I shake my head.
She waves more insistently. Jacob looks like he wants to crawl into a hole or under a blanket. I’d share a blanket fort with him. Once I’ve forgiven him, which, let’s face it, isn’t going to take long. I’m definitely thinking with my dick rather than my brain.
I put the menu on the table, mess up the pattern I’d made with the confetti, and wander over to Mum, Barry, and Jacob.
“Sweetheart. Let me introduce you to Barry’s son, Jacob.”
What. The. Fuck? He could have given me a heads-up before he freaked out on me.
“Jacob, this is my son, Archer.”
“Hi.” Jacob sticks out his hand.
I stare at it.
“Sweetheart?” Mum touches my shoulder.
I blink and shake myself. “Hi.” I accept Jacob’s hand and squeeze a little too tightly.
He winces but does his best to hide it behind a fake smile.
“I’d love it if you two could spend some time together this evening getting to know each other,” Mum says.
Barry nods in agreement.
“It would be wonderful if you two could be friends.” Mum holds my hand and Jacob’s. “You’re brothers now. We’re one big happy family. Oh, Barry, maybe we should go on one of those holidays for blended families, like in the film we saw on the plane.”
Barry scratches his jaw. “Are those holidays real?”
“Of course they are. I’ll look it up tomorrow.”
I wrest my hand from her eager grip. “I need some air. Excuse me.”
She catches hold of my hand again. “Is everything all right?”
“Yes. I’ll be back in a few.” I kiss her cheek and then walk briskly away from them all without so much as a glance at Jacob.
I leave the reception room and find a back door, which leads to a courtyard with a nice view of the countryside. I perch on a wall. It’s a pleasant evening. The sun will set soon. Will the sunset be pretty here?
“Archer.”
I put my hand over my heart. I refuse to look at Jacob and how hot he is in his suit. His footsteps move closer.
“We need to talk.”
“Did you know?”
“Not until I saw the photo of you and Molly.”
I grip the edge of the wall. “Why didn’t you tell me? Why did you run out, making me thinkI’ddone something wrong?”
“I’m sorry. I freaked out.”
“No shit.”
“They can’t know. No one can know.”
“What? That we slept together?”
