Page 33 of Archer
I giggled. “Bram told on me?”
“He did, but only because he’s as concerned as me. Hitch is, too. We all see how much you’re working, which means you need to fuel your body.”
“I know. Hell, I’m a yoga instructor. I’d be all over one of my students if they told me that they’re eating as abysmally as I do.” Since I’d started working for Aziza, I’d discovered it was much harder to practice what I preached.
Archer hummed. “We’ll start there then. I don’t even mind if you have a scone, but I’d like you to get some protein in you, too. As far as lunch goes, you can decide when to eat as long as it’s by two PM.”
“Okay, Daddy. I’ll try.” That wouldn’t be too hard to do, as long as I remembered. I had a long stretch in the afternoons where I generally washed blankets and the slipcovers for the pillows and recharged the energy in the studio. I’d have to incorporate making time for lunch into that.
“No, I need you to do better than that. If you don’t have time to pack your lunch, run out and get something. Or shoot me a text, and I’ll run over to Luxe or the bar and grab you a to-go order. I don’t want you to worry about spending money you don’t have, but I do want you to eat.”
It felt gross knowing that he knew I didn’t have enough money to be casually eating out every day. It was stuff like this that made me wonder if my father was right. I’d had a fairly decent job, so the fact I was hurting for money was embarrassing. But I’d been so miserable.
“Hey, sweet boy,” Archer said in a soft voice.
I tilted my head up to look at him. “Yeah?”
“There’s no shame in struggling financially while building a business. I don’t know too many people who haven’t. But as your Daddy, it’s important to me—as well as being my job—to make sure that you’re getting proper nutrition. I consider feeding you a privilege for me, so don’t you worry about that. Are you drinking enough water during the day?”
I smiled with relief. “I have that one covered, Daddy. I drinksomuchwater throughout the day. I also have a couple cups of hot tea.”
“Good. How about sleep? Are you getting enough rest at night, or are you going home and staying up until all hours?”
Score. He’d be happy with my answer to this one, as well. “No, except talking to my brother, I’m so tired by the time I get home, I fall right to sleep. Well, until recently.” I batted my eyelashes at him playfully. “Since we started hanging out, it takes me a while for my brain to shut down since all I want to do is think about you.”
Archer’s expression turned smug.
“Oh, brother.” I rolled my eyes. “Don’t let it go to your head or anything.”
He snorted. “Then don’t go saying such pretty things to me,” he teased.
I burrowed in closer. My only fear of this working out was that he’d lose patience with my determination to buy the studio. Before I celebrated him being my Daddy, I needed to know what he expected of me in regard to working. “Should we talk about my job situation?” I asked in a small voice.
He tightened his arm around me, then took pity on me. “We’ll save the talk about Harmony and Joy for another day. I’ll sit down and help you come up with a game plan. Sound good?” I nodded into his chest. “Good. But we do need to talk about your side hustle.”
“What?” I asked, confused. Then it hit me. “You meanDoorDash?”
He kissed the top of my head, and my heart fluttered, even though I knew he was about to say something I’d hate. “Sweet boy, I’m going to put my foot down on that one. No more food deliveries. I know it makes you extra money, but it’s dangerous. You never know who you’re going to encounter.”
I’d told him some of my funniest stories on our picnic date about my time with food delivery, but he wasn’t wrong. I’d also ended up in some sketchy situations and had to deal with some not-so-nice people. For the most part, the good outweighed the bad, but it wasn’t like this was my favorite thing I’d ever done. I’d have to think of a way to replace that income, but I’d worry about thattomorrow. For now, I had a Daddy of my very own, and I wanted to enjoy him.
Turning, I swung a leg over him and straddled his lap. “Done. No moreDoorDash.” I leaned in, and right before my lips touched his, I whispered, “So can we seal our newly committed relationship in a Biblical way now?”
Chapter 14
Archer
“Somebody’s in a hurry.”
“I’ve been waiting forever, Daddy.”
“Oh really? And just how long have you been waiting?”
“Since the first time I saw you in the building. You looked all intense and grumpy. And oh so sexy.”
“Well, that does sound like a long time, sweet boy. Maybe we need to take care of that.” I cupped his face with my hands and looked into his eyes. I lowered my gaze to his mouth, and he darted out his tongue, running it along his lips. “Oh, sweet boy,you’re killing me.” I wrapped my fingers in his hair and brought his lips to mine. He opened for me with no hesitation.
He pressed his body tight against mine as he returned my kiss, but like Crispin, I’d been waiting for this for what felt like forever. I wanted more. I grabbed the bottom of his shirt and pulled it up over his head.