Archer held out his hand to Lenni and she took it and then he began to whirl her around the living room.I wasn’t sure what type of dancing they were doing—two-stepping crossed with swing—but it made my chest ache.
Especially when Archer caught my eye and winked.
I was more than happy to prep dinner while Lenni’s laughter filled the room.At some point Mildred got jealous, so Lenni dropped Archer’s hands and scooped her up and then continued to dance with Mildred in her arms.
Archer sauntered into the kitchen and then his hand stole across my hip as he passed, heading for the cabinet with the plates.
His touch, so simple, so easy, had a shudder rolling through me.He set the table as I stuck the chicken into the oven.I began working on a salad, letting Lenni continue to dance with Mildred.
“Why the Eagles?”Archer asked as he went to the fridge and pulled out the homemade salad dressing.
“What do you mean?”I asked.
“I mean, why are they your favorite?”
My cheeks heated as I kept my eyes on the cutting board.
“Oh, an ex?”he asked.
I shook my head.“Hardly.”
“Her parents!”Lenni called out.
“What about her parents?”Archer asked, addressing the question to his daughter.
“Can I tell him?”Lenni asked me.
“You’ve told him half the story already,” I said with a laugh.“Might as well tell him the rest.”
“When they were about Wyn’s age, they did a cross-country road trip.And they listened to the Eagles.They went from New York to California, but they stopped in Winslow, Arizona.You know?Because of the song?”
“Winslow, Arizona,” Archer repeated and then his eyes widened.“Your name is Winslow, isn’t it?”
“Wynslow with a y,” I sighed.“Because it wasn’t enough for my weird parents to give me a name spelled normally.”
“That’s not everything,” Lenni sing-songed.
“You hush,” I mocked-warned.
“Tell him your middle name.”
I scrunched my face in embarrassment.“Frey.As in Glenn Frey.Wynslow with a y-Frey-Larsen.”
Archer’s lips twitched.
I pointed the knife at him.“Don’t you dare.”
He looked like he was trying to swallow his mouth so he wouldn’t laugh.“Aren’t your parents a little too young to be into the Eagles?”
“Disillusioned with the music of their generation, apparently,” I said with a shrug.I leaned closer to him and whispered, “I also think they were big into the reefer.”
He couldn’t stop the booming laughter that escaped.
“What’s funny?”Lenni asked.
“Nothing,” Archer and I said at the same time.
“I don’t know why you don’t go by Wynslow.It’s such a cool name.Not at all likeLenora,” Lenni said.
