The doctor finished the conversation and moved on. Brooks brought his phone to his ear, probably updating his wife and their friends. The sight of him, the healthy twin with no heart trouble, hit hard.
Maya knocked gently at the door and popped her head in. “He’s going to pull through. As long as he takes time off, doctor’s orders,” she explained, voice thin but helpful.
“It’ll kill him to stay away from the office,” I muttered.
“It could kill him to go back too soon,” Brier countered.
“Matt and I are headed there now to inform the staff. He’ll pull together a list of the things Archer was working on and assign them to the VPs and management level accordingly.”
“He’s so lucky to have you all handling it.” Given our loaded conversation at the bar last night, I hoped she knew how important she was to the organization now.
“I’ll be in touch.” She nodded, eyes saying more than she allowed her voice to, and slipped out.
I must have said I love you a hundred times in front of her and Matt in Archer’s office, holding his hand while he was barely conscious. I couldn’t help it given the unknown of his situation, HR rules were the last thing on my mind. But if they realized Archer and I were involved in a situation, I could only hope they would use discretion and not tell anyone else.
“I’ll go search for a cup of coffee, sweetie. I’ll be in the waiting room. Take your time.” With one last squeeze of my shoulder, Brier left me.
The room settled into a hush, save for the monitor’s rhythm of each heartbeat, the hiss of an oxygen line, and the hum of machines. Archer had been in and out, had tests done, results pending. The entire day had been harrowing to say the least.
“I love you,” I whispered, helpless sitting here when I would easily trade places with him so he wouldn’t be in pain.
His eyes fluttered open, searching the room, and then focusing on me. Even weak and pale, his stare held me in place. “Hey,” he rasped, voice scraped raw.
“Hey.” Tears welled again. I sniffled. “You scared the hell out of me. Again. You really have to stop doing that.”
“Scared myself.” His smile flickered but faltered under the effort.
I brushed his hair back from his forehead. “Please. Just rest.” But I could see his thoughts clicking into place with the narrowing of his eyes.
“Holden… called.”
My stomach dropped. “Archer, not here. Not now. Let’s wait until you’re better to talk about?—”
“He said… thank you.” His voice rough and clipped, he could only speak in short phrases, breaths coming short. “Warning… about Brianne.”
I pressed my lips together, shaking my head. “That’s why I wanted to meet for lunch today and tell you everything.”
He swallowed, eyes narrowing slightly. “Why didn’t you… right away…”
Shame rose like heat under my skin. “Because I didn’t want to see you break again. Not after what Brianne put you through the first time.”
“Penny.” His voice frayed at the edges, but it carried weight. “Tell me… everything… Now.”
I attempted another push to save this conversation for later, but he wouldn’t hear of it.
Against my better judgement, I took in a deep breath. I started in about my visit with Mom. About the accusations she lobbied—how he’d abandoned Brianne, that he left her to struggle with her pregnancy. And with Brier—she showed me the paternity test, proving Brianne had lied to him. How Archerhad been wronged all along. Not that I doubted his or Brier’s stories for a minute.
Relieved to release it all, I didn’t leave out a single detail. I told him about the shock of seeing Brianne at Mom’s house. And then being even more surprised at Holden showing up to date her.
By the time I finished, tears blurred everything, rolling freely down my cheeks. “You were happy with me, Arch. I could tell. You were putting the past behind you. I didn’t want to ruin that. I couldn’t stand it if Brianne’s drama hurt you again.”
He lay still, eyes closed, the monitor beeping evenly. I thought maybe he’d fallen asleep again.
“It would’ve hurt, Penny… but I deserved… the truth.”
“I was trying to protect you.”
His gaze met mine, the hurt there cutting sharper than a raised voice. “I don’t need protecting… I need honesty. Because if I can’t trust the woman I’m falling for…” He broke off, breath hitching. “Then it doesn’t matter what you were trying to save me from.”
