Lins:You’re really not going to tell them? It’s Thanksgiving.
I rolled my eyes. Of course my Hallmark-movie-loving sister would think Thanksgiving was the perfect time to announce my pregnancy.
Me:I’m not ready yet.
Me:I promise I’ll tell them by Christmas.
Lins:Fine. Then you’re definitely going to need to prep me. I can’t lie.
Me:I know. I’ll teach you.
Lins:Wow, thanks! Next, you can teach me how to pick a lock.
I laughed and texted back before adding the pasta to the now boiling pot.
Me:I’ll add it to the list.
ELEVEN
ARCHER
“Why the hell would you knock?” Harrison asked, opening his front door. Curly blond hair peeked out from beneath the signature baseball cap he always wore, even though he was inside, and his brown eyes stared at me skeptically from behind black-framed glasses. The guy was damn near blind, but he somehow made the glasses look trendy instead of like the necessity they were.
It’d been about three weeks since I cancelled grabbing drinks with Harrison as a result of a certain coffee-haired, hazel-eyed, female powerhouse dropping her life-changing news on me. It wasn’t until my conversation with the chief last week that I realized I’d never filled Harrison in on everything. When I texted him cancelling our plans, he’d been concerned. I could count on one hand the number of times I’d cancelled on him, and everysingle time it was because ofhim, and Harrison knew that. But this time, it had nothing to do with my father, or at least, not directly anyway.
I shrugged and walked past him into his house. “I don’t know. You’ve got a girlfriend now. Seems like the days of walking in unannounced should maybe be over?”
“You want to know what? That’s fair.” He got lost in thought for a minute, closing the door behind us. “Yeah, you know what? Definitely don’t just walk in anymore.”
I shook my head, smirking, as I made my way to his living room.
It was clear a woman had started living here. Harrison had never been a messy guy, but he was . . . a guy. Meaning his go-to color palette for decorating consisted of grays, blacks, and navy blues, which is how his living room had previously been decorated. Now, cream curtains hung in front of the windows—a serious upgrade from the sans-blinds design he had going on before Sophie’s influence. The charcoal gray sectional he’d had before had been replaced by a much lighter gray couch and matching loveseat, both of which were adorned with cream and forest green throw pillows. There was the addition of some photos of the two of them, and a couple of decorative figurines in the bookshelves of the entertainment center, and I had to admit, it looked good. I could’ve done with six or so less pillows considering I had to move some to be able to sit down, but visually, it was nice.
Harrison booted up the Xbox. “You want something to drink? I’ve got beers.”
“Actually, you got any seltzer water?”
“Making me drink alone? I see how it is,” he teased, but didn’t press, and returned with a seltzer in hand.
Collapsing next to me, he passed me the can and knocked a pillow off the couch as he queued the game up. “So, what happened the other week?”
I took a sip before answering. “You remember me telling you about Darcy Adler?” At his blank expression I elaborated. “The girl from The Crooked Quill that night back at the end of the summer?” Still nothing, and I groaned in frustration. “The one I had the bathroom encounter with?”
He nodded, finally remembering. “Ahh yes! That one. What about her?”
“She’s pregnant,” I said, not sure why I felt like a kid telling his parent he screwed up. Harrison would never judge me like that.
He puffed out a deep breath. “Holy shit. And it’s yours?”
I shook my head. “She said it might be, but it’s not.”
“How do you know it’s not?”
Looking down at the can in my hands, I picked at the metal tab. “Itcan’tbe mine.” I kept my voice steady despite the fact that talking about it still put me on the edge of a panic attack.
His face softened with understanding. “I know what you’re saying, Arch, but it still could be.” He lightly tapped me on the arm with the back of his hand to get my attention. “Are you going to take a paternity test?”
I shook my head. “No. I think it’s best if neither one of them is ever linked to me.”
