Archer's mother looked at me haughtily. "Since you're someone who is trying to scam my son out of his money, I suppose I shouldn't expect you to be pleasant and friendly."
I sputtered, "I'm not trying to scam him!"
"Of course you are. I know girls like you. You're after his money."
"No, I'm not. You're going to have to leave," I told her. "I have another meeting."
* * *
I triedto calm down as I biked over to the art walk on the Svensson PharmaTech campus. Archer was there when I slowly climbed up the hill to the trailhead. Construction workers were stringing up the chandeliers and fairy lights.
Archer smiled when he saw me and pulled me in for a kiss. "I need to buy you a car," he said.
"I don't need a car. My bike is fine," I said in a rush, his mother's accusations of my being after Archer's money still fresh in my mind.
I turned to look at the art walk. Caution tape was up so people wouldn't step on the concrete. Wooden benches sat waiting to be installed.
"Concrete takes a good thirty days to fully cure," the foreman said, "but within the next few days, since it's so warm and humid, it should be hard enough to install the benches and the sculptures in."
"Do you think the lights are too janky?" I asked Archer as we watched the workers hang the chandeliers on two large trees that framed the entrance to the art walk.
"Honestly, no," he said. "I think it's actually going to be cool. It's a nice Instagram moment, as Josie likes to say."
I took out my phone and snapped a picture. "I can't believe they built this much so quickly," I said.
We walked on the cleared dirt alongside the concrete path. It went a good mile, then it stopped at a large sign that had the map of the full extent of the trail as well as some renderings. As we walked back, I showed Archer the pictures of the sculptures and the spots where they would be installed.
"You're not going to put up Ida's dildo?" he joked.
I shuddered. "She made me take it to be fired in a kiln. She painted it glitter green with the veins a blue. She calls it the hulk. She said she has jewels she's going to bedazzle it with."
"Sounds fascinating."
Otis, Theo, and Garrett were waiting by a Tesla SUV when we walked to the parking lot from the art walk.
"We're going to be late for the art retreat," Otis said, glaring at Archer.
"Garrett could have taken you."
"I'm busy trying to fix your mistakes," Garrett said.
"Yeah, how is that coming?" Archer asked, tone flat. Archer stared at Garrett. Garrett stared back. The two brothers did that silent alpha-male communication thing that I had no patience for.
"The McKenna issue? I'm sure you have it under control. Now don't worry, Otis. I'm running the art retreat, and if you arrive when I do, then you're right on time!"
Archer picked up my bike and loaded it in the SUV. Then he pressed a button on his key fob, and the falcon-wing doors swung up. Though I didn't consider myself a car person, I was begrudgingly impressed.
"If I have to drive an SUV, I have to get the most overkill one possible," Archer said as we climbed in.
"I can't believe you gave up your sports car," I said, buckling up. "You're such a hockey mom," I teased.
"SUVs are nice. You're higher up," Otis said. "And it's battery powered, so it's better for the environment."
"Yeah, yeah," Archer said as we drove down the winding street into town.
Ida was standing behind the bar when we walked into the café.
"That alcohol is for the Art Zurich retreat," I said, trying to wrestle the bottle out of her arms. She was surprisingly strong for an old woman.
