He gives a disbelieving hum before moving his attention back to me. “Would you like us to host movie night, love?”
A blush steals over my face. He’s so… so…
Archie.
“I’d love that,” I answer. “Do we have a bed we can put in there for Pesky?”
His eyes crinkle. “Dearest, you bought twenty different beds. I’m sure we can spare one for the theater room.”
“Your house has a lot of rooms,” I defend. “So many that I also did not know there was a theater room.”
“I’ll give you a tour ofourhouse,” he promises. “When everyone is gone.”
“I’ll bring my notepad,” I decide. “So I can write down how many beds we actually need. We can donate the excess to Pesky’s shelter.”
Brown eyes shine soft on me. “That sounds perfect,” he replies. “Stryker and Baz should be back in… oh, twenty? Maybe thirty. If you ladies—and Heidi—could stay out here while I tidy up a little, we can commence movie night when they return.”
“Will you stop that?” Heidi snaps.
He spares her a glance. “No.”
Millie snorts.
“Do you need any help cleaning?” I ask.
“Not from you, my dear. A princess may partake in the fun, but the nasty work of clean up falls on her servant alone.” He winks. “You may, however, blow me a kiss, that I might hold it close to my heart and remember you through my perilous task.”
I giggle, then toss a kiss through the air to him. He tilts his face, catching it on his cheek before disappearing into the house with a promise to let us know when we can enter.
“You know, even when he’s been sweet or kind, he’s never been likethat,” Heidi says, staring thoughtfully at the door. “I can’t pinpoint what it is exactly. He’s always been playful and clever and surprisingly kind, but he’s never been…” She trails off, turning to Millie. “What is it, Mill?”
“He’s never really beenopen,” Millie says. “His kindness is hidden behind mischief, and his cleverness is often marked by an ambiguity that makes it nearly impossible to tell if he’s using his powers for good or for evil—and he’ll never tell you which. He lives in his mystery, actively and happily causing as much chaos and confusion as he can as he flits from scheme to scheme.” She looks at me. “With you he’s just… Archie. He’s not trying to hide anything or make you wonder, and because of that, we’re getting to see parts of him that we’ve only ever had in glimpses before.”
Heidi hums an agreement. “It’s fascinating to see him interact with someone that he wants to know him through and through.”
My heart aches, just a little, remembering Archie’s words about how we love differently—about how we can’t expect the same type of love we hand out to be returned. The other people in our lives can’t evenseewhat we need, let alone act on it.
I frown.
“I think,” I start slowly, cautiously, eyes flitting between them, “that all he needed was someone willing towantto know him like that.”
They exchange incredulous looks. “You think we don’t want to know Archie? Our friend—our family?”
I shake my head, lifting my hands in a placating gesture. “Want is probably not the right word. Not strong enough.” I sigh. “Yearn is more appropriate, I think. To desire to know him so desperately that you’d do anything for it—for him. That you’d get in the car with a man who maybe-sort-of-kind-of looks like him on the off chance that you’ll end up on his doorstep, face-to-face with him. That you’d hear ‘kidnapping’ and think ‘Archie’s delivery service’ and ask not a single question more. He’s a person who wants to be wanted like we all do, but surely you can see that he doesn’tfeelthe same way that most people feel. His emotions are heightened, which means so are his disappointments. He loves you all, but—and this isn’t a judgment on you at all—but you can’t love him back with the same sort of intensity. Even if you want to. Even if you try. Most people just aren’t wired with that sort of emotional bigness.”
“But you are,” Millie says, tilting her head.
I grimace. “I’m sorry. I’m not meaning… I don’t want to come off the wrong way. I don’t mean that I think I’m some super special better-at-loving-than-you-are person. This isn’t some sort of self-righteous thing. I just… I feel how Archie feels—big. When I like something, it’s all-consuming. And then when I love something? It’s air. Breath. The beating of my heart. There is no casual for people like us, and that can make it hard to showyourself to the people you love—especially if you know that they can’t return your love in the way that you wish they would. We hold ourselves back to protect ourselves from the hurt of not getting back what we give out, no matter how much we understand that peoplecan’tgive it back.”
“I don’t get it,” Heidi replies. “We love him. He’s our family. Heknowsthat.”
My fingers twist, and Pesky comes to nose at them until I let her take their place in my lap. “He does know that,” I confirm. “But for him it’s… you’re not just family. You’re hissisters. It’s the difference between a cousin and a twin, you know. One is family, and you love them, but the other isfamily, and youlovethem.”
Millie’s head turns toward the house, eyes glassy as she gazes at the back door. “Oh,” she says.
Heidi frowns. “You’re saying we don’t love him enough.”
My fingers dig into Pesky’s patchy fur. “I’m saying youcan’tlove him enough, but it’s plain to see that he gets it, and he loves you in his way regardless.”
