“I don’t have my backpack,” I murmured before we even made it halfway down the hall. We were heading for the door to the garage and not the front door.
“It’s already in my car,” Archie promised. “See you later, Jeremy.”
“Have a good day, Mr. Archie and Miss Frankie.”
I waved at him, then we were in the garage. My car was parked in there, right next to Archie’s Ferrari. It looked more than a little out of place next to the luxury vehicles and sports cars.
“I want to offer to drive you,” Archie said and held up his hand before I could respond. “But you probably want to drive yourself. So I’ll just bring your backpack and still grab the coffee. Sound good?”
I could have wept. “Yes, it does. Do you want me to follow you to coffee?”
“I’d rather you ride with me,” he said with a wry grin. “But that’s not what you want or need right now. So, take your time, jam to music, give yourself a break and I’ll see you at school.” Then he kissed me, a light, swift brushing of the lips to my cheek before he strolled over to open the driver’s side door of my car for me. “Let’s get out of here before Edward comes out to leave for the office.”
That got me moving.
Unsurprisingly, the guysandRachel were all in their vehicles or, in Bubba’s case, on his motorcycle, when the doors opened. I got swift waves and thumbs up and they were pulling out.
Yes, I had absolutely needed to drive my own car, I needed to be in control of something. I also had work after school, and suddenly, my exhaustion took on another dimension. No way in hell would I quit, though. I’d rather be tired for the rest of the school year than quit.
At school, the parking lot was a hum of activity as people arrived, parked. The bus lane was busy. The gossip was flying as phones were in hand and the stares and whispers followed me as I walked from my car to where Archie parked his. The others had all gone by their own houses before coming to school so they’d be a few minutes.
Archie passed me a cup without a word before he handed me my backpack. I wrapped my fingers around it, grounding myself. I needed this way more than I realized.
“There’s something I need to know,” I said quietly.
He met my gaze immediately. Serious. Present. “Hit me.”
“Are we siblings?” I hated that question. I hated even more that I had to ask it.
His jaw tightened. Archie had made it clear he didn’t believe it for an instant and I respected the science he’d used to back his argument. But Maddy and Eddie were racing forward and I needed to know with absolute certainty.
“I need to know,” I whispered.
Blowing out a breath, he nodded once. Then he leaned in, kissed me—slow and intense and certain—until everything fell away. The parking lot. The cars arriving. The other students. Everything. When he pulled back, his forehead rested against mine.
“I will take care of it,” he said. “I promise.”
My breath hitched.
Then—
Someone cleared their throat behind us.
I turned.
Mathieu stood there, eyes fixed on us.
The world tilted again.
Chapter
Twenty-Three
FRANKIE
Ifelt it instantly—the way Archie’s body went rigid beside me, the way his shoulders squared like a shield snapping into place.
“I’ll handle this,” Archie said, low. Protective. Absolute.
