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“I’m sure it will. I’m just not used to…the attention.”

I glance at him, smiling. “I’m happy to help debut you to the world.”

“That sounds terrifying.” He chuckles.

We park a block away from the shop because the lot is full. Before I unbuckle, Gemma pulls in behind us. “I knew she was gonna be here thirty minutes early!”

When we get out of the car, Gemma greets us. She looks amazing with glammed makeup and perfectly curled hair. Not a strand is out of place.

“Damn, woman. Aren’t you a reminder of why my brother married and knocked you up?”

She snorts and flips her hair. “You’re damn right. Guess I still got it.”

Archer laughs. “Tyler was always obsessed with you, and I don’t think that’s ever gonna change.”

“Oh, it won’t. He can’t keep his hands off me. I mean, at this rate, I’m gonna be pregnant for the next decade.”

“I’m not complainin’,” I tell her. “Gimme all the nieces and nephews because I’m not getting pregnant for a loooong time.”

“You don’t want kids of your own?” Archer carefully asks, and I find it sweet how gentle his words are.

He’s sensitive to those things, maybe because of his sister and how close he is with her. One thing I can say, the man knows how to respect women, something I’m not always used to. Just like that, Archer checks another box on my Husband Wish List.

He hurries to add, “I’m not trying to pry. My sister thought since she had endometriosis, she’d never get pregnant, but she did. The doctors aren’t always right.”

My face softens when I meet his eyes. “No, it’s nothing like that. It’s best to be in a solid relationship before you have babies. Single moms are rock stars, but it’d be hard with my business, so I’ve always tried to be super careful. Also, I don’t wanna raise a kid in the same shitty toxic environment that I grew up in. I want them to have parents who wanna be involved in their life. It was a promise I made to myself when I was younger. I refuse to repeat the cycle.”

“I can understand that,” he says, and there’s a moment of unspoken words.

Gemma walks in step beside me. “Reason number 5,784 why you need to find a nice Southern gentleman to settle down with to have some cute babies. You gonna let Katie and Noah gimme all the nieces and nephews?”

I loop my arm through hers. “Yep. And if she keeps spitting out more than one at a time, you’ll have nothing to complain ’bout. Keep it up, Katie!”

Gemma sticks out her bottom lip. “It’s not for me. It’s for Scarlett! She needs some cousins. So, have babies for her.”

“—to babysit!” I continue her sentence.

“You better not wait that long!” Gemma scolds.

“Gives me a good what? Sixteen years? Also, I can’t believe you’re begging me to get knocked up. I’m not the settling down type.” I use air quotes.

She lets out a sigh. “You’re right. I swear you think more like a man than an actual man.”

I waggle my brows. “I’m a maneater.”

Archer snorts but doesn’t say anything. He probably thinks I’m crazy.

As soon as I open the door to the boutique, several of my regulars greet me as we make our way through the crowd. Now that the church services are over, the place is packed. When we pass the singing Santa display, he starts his ho ho ho’s as Christmas carols blast through the speakers. Now, I realize adding five gigantic Christmas trees full of ornaments throughout the shop might not have been the best idea. But they’re gorgeous nevertheless.

“Oh, sorry, dear,” Mrs. Jefferson says as she bumps into me. “Also, I heard from a little birdie that you might launch something new this week.”

“You know I like to keep it secret.”

“As long as it involves him, I don’t think it matters.”

She’s obviously flirting with Archer even though she’s twice his age. Her husband passed away last year, and now she’s single and ready to mingle—her words, not mine. She even told me about how I should use dating apps like her to find a nice young man.

Gemma leans in closer. “Could probably dress him in women’s clothes at this point, and they’d sell.”