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Everything around him went dizzy. Archer released his fists and grasped the chair he sat in, taking long, slow breaths as everyone congratulated and cheered for her with clinked glasses. Everyone except him and her grandmother, who sat next to him with crossed arms and pursed lips.
Tea’s smile was tight, her eyes not meeting either of theirs directly.
How could she not tell me?
“So does this mean you’re moving back east?” his father asked her.
Tea looked at her mom.
Molly tilted her head. “I heard someone’s car broke down and maybe they would need a ride home?”
Her face went red. “You drove all this way to pick me up?”
“If that’s what you want, yes. But we’ll have to head back tomorrow night. I don’t have much leave time…”
Tea’s eyes fell to her hands.
Archer wanted to melt into the damp grass beneath them. He remained silent as everyone finished dinner, then helped his mother clear everything and walk it back to the kitchen. He turned the hot water on and washed the dishes, concentrating on the soap and scrubbing and nothing more.
“Arch?”
He looked up from the sink.
“Can we talk?” Tea asked through the screen door.
He placed the dish down and wiped the suds on his shorts as he made his way toward her. He didn’t look her in the eye. “What the hell, Tea?”
She stepped into the cabin. “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry? Come on. You’ve had weeks to talk to me about this, and you waited until the last possible minute?”
She hugged her stomach. “What did you want me to say? That I was offered my internship back? That I’d eventually head east?”
“Yes. You should feel comfortable talking to me about this.”
“And watch you fall apart again?”
He growled, then pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes. “I’m not eighteen anymore, Tea. I’m a grown-ass man. I can handle a hard conversation.”
She dropped down to the couch near the window. “Riley told me not to mess with you again. I don’t want to hurt you.”
Archer got to his knees in front of her and reached for her neck. “Not talking to me does hurt me, love. You have to communicate. You have to tell me what’s on your mind.”
She scanned his face. “What’s on my mind?”
He nodded.
“Okay.” She bit her lip. “I can’t be the reason you give up on your dream.”
“Literally none of that matters when it comes to you.”
“But it should, Archer. You can’t give up your whole life because of me. You love what you do and you’re really good at it.”
She sounded an awful lot like Austin, and he absolutely hated it. “I haven’t heard anything from them. I could find something else for the winter, maybe out east—?”
Her eyes went wide. “Out east? Like, move there with me?”
His chest squeezed. “Would that be so bad?”
