“What? Why?”
“Not an emergency,” Elana said quickly, obviously picking up on Violet’s panic. “JJ’s here until the babies are born.”
“Oh, man. That’s gotta suck.”
“It was her choice. Baz’s dad is footin’ the bill for a private suite. JJ picked it over lettin’ strangers in her house.”
Violet understood that, considering all that JJ’d been through recently.
“So is this a done deal? With Simon?”
Her smile grew, and she knew it came across in her words. “It is. I love him.”
Elana squealed. “I’m so happy for you. Maybe a little jealous, but definitely happy.”
“Spencer wants to get drinks. Friday work for you?”
“Provided JJ’s not in labor then, I’ll be there.”
Someone spoke in the background.
“I’m bein’ summoned. I’ll holler later.”
“Buh-bye.”
Violet disconnected and stared at her phone. She was tempted to call her mom and tell her the curse was broken. She decided to wait.
After all, she had a dirty boy naked in her bedroom.
At the moment, nothing seemed more important than that.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Wednesday, September 21, 2022
Archer stood at the kitchen island, takingit all in. The house was exactly like the ones he’d imagined himself growing up in when he was a kid. Colored door, fancy kitchen, more space than any one family really needed. Oh, and you couldn’t forget the oasis in the backyard.
Yeah, it was everything his fantasy life had consisted of.
Not to mention, it waswaaayyyyout of his price range.
“Do you think it’ll work for you?” Spencer asked, staring out at the backyard, probably so he didn’t have to make eye contact.
Smiling, Archer moved toward the real estate agent who’d jumped at the chance of a potential sale when Archer strolledinto his office an hour ago, asking to look at this house specifically. Funny thing was, the guy was eager, yet Archer got the sneaking suspicion he was also on edge. He couldn’t quite pinpoint what the problem was, but he was giving Spencer space. The same way Spencer was giving him space.
“It’s big,” Archer told him as he stopped behind Spencer, looking over his shoulder out the window.
“Almost six thousand square feet,” Spencer noted, not looking back at him.
“I’m not sure I need somethin’ quite this big.”
“No?” Spencer turned, looking up at him. “I’ve got a few more places. They’re smaller. Not all of them are in Coyote Ridge, but nearby.”
Archer met his gaze and held it. “Are you scared of me?”
Spencer shook his head. “Should I be?”
Damn, it took effort not to lean in and kiss this man. He’d wanted to do it the first time he laid eyes on him and every encounter since. Not that there’d been many. In fact, there hadn’t been nearly enough. That was why, as soon as Simon mentioned wanting to look at this particular house, Archer jumped at the chance to get some alone time with the guy.
