my way of thinking, the fact that we had the same middle name was more of a coincidence than something we had in common, because there were much bigger things we shared. Things like passion for our work and a willingness to put in the time and effort to succeed.
However, if he was going to succeed, I needed to stop focusing on his beautiful blue eyes and get his webpage done. That was why I closed the laptop and shoved it in my satchel instead of leaving it here in my living room.
“I’ll take this down with us, and we can work on your site while we eat.”
I thought I saw a flicker of disappointment before he nodded. “Yeah, I guess I did waste our whole afternoon prattling on and on about how much I loved sound healing and how important it is to balance your chakras and stretch your body.”
“Crispin, you didn’t waste our time. I loved hearing about the passion you feel for what you do and for the people who come to your classes.”
He let out a small, nervous chuckle. “I really do love it.”
“I could tell. Now let’s go get some food.”
We made our way down the massive staircase to the ground floor. I grinned as I watched Crispin looking out over the lobby area from the stairs. I remembered when I first moved here and how impressive I found the place, but just like with my home, over time, I’d gotten used to it and it became normal.
“It’s pretty amazing, isn’t it?” I asked.
“It is. I’ve really only gone upstairs when I’m dashing so it made more sense to hit the small stairway near the doors or if I was headed up more than a few floors to take the elevator, but this is just amazing. It takes you back in time, you know? Like I can picture us all dressed up in fancy clothes headed down the ballroom for a party.”
“I’m so used to the old ballroom being the gym, sometimes I forget that they used to have amazing parties here.”
“They did. The Windsor was the fanciest place in town. It was where anyone who was anyone stayed. I read all about it when I first came to work for Aziza. The history of a place contributes to its energy, so it’s important.”
“Well, you’ll have to tell me all about what you read.” And I meant that. I didn’t know anything about a building’s energy or anything, but what I did know was I loved listening to Crispin talk about things he was excited about. While I did know a lot about the history of the Windsor—you couldn’t be friends with Hitch and not know—I would love to hear his unique perspective on it.
“Oh, well, I only know a little. I’m sure Hitch could tell you all about it. I can tell from the way he decorated that he took some time to learn its history.”
I could tell Crispin knew plenty, and if he were my boy, we’d have a nice long talk about not downplaying how smart he was. But for now at least, it wasn’t my place to tell him what to do.
“I’m sure he could. You know, I bet you two would get along great.” Hitch had mentioned that he’d met Crispin, but I was surprised he hadn’t said more than that, considering how much Hitch loved this place, and it was obvious Crispin did as well.
“Oh, I don’t really know him. I’ve only talked to him a couple of times and mostly about the studio.” He bit his lower lip and glanced down. “Honestly, he makes me a little nervous.”
“Hitch?” I asked, more than a little shocked. Hitch was a really personable guy, so I couldn’t imagine why he’d make anyone nervous.
“Well, yeah. He’s my landlord, or at least he will be once I buy the Harmony and Joy. He could decide the studio isn’t a good fit anymore, or that he wants to raise my rent, or that I’m not a good businessperson, or… well, or anything that means I have to find a new location. I figure the best thing I can do is to be polite, professional, and keep my distance.”
“Umm, maybe we should go somewhere else for dinner,” I said. I was sure Hitch would be in the bar. He was most nights, and the last thing I wanted to do was make Crispin uncomfortable. Hitch was a great guy, and Crispin didn’t have any reason to be worried about interacting with him, but he didn’t know that, and I didn’t want to push him to do something he didn’t want to do.
He froze and looked at me. “Why? Am I right? Is it best if I avoid him? Do you think he might actually think the yoga studio is bad for the building?”
“What? No, no Crispin, not at all. Hitch hasn’t said anything but good things about the studio. I just didn’t want you to be anxious about eating in the bar since he’s usually there.”
“Yeah, I’ve noticed that you hang out with him there a lot.” He paused and got a slightly panicked look on his face. “Not that I was like, watching you or anything. I don’t mean that. I just meant, you know, like when I walked by the bar, I would see you sitting there sometimes.”
How cute that he worried I might be upset he’d been watching me. At least I hadn’t caught him standing outside my window staring at me while I contorted my body into positions that made him imagine all kinds of things he could do with my body. Nope, that was all me. I mean, seriously, it had been days, and I still couldn’t get that out of my head.
“But anyway,” he continued. “I won’t be anxious if you’re with me.”
I felt my chest puff up with pride at the idea that he’d do something he’d been afraid to do before because my presence made him feel safe.