“What do you mean? My mother and yours dragged me all over that textile arts festival today looking for what they called ‘the perfect lace’ because you apparently decided we were getting married after all. You’re telling me that’s not true?”
Archer scoffs, a confused chuckle escaping his throat. “No. I don’t want to marry you, Annabelle. Looking back, I don’t think I ever wanted to. I just thought it was what I should do at my age.”
I swivel my head back to Annabelle in time to see her nod, a rueful smile on her lips. “My father told me I would marry you or he would cut me off, and well…” she shrugs, her smile widening as she nods to Mason “I have enough in my own accounts to pay for this stint at rehab, and then I’ll be looking for a different job, I guess. I don’t care what it is, as long as it’s anything but modeling. I can’t keep living this way. I’m miserable.”
“Oh my god! That’s why you look so familiar. I’ve watched you in your underwear,” I blurt before I can stop myself. “I’m sorry, that was weird. I meant I’ve seen video of you on the runway. I don’t blame you for wanting a new job. It must be exhausting having people stare at you all the time.”
Annabelle nods. “It really is. And the rigs that hold those wings on are so much heavier than you’d think. If I never see another feathery appendage again, it will be too soon.” We share a chuckle. “And I won’t be sad that I won’t have to parade around in my underwear anymore.”
I can see the relief as it rolls off Archer’s shoulders in a wave, and this time when he smiles, it’s genuine. “For what it’s worth, Annabelle, I’m proud of you.”
She laughs and I can’t stop myself from smiling too. “Thanks. It’s not worth a lot, but I’ll take it. Lord knows very few other people will be proud of me when they find out.”
Mason clears his throat. “About that, Annabelle. We should be leaving. Eric’s parents will only be able to keep yours distracted for so long before they get suspicious. We need to get out of here before they get back.”
“Wait. One more thing. Annabelle, I want you to meet Phoebe, officially. She’s the mother of my child.” He already has his phone out and a picture of Lincoln pulled up for Annabelle to see. “Isn’t he amazing?”
Annabelle cocks an eyebrow before smiling. “Congratulations, Archer. I’m happy for you. And it’s nice to meet you, Phoebe. I’m sorry we can’t extend this little meeting, but we really should get going. Apparently, they’re pretty strict about check-in time at rehab. Mason? Are we all set? Did you get my bags?” She doesn’t wait for an answer before walking back around to the passenger side door of the car. Mason rolls his eyes and jogs over to open her door.
“I’ll call you when I get back,” he says to Archer as he opens his own door. “I imagine you have questions.”
“So many questions.” Archer nods once and watches as Mason gets in the car. “So. many. questions.”
I watch Archer, not knowing what else we should be doing. It’s clear to me now that he was telling the truth. It appears both he and Annabelle weren’t involved in the wedding planning; rather, it was something their parents had cooked up between them as some sort of debt repayment scheme.
“So...”
“Yeah. That’s not what I was expecting to happen. I was sure Annabelle had her heart set on marrying me. At least, the last time I saw her, she seemed pretty interested. She was three sheets to the wind that day, though. I wonder if that had something to do with it?”
I shrug. I don’t know Annabelle enough to make any kind of guess but if what I heard from Charlie about the bachelorette party is any indication, I’d say Annabelle has, at the very least, a problem with binge drinking, which could explain some things. It’s all too much for me to think about. I’m glad she’s getting help, but at the end of the day, she’s not my concern. That spot belongs to Lincoln. And maybe a little to Archer. If that’s still what he wants, anyway.
A knot of nervous energy builds in my stomach as I work up the courage to ask him. If he says no, I’m not sure what I’ll do.
Archer must sense my nervousness because he breaks the silence first. “So, how many goats do you think I was going for? How much livestock did my father get for my hand in marriage? I’m thinking it was a lot. At least fifty, for sure.”
I snort a laugh, the tension broken. “Fifty? Don’t sell yourself short. You’re worth at least a hundred goats. Hell, he probably could have negotiated to get a few cows thrown in, too.”
Laughter fills the air as Archer pulls me to him, wrapping his arms around me in a crushing hug. “Fuck, Phoebe. Thank you for sticking with me today. That was not at all how I thought it would go.”
I nod against his chest, the giggles settling as I wrap my arms around his waist and squeeze. I fill my lungs with the scent of him before blowing out a breath and releasing the tension from my shoulders. “Yeah,” I agree, nodding. “That was... rough.”
Gripping my chin, he tilts my face up so he can look me in the eye. “I’m so sorry, Phoebe. I know that had to be hard to go through. But I hope now you understand I was never going to marry her. And it turns out she never wanted to marry me, either. Our parents fabricated the whole thing in their minds, as though there weren’t messing around in the lives of two grown ass adults. I’ve been able to think of nothing but you since you found me again after my company party.”
I nod again, my chest warming at the sincerity in his eyes, but I can’t help get one more dig in. “Even with that super long rant of a voicemail?”
He groans and drops his head back, still not releasing me from his arms. “I can’t believe I did that. I will do anything to make it up to you. Name it, it’s yours.”
I pretend to think for a moment before whispering, “Kiss me.” The shock on his face gives way to a sneaky smile.
“Done.” He lowers his face and brushes his lips against mine in the softest kiss, and everything clicks into place.
I thought I was simply looking for Lincoln’s father, but what I was really looking for was this. The connection I felt that night with a stranger in a Santa suit. The kind of connection that I could easily fall into for the rest of my life.
Maybe I wasn’t such a Ho Ho Ho, after all.
Chapter 42
Christmas Party Do-Over Again
