“That when you find the one, you want her to have all your babies.”
Trojan clapped Archer on the shoulder.“I could lie and tell you he’s wrong, but I don’t like lying.”
“You know, it’s funny.I want to have allyourbabies too.”Clara asked, resting her head against my arm.“How many are you thinking?”
“However many you want.”I cinched her closer to me, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.“We can have two.Or a brood.You decide.”
“Okay.Listen.You’ve all clearly been infected with baby fever, which means I need to go see my doctor immediately.”Archer handed Mia back to me, sending me a pointed look.
“Oh come on, Brother Nightingale.There’s probably an anti-viral you can take for that,” I told him.
Archer sent me a flat look while he pulled his ringing phone out of his pocket.He angled himself away from me as he answered.“Hello?”
I didn’t pay much attention to him as he took the call, until his face fell and he said sharply, “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”
“I don’t even want to know what’s happening on the other end of that phone,” I told Clara and Trojan.
Clara squeezed my arm.While we’d been hit with plenty of obstacles over the past few months, it seemed the worst was behind us.The Gideon Hotel project had broken ground weeks ago.The Queens land trust was now formed, which gave the community ammunition in the ongoing fight against Cross Developments.Not to mention Clara and Mia were living in the penthouse again.Clara was loving grad school.Things had been fucking great, actually.
But Archer's face went dark as he listened, suggesting that maybe the good streak was up.
“Yeah.Thanks.We’ll touch base soon.”Archer hung up the phone, swinging his defeated gaze our way.
"Sebastian Cross is suing us."Archer shook his head, a scowl forming."For a hundred million dollars.We were just served the papers at the office.It’s a defamation lawsuit.It’s based on the information we submitted to get the Gideon project unstuck.He's claiming we manufactured evidence to damage his reputation."
My stomach dropped."That's bullshit.Every piece of that information is documented and verified."
"I know.But he's filing anyway."Archer shoved his phone back in his pocket.“Which is ironic, because I think he’sheretonight.”
“I say we pay him a visit,” Trojan grumbled, scanning the party.
“Jesus fu—” I stopped myself before I could unleash the full string of expletives that I wanted.I kissed Mia’s head before handing her over to Clara, who watched me with a worried expression.
“This is going to cost us,” I said in a low voice.“Another legal battle.After the one we’ve already got going in Queens.After what we just went through with the city.”
“I know.”Archer raked a hand through his hair.“This—” He glanced at Mia, then seemed to choose different words.“Darn doody head.I can’t stand him.”
“Sebastian Cross needs to walk off a bridge somewhere,” I muttered, glancing around.I’d spotted him very briefly earlier that evening, but now I had no idea where he was.Probably off chuckling to himself with his demon friends while they wiped their asses with gold doubloons.
Archer angled himself in front of me so only he and I were speaking now.“This is bad.”
“I know.We’re hemorrhaging millions, sometimes by the hour.I get it.”I adjusted my tie, preparing myself to deliver the next words in the hopes that it wouldn’t earn me a punch.“If only there were some sort of wild inheritance that could solve all our problems.”
Archer sent me a dark look, his jaw flexing.
But he didn’t tell me to shut up, which felt like progress.
Silence fell between us.Around us, the gala continued—laughter, clinking glasses, people enjoying a beautiful evening where their entire worlds weren’t crumbling beneath their feet.
"It’s time, Arch.”I looked at my brother, my jaw tight."You need to buck up and go find a wife."
Archer stared at me."There’s no one.”
"Figure it out.Get us the money.You're a big boy—go fall in love.We need that inheritance.And you're the only option left."
For the first time, I saw true desperation in Archer’s gaze.His throat bobbed before he said, "She married someone else.”
My heart sank because I knew exactly who he was talking about.“You’re talking about—"
