“Not one for gossip, my Max,” said Susan, taking a sip of tea. Max’s departure was enough to break Chloe from her reverie and she sighed. She could continue to wolf down biscuits and wallow in her thoughts—most of them unpleasant—or she could talk it out with Susan, who’d already proven to be a wise and willing confidant.
“Well, you see …” Chloe brushed some biscuit crumbs from the corner of her mouth and licked her lips. “Archer and I … well, we’ve fallen in love.” Susan’s head dropped to the side and one hand pressed to her chest. It was a gesture Chloe had seen Lucy make dozens of times—her coping mechanism when she was on the verge of an anxiety attack—but Susan seemed anything but anxious. On the contrary, she appeared to be quite taken by the romance of it all.
It was just the impetus Chloe needed to get out of her head and without going into too much detail, she explained what had transpired over the past few days, concluding with, “And now I’m of two minds. When it’s just me and Archer, it’s lovely and perfect, but to everyone else, he’s ‘Archer Tate’. Well, not to you, or the other people in the village. You know who he really is. I suppose, in a weird way, the man I love is Alan.” She stared down at the dregs of her now-cold tea, then leant forward to place the mug on the coffee table.
She looked up at Susan who was watching her intently. “But after today … how do I make a life with him? How’s that even going to work?”
Susan was about to answer her when there was a knock at the front door. “I expect that will be Alan, love. Shall I see him in? I can make myself scarce.”
“Thank you, yes,” Chloe replied quietly. She burrowed further under the blanket while she strained to hear the brief exchange in the entry. A moment later, Archer appeared in the doorway, his face stern.
As soon as she saw him, Chloe’s heart swelled and her breath caught in her throat. One mind. She was of one mind and no matter what, all she wanted was to be with him.
If that was what he wanted, that is. His expression was impossible to read. Was he still steaming about Madison, or …
“May I come in?” he asked. Chloe’s stomach lurched at the formality of the question. He’d come to end things with her, she just knew it. Oh god. Was it only that morning that she’d been riding high, spouting all about love to her best friends?
She felt the bile rising again, then cleared her throat, sat up tall, and flicked the blanket aside. If he was breaking up with her, she didn’t want to be wrapped up in a pale pink blankie. She lifted her chin, game face on. “Uh, sure, yes. Have a seat.” She indicated Susan’s chair, but before she could comprehend what was happening, Archer was on the couch beside her.
“So …” he began cryptically, his face softening slightly. Chloe had no idea what to read into that either. They hadn’t been together long enough for her to know his repertoire of tells.
“So,” she mirrored tentatively.
“I’ve read George’s press release. It’s good—succinct, clear, and far more respectful towards Madison that I would have been. He has refuted the accusations outright, and …” Archer took a deep breath. “If you agree, then the final sentence will state that you and I are in a committed relationship.”
If I agree?
He looked at her, his eyes full of hope, and swallowed as though he was nervous. So, he wasn’t there to end things. “Oh,” gasped Chloe, tears springing to her eyes. A raspy, shuddering breath took hold and she placed a hand to her chest, just like Lucy would.
“Chloe?” Archer was studying her, his eyes still hopeful. “Are you all right?” She nodded, grinning through her tears that spilled onto her cheeks. “What’s … I’m not sure I follow?” He shook his head slightly, as though confused.
Chloe caught her breath. “It’s just … the expression on your face when you arrived … I … I thought you wanted to end things.”
“What? Why?”
“But you don’t …”
“No, no of course not. But I was worried that you … that given some time to think things through, this would all be too much for you, that you wouldn’t want me. That’s why … I was terrified coming here.” He looked down at his hands that were wringing in his lap.
“Hey.” Chloe placed her small hands over his to still them. “Archer, look at me.” He looked up, his eyes now a stormy steel blue, and Chloe touched her palm to his cheek. His eyes closed for a second, then he took her hand in both of his and pressed it to his lips.
Their eyes met again. “We’re both quite stupid, aren’t we?” she asked.
He grinned, then shook his head as another look of confusion passed across his face. “Wait, how so?”
“Well, we’ve told each other, ‘I love you’ and here we are, one day in, experiencing a minor blip, and we’re already doubting how the other feels. Like I said, stupid.”
He sniggered softly and nodded in acquiescence. “It is rather, though I am not quite sure I’d call this a minor blip.” They exchanged wry smiles. “Are you sure?” he asked softly, suddenly serious again.
“About you, yes?”
“I mean … about, well, everything else.”
“To be honest, I’d been going back and forth since we got the call from George.” He nodded and dropped his eyes. “But then as soon as I saw you, just now, I knew. I love you, and if that means there are blips from time to time, then … well, then we face them together. Okay?”
He looked up. “God, you’re just …” He stopped his own thought by leaning in and kissing her hard on the mouth. When he pulled back, he
