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Rhonda beamed. “I’m happy for you.” Then she was off, down his porch steps and over to Steph on the lawn, the two of them off on their morning ritual of coffee on the dock.
He couldn’t help his smile. Happy. Moments later, as he poured fresh coffee into two mugs, his bedroom door creaked open.
“She’s alive,” he teased.
Tea approached him, sliding her body between him and the counter. His smile widened as he held a mug to her, then placed his hands on the counter, bracketing her in.
She took a sip of the coffee and her face relaxed.
“Still a little grumpy in the mornings, are we?”
She took another sip. “Get used to it.”
His heart did a backflip. What did that mean? Her comment sounded awfully permanent. It didn’t bug him—it thrilled him—but he reined in his emotions. She only just woke up. Maybe she wasn’t thinking clearly yet.
She took another sip, lifting a finger to his chest and tracing her tattoo. When he returned to Minneapolis that fateful summer eight years ago for college and met Kiera a week into classes, who was eager to practice her tattoo skills on someone, Archer volunteered immediately. He’d wanted something tangible to hold with him. Even if Tea wasn’t speaking to him, he knew he would always carry a piece of her in his heart, so why not make it permanent? Getting tattoos was easy after that—he collected them like people collected coins or baseball cards. But there were only two on his body that truly meant something to him: Gareth’s sailboat on his back, and Sweet Tea on his heart. In his two years with Janelle, she never asked him once if any of his tattoos meant something to him. He wondered if that was one of the reasons he’d fallen into a relationship with her so quickly. They worked well together…but they also kept each other at a comfortable distance. Nothing ever felt too deep with her. Or at least, nothing did compared to how deeply he felt for Tea.
She scanned his face. “Sleep well?”
He nodded. “Very.”
“Me too,” she whispered. “I’ve never shared a bed with someone before. I’m surprised I didn’t hate it.”
“Never? Not even with your flings?”
She lifted a brow. “Archer. Drop the flings. I don’t bug you about Janelle.”
He shrugged. “You could, if you wanted to.”
“Hear about your gorgeous ex-girlfriend and the committed relationship you had that I didn’t have any idea about? No thanks, I’m good.”
He leaned in closer and cupped the back of her neck, angling her face to his. “There’s only one thing you really need to know about my past relationship.”
She frowned. “Fine, what is it?”
“I never once felt for her the way I feel for you.”
Her face softened. “Really?”
“There’s never been anyone else like you, Tea. You’re it for me.”
She placed her mug down, then looped her arms around his shoulders, pulling him into a hug. He squeezed her back, waiting to hear what she would respond. But after a couple beats, he realized she wasn’t going to say anything. He felt a snag in his chest, like someone was pulling a string loose. Does she not feel the same way? Did I say too much? His mind began to spiral, but he forced himself to quiet it. They had only been together like this for less than twenty-four hours. He wasn’t getting far too ahead of himself. She would talk to him about how she felt in time. He needed to be patient.
He squeezed her again. “What are you up to today?” he mumbled in her ear.
“Hmmm.” She released her hold and looked at him. “Think you could fix your sail?”
He smirked. “Maybe. Looking for a particular nest?”
She rolled her eyes. “Eight years without sailing is too long. I need to make up for lost time.”
He gave her a mischievous grin. “There’s a lot of lost time to make up for.”
She slapped his arm. “It took everything in me to get out of bed. Don’t make me do it again.”
He groveled, which made her laugh. He loved her laugh, the way it sweetened any room she was in, like honey in a hot cup of tea. He lunged for her waist and tickled her, which made her laugh—then scream. He clenched her waist and lifted her up, depositing her on his couch, his hands smooth on her skin as he crawled on top of her. He moved from one kind of tease to another, listening to the way her laughter shifted into pleading. Archer decided that while he liked hearing her laugh, he liked hearing her beg much more. Especially when it was his hands and his body that she begged for.
Archer spent a majority of the next week doing two things: kissing Tea, or thinking about the next time he’d be able to kiss Tea. Finally having her in the way he always wanted didn’t slow down the intensity of his feelings for her—it ramped them up. With Janelle, it hadn’t been anything like this. She was an easy girlfriend, a good partner to him…until she wasn’t. But with Tea, he felt that constant flame, and he enjoyed every minute of the burn.
