Waiting Fate (13 page)

“Who’s George?” Archer asked.

“Vick’s younger brother. The only one in their family that I like.” Her eyes drifted across the room. “It will be fine. They’ll take good care of her.” Archer could tell she was saying it more to reassure herself than she was to him. Shaking her head, she smiled again at Desee for real this time and said, “Okay sweet pea. Time for a nap. You’ll be up late tonight.” She scooped the baby up, and Desee snatched her puppy from its seat at the tea party on her way to Ivy’s shoulder, squishing it underneath her cheek as she lay her head down.

“Thank you so much for your help. If I could cook without poisoning you, I would totally make you cookies.”

Archer grinned. “How about this. Go to a party with me tonight, and we’ll call it even.”

Ivy froze. “A — a party?”

“Yeah, a party — typically meaning a social gathering with invited guests at a private home, for conversation, refreshments, entertainment.” Ivy rolled her eyes and Archer snickered. “My cousin’s having a party tonight and I told him I’d come. It’d be a lot more fun if you were with me. And I’ll have you home by ten.”

Her lips quirked, just a bit. “Okay. What time?”

“I’ll come get you around seven.”

Chapter Eleven

Archer called Austin on his way home. “I’m bringing Ivy to the party tonight.”

“Sweet. We haven’t taken her partying with us. I wonder how well she holds her liquor.” Austin chuckled.

“She doesn’t drink,” Archer said, distracted because Austin wasn’t getting it. “Austin, I’m
bringing
her.” Austin was silent for several seconds.

Archer was about to pull the phone away from his head to see if the call was still connected when Austin said, “That’s where you’ve been the last two days.”

“Yeah.”

“Gunner and Jay are gonna kill you.” Austin sounded amused. “Remember the agreement in high school. We’re still not friends with Max.”

Archer groaned. “That was
high school¸
A.”

“Yeah, and Gunner is holding on to it like a lifeline. We all know you’re her favorite. It’s been obvious since that first night at the corn maze. Gunner thinks that agreement is the only thing standing between you and Ivy.”

“The fact that she’s still married hasn’t occurred to him?” Archer asked dryly as he turned into his driveway. He had to shower and eat and get some work done for his dad before seven, which meant he had to move fast.

“That’s why he hasn’t made his move yet.” Austin laughed.

“How do you know all this? What are you, some kind of spy?”

“I guess you’ll never know. Look, man, I’m happy for you.”

Archer smiled, he couldn’t help it. “Well, she still thinks we’re just friends. And when Gunner and Jay find out…”

“They won’t be there tonight. Alcohol, ya know. But I’ll do whatever I can to help. She doesn’t need the drama.”

Archer paused, his key halfway into the lock on his front door. He’d thought the exact same thing.

“Anyway, her divorce should be final in a couple of weeks. It’s not a big deal,” Austin said.

“Nope, not a big deal.”
To anyone but her,
Archer thought. “I gotta get stuff done. I’ll see ya tonight?”

“I’ll be there with bells on.” Austin was still laughing as Archer hung up.

Archer couldn’t remember the last time he’d been nervous for a date. Girls were just… girls. He had no desire to get married. If they liked him, then great. If not, he didn’t care.

But Ivy was different. With her, he
did
care if she liked him, and he was pretty sure that after tonight, she was going to realize he didn’t want to just be friends, which was what made him so nervous. He could lose her tonight, before he’d ever actually had her. But the alternative meant not taking a chance and staying friends forever, and that might just kill him, too. So when his hands shook on the steering wheel while he drove to her house, he cut himself some slack.

She was outside with Sadi when he pulled in, throwing tennis balls against the garage door while the German shepherd did flips and spins, trying to catch them in the air. Her face lit up when he pulled to a stop behind her and she waved.

“Hi,” he said, sliding out of the truck.
Hi? Hi? Aren’t you supposed to say something witty or clever?
He berated himself, but she didn’t seem to notice.

“Let me just put Sadi back inside and I’m ready.” She patted her leg and the dog took off for the door, anxious to be away from Archer. She jogged back out a few seconds later, and Archer finally got a good look at her without a hairy dog standing in front of her, obstructing his view.

She looked gorgeous. Her dark hair fell in shiny waves down her back, and her black top and jeans hugged her curves in ways that made it hard for Archer to swallow.

“I’m ready.” She stood right in front of him, as uncertain and nervous as he was. He had been expecting her to insist on driving — she had a weird thing about that — but she didn’t. He swung open the passenger door and lifted her up, his hands lingering on her waist just a second longer than necessary, and then he shut the door and jogged to his side of the truck.

“Whatcha sittin’ way over there for?” he asked with a wink when she started to buckle her seatbelt.

Her big brown eyes went from his face to the center seat and back again, and her cheeks pinked just a bit. “Oh.” She slid over next to him and did up her seatbelt. “Where’s yours?” She gave him a pointed look.

“My what?” he asked as he shifted into drive.

“Seatbelt.” She reached over and shifted the truck back into park before he could let off the brake. “Do you have a death wish?” She quirked an eyebrow at him and smirked.

He looked at her in amusement as he reached behind him for the seatbelt, fastening it securely. “Better?”

“Yep.” She shifted into drive and he laughed. He asked her about the rest of her day, and how Desee had handled leaving, and she seemed relieved that he had given her topics to talk about.

“She was okay. Pretty happy, I think. Whoa.” Archer spun around the corner at the stoplight, and Ivy toppled sideways, trying to catch herself with her hand on the dashboard.

“It’s okay.” Archer smiled sideways at her, sliding his free arm around her shoulders. “I’ve got you.” He kept his arm there until they got to the party, and although he could feel how tense her shoulder was underneath his hand, she also looked pleased, so he didn’t move.

Once there, he jumped out of the truck and helped her out, his hands at her waist as she slid down next to him, and he could feel every curve.
Heaven help me
, he groaned under his breath, but she was staring at the house apprehensively and hadn’t noticed.

“Have I mentioned I don’t do well in crowds?”

Archer held out his hand, and she took it without hesitation. “I’ll protect you,” he said with mock seriousness. She rolled her eyes.

There were a lot of people in the tiny house, but not as many as usual, for which Archer was grateful. Ivy stuck next to his side, her fingers clenched around his in a death grip he couldn’t have escaped from if he’d wanted to. Which was convenient, because he definitely didn’t want to. For a tiny thing, her strength was impressive.

“Hey, kids. You’re late!” Austin ambled over from the kitchen. He handed Ivy a dark drink and she took it, biting her lip. “It’s soda, Ivy.” He rolled his eyes. “Don’t you think I know you better than that?” Ivy threw him a bright, grateful smile and he beamed at Archer. When he wanted to be, Austin was talkative and hilarious, and he had Ivy laughing in no time. Between him and Archer, they kept her distracted enough that she’d relaxed a bit, but she still seemed on edge.

“What’d you want to drink?” Archer’s cousin, playing barkeep, asked from across the counter.

“Soda?” Archer asked. Ivy looked at him like, once again, he was her hero.

“You’re so boring. Don’t you want to shake things up and try a mixed drink of some sort?” Austin asked, poking Archer in the chest.

Archer rolled his eyes, never having cared if someone called him boring. “No.”

He sat on a barstool and Austin sat next to him. Ivy was left standing between them, and if Archer hadn’t known better, he’d have thought his best friend had planned it that way. Archer pulled her back against him, settling her on his lap.

She sat stiffly for several seconds before saying, “I’m gonna break your leg.”

Archer laughed. “No, Ivy, you are definitely not going to break my leg.”

“Right. Do you even weigh a hundred pounds?” Austin yelled over the roar of the party. Ivy smacked him lightly. “You never ask a woman her weight, dummy.” Austin just gave her a wicked grin but said nothing.

“So, Ivy. Why is it you don’t drink? I don’t think you’ve ever mentioned.” Austin asked several minutes later. He, too, was drinking soda, and if it hadn’t been awkward, Archer would have hugged his best friend. They both usually drank at parties, but Ivy was uncomfortable with alcohol. If they had been drinking, it might have sent her over whatever edge she was standing so precariously on.

“You never asked,” Ivy said, peering at Austin over the rim of her glass.

“I’m asking now.” Austin stared back, smirk firmly in place.

Ivy shrugged like it was no big deal, but her words proved otherwise. “Ex was a mean drunk. Ex-brother-in-law was an alcoholic. Other ex-brother-in-law was a mean drunk.”

Archer felt like he’d been punched in the gut. She’d had that kind of experience with alcohol, and he had brought her to a party where everyone was drinking. He met Austin’s eyes over her head and a silent understanding passed between them — one that only his life-long best friend could have interpreted without words.

They had to get her out of here, but they had to do it without making it seem like a big deal, or it would embarrass her. And Archer had already messed things up enough. If there was any way he was going to make this night
not
a bad memory for her, he would like to do it.

The party, like most parties that involve alcohol, was a raging success to those who were drinking. But to Ivy, Archer, and Austin, who were not drinking, it was just a lot of watching stupid people do stupid things. Someone started breakdancing in the computer room, which started a breakdance competition. But drunk people can’t breakdance. They can’t even dance. All they can do is break, and Archer’s cousin was going to be buying a new computer as soon as he sobered up.

Archer tried to figure out how he could get Ivy across the room and outside to his truck, but it was packed. From the doorway, Austin said loudly, “You guys have got to see this!” He caught Archer’s eye and Archer gave him a nod of thanks. One step closer to his truck.

Ivy sucked in a deep breath as soon as they were outside. Archer hadn’t noticed the smell when they’d been in the house, but now that they were out of it, he, too, sucked in fresh air like he’d been suffocating. She glanced over at him, amused. “They kinda stink,” she said.

In the driveway, random guys Archer didn’t know were showing off their skills, hanging sideways on a basketball pole. Archer could do it, and knew it took a lot of upper-body and core strength, but doing it while drunk was never a good idea, and he wasn’t surprised when the second person to try fell to the ground and ended up scraped and bloody. Ivy shook her head at his stupidity when the guy rolled over, laughing hysterically. “It’s not going to be so funny tomorrow,” Archer muttered. She raised a sardonic eyebrow and nodded in agreement.

“I’m ready to go. Are you?” Archer asked. They hadn’t even been there a half hour yet, but already the crowd was getting obnoxious, and Archer could see police being called in the imminent future.

“I think I’m heading home soon, too. This party’s lame,” Austin said, appearing next to them.

“See ya, man.” Archer smacked him on the back. Ivy hugged him. Behind her back, Archer mouthed “thanks”. Austin just nodded.

The ride home was quiet. The radio played low in the background and the whir of his big tires almost drowned out the music. He had blown it. She hated him now.
How do you lose someone before you even have
… Ivy leaned her head against his shoulder, her hair soft against his cheek. She smelled like lilacs, just a hint. Archer’s heart started pounding like he’d just faced down a lion and survived. He grinned into the darkness.

As he walked her to her door, she slid her small fingers into his, and he ran his thumb across the back of her hand. The night was cool. At the door she turned, smiling up at him. “Thank you Archer. It was… fun.”

He couldn’t see clearly, but he could swear she was smirking.
Yeah, you blew your chance. Way to go.
So he hugged her, wrapping his arms around her waist, like he’d done a hundred other times before. They were a huggy group.

He was surprised when she rose on her toes and slid her arms around his neck, holding tight like he was a lifeline. He pulled back, just a bit, hoping but afraid to hope as he searched her eyes. They sparkled, just a bit, and then she leaned forward, closing the gap between them and brushing her lips against his.

Time stopped. The world stopped and he froze in shock. It took him several seconds to realize what was happening, and then he kissed her back, holding her tight against him. He could feel her heart racing, matching his. When she relinquished his lips, he sucked in a breath, struggling to breathe. “I’ve wanted to do that since high school,” he muttered, almost without realizing it.

Her laugh seemed to sparkle in the darkness. “What took you so long?”

The headlights coming around the corner took them both by surprise, and she leaped away from him, squinting into the brightness. In the sudden glow, her face was a clear mask of terror, and Archer instinctively moved between her and the car.

“Hey, Ivy,” the voice was unfamiliar, but he felt, more than saw, Ivy relax behind him.

“George,” she breathed, before moving out from behind Archer and toward the car. “You scared me!” she said with an uneasy laugh.

“Sorry. I was going to text you and let you know we were bringing her home early, but my phone died, and I don’t have your number memorized.”