“New Year’s Eve?” Everleigh echoes. “Like…as in ten days?”
I bite my lip as Ford nods.
“Why the rush?” Liam asks at the same time Everleigh asks, “Were you planning to invite your family?”
Ford clears his throat again, clearly feeling awkward about having this conversation. We never exactly decided if we were going to be honest about our reasons for a quick wedding or not.
“It’s just what we decided,” he says quietly.
Archer stands up and quietly walks out of the room, and tears pinch behind my eyes. I wasn’t expecting to have to deal with all of this. I thought we’d just quietly get married and surprise everyone with it.
But I guess fate had other plans.
CHAPTER 31: Ford Bradley
This Means War
I need to talk to Archer. I know I do.
I’m dreading it.
So when he walks out of the room, I walk out behind him a moment later, my heart thundering as I face the guy who’s not just my brother but who was once one of my best friends.
It’s been a long time since those days.
I find him in the kitchen, his palms flat on the counter and his elbows straight as he leans forward, staring down at the countertop.
“Hey,” I say quietly, breaking into whatever thoughts he’s having.
He glances up at me. “What the fuck, man?” he asks. “Ten days?”
“I’m sorry. It’s…complicated.”
“She’s marrying you in ten days,” he says flatly. “Doesn’t sound verycomplicated to me.”
“We invested in a property in Tampa,” I blurt. “The woman who sold it to us wanted our wedding to be the first to take place when the estate changed ownership. If it is, the money we invested in the property comes back to us.”
His brows knit together. “You can’t stand there and tell me it isn’t real for you.”
“I’m not pretending it isn’t. But she wants the money, man. She wants to invest in more properties. Build her brand. And from what she’s told me, I’m the first member of this family who’s actively working to help her make that happen.”
He presses his lips together. “All I ever wanted was to try to protect her.” His voice is strangled as he straightens and backs up, so he’s leaning on the counter behind him. He folds his arms over his chest. “I wanted to keep her away from the toxic mess this family is. I thought that precluded you. I suppose not.”
I place my hands on the counter standing between us and lean forward a little. “I’m not going to fuck her over, Archer.”
“Neither was I.” He sounds defensive.
“Yeah, but you two broke up enough times that she didn’t see that. She was hurt that you weren’t supporting her.”
“So she ran to you to get what she wanted? You don’t see that?” He’s playing on my biggest insecurities when it comes to her.
“That’s not what this is,” I say quietly. Carefully. Evenly.
“Then what is it? Because you came in here to tell me it was all a ruse to get your money back, but it feels like there’s a bigbutin there somewhere.” He sighs. “And yes, I realize I just saidbig but, but I didn’t meanbutt.”
“You know as well as anyone that I’ve always had feelings for her. That hasn’t changed unless you count the fact that they’ve gotten stronger and more intense over the last few weeks. I want this, and I think she does, too. She’s a fucking wedding planner. Of course she wants her own happy ending.And you had her for seven years and couldn’t give it to her. Don’t you think there was a reason why?”
“Yeah, there was,” he says bluntly. “This family. I tried my best to get away, and I still get dragged back in. Dad’s bullshit. Mom’s funeral. Everleigh’s wedding. The expectation to be present even though nobody really wants me there. I’m on the outside looking in, and Tate was my one lifeline to feel some sort of connection. I let her go to help keep her away from this mess, thinking it was only temporary, and she ended up even deeper in it.”
