“They’ve broken up.”
They both look at me, shocked. “What?” Cullen asks.
“On Valentine’s Day,” I reveal. “Jude told her he didn’t want kids, and that if she wants them she’s going to have to find someone else to have them with.”
“Ohhh…” Isla sighs. “I saw her just before they must have had that conversation. It was when you were doing your speech,” she says to me.
“Yeah, that would have been about right. I talked to Jude just after it. He was on the way to being drunk. He said he couldn’t be what she wanted, and that he was done, and it was over. I tried to convince him to stay and go and make it up with her, but he called his brother and asked him to come and pick him up.”
Isla presses her fingers to her mouth. “Oh no… why didn’t she call me? Did she go home?”
I don’t say anything, tongue-tied as my brain refuses to come up with an answer. They both stare at me, and Isla’s eyebrows slowly rise.
“Archer…” She draws my name out. “What happened?”
“I texted her, that’s all, because I was worried about her. She eventually admitted she was in The Driftwood, so I walked down there to make sure she was okay.”
“And was she?” Cullen asked.
“Yeah. She was upset, of course, and tipsy.”
The two of them exchange glances.
“What happened then?” Isla asks.
“Nothing.”
Cullen’s eyes gleam. “Did she go home?”
I sigh. “No, she didn’t want to see Jude again. I said I’d call you,” I nod to Isla, “or Kim, but she didn’t want that either. She asked if she could sleep on my sofa.”
“So… you took her home?” Her eyebrows rise.
I give her a wry look. “Yeah.”
The three of us exchange glances. They both start smiling.
I point a finger at them. “Stop it.”
“Did she sleep on the sofa?” Isla asks.
“No…”
“Did you?” Cullen asks.
I groan at that and slide down in my chair, tipping my head back and closing my eyes. “Nope.”
“Archer!” Isla squeals.
I blow out a long breath.
“Oh my God. Come on, you’ve got to tell us everything.”
I open my eyes and lift my head. “I really don’t.”
“Well, not everything, but at least what happened the next morning! Are you and she an item?”
I sit up and lean forward, my elbows on my knees, dangling my coffee cup between my fingers. “No. Honestly, I’m not sure what happens next. I’m not even sure she and Jude are over completely. So you’ve got to keep this to yourselves, okay?”
