Chapter Eight
“I wasnotexpecting this,” Archer toldAtticus when they walked into their hotel suite.
Yes, it was a suite.Not a room like normal businesspeople booked when they checked into a hotel.This was a suite, complete with two separate bedrooms, each with its own bath, that were divided by a large living area and a small kitchenette.
“You want the left or the right?”Atticus asked, his gaze scanning the space.
“Doesn’t matter.You choose, I’ll take what you don’t.”
Atticus dropped his backpack on the couch, then went to the left, disappearing into one of the rooms, while Archer deposited his bag on a lone chair in the corner.Why it was there was anyone’s guess.
“Is this the normal set-up when y’all are out of town?”he shouted so Atticus could hear him.
“Most of the time, no.”
Archer figured.
“When we were in New York, I was sleepin’ on the pull-out sofa in Slade’s room because they were outta rooms,” Atticus explained, returning to the living room without the bag he’d been carrying.
Archer had to wonder if that was when they first got together.Then again, if Atticus was on the couch…
None of your business.
Keeping with the theme that Atticus’s personal life wasn’t his business, Archer said, “Been there, done that.”
Atticus chuckled.“Much easier for me to do, I imagine.”
Archer fought the urge to look at Atticus.He’d been fighting that battle ever since Atticus made his comment in the truck.
Go on, spit it out.You’ll feel better.
I’m usually bein’ told to swallow.
Being that they were partners, it was completely inappropriate for Archer to have reacted the way he had to that statement.Luckily for him, Atticus had been too embarrassed to notice.
However, he had reacted.And for the first time, he had looked at Atticus.Reallylooked at him.
He noticed his dark hair, a little on the disheveled side, but the unkempt style suited him.
He noticed his green eyes, a color so intriguing, Archer wasn’t sure he’d seen it before.Maybe a cross between celadon and emerald.
He noticed his neck and the way his Adam’s apple bobbed when he swallowed.
He noticed the toned muscles and the dark hair spattering his arms.
He noticed the man’s hands.More specifically, the strength he saw in them when Atticus was gripping the steering wheel as though it were a lifeline.
Yeah.He had definitely noticed.
Worse was the fact that he liked what he saw.A lot.
Not that he would ever act on it.Archer figured it was merely a side effect of his falling out with Spencer.After all, he hadn’t heard from Spencer since the night things went terribly wrong on their date.Since that had been Thursday and it was now Saturday, he wasn’t sure what to expect.There was a good chance he would never hear from Spencer again.He didn’t like the idea, but figured it was better to end it now before they ventured into territory where feelings started to arise.
“We should set things up in here.”
Realizing Atticus was attempting to move furniture, Archer got with the program.He pushed the coffee table closer to the couch so they could use it as a make-shift desk.
Archer grabbed his laptop from his bag and took a seat beside Atticus on the couch.The instant he sat, his arm brushed Atticus’s.Like a dumbass, he shot to his feet, nearly sending the laptop across the room.
