Chapter 56
56
ARCHER
“ Y ou’ve got to be the only man on the planet who actually helps his girlfriend move out .” Darius shakes his head, pointing his paint roller at me.
“Yeah, I can’t tell if you’re a dumbass, or if this is just part of some grand masterplan to get her to fall more in love with you,” Mason adds, pouring some paint into his tray. “Is this reverse psychology or something? ‘Cause I don’t get it.”
“I’m going to go with the dumbass option,” Nolan grumbles, getting down on the floor in the hallway with a roll of painter’s tape.
My brothers laugh like stupid hyenas.I shake my head, not saying anything.They’re probably right. I’m probably a dumbass.But as long as they keep painting, I guess I can handle their ribbing.
Ronan is away playing hockey. Felix is still on his honeymoon with Daphne. But Darius and Nolan and Mason are here with me at Layla’s new house, painting the walls before she and Sky move in.
It wasn’t a planned thing. I just got the idea earlier today. I saw her eyeballing this color of paint at the hardware store. She was standing there, staring longingly at this eggshell blue paint swatch between ringing up customers, and I just wanted to surprise her.
She’s having dinner with her mother tonight. I know it won’t be easy for Layla, especially with the drama that woman just dragged into town last night.
So I snuck in here with the guys to get this painting job done quickly. Painting after dark is never ideal, but I’ve set up extra lights around the place to make sure we don’t miss any spots. I just want to do this as a surprise for Layla, to give her something to smile about at the end of an otherwise stressful day.
We’d get this project done a whole lot faster if the guys weren’t bullshitting and horsing around. But I guess I’ll take what I can get. We’ve got a bluetooth speaker blaring in the corner and all the windows wide open. Nolan brought over two six-packs of beer—which are almost gone—and there’s talk of getting burgers after we finish up.
This whole thing could actually be a good fucking time, if there wasn’t this dark cloud hanging over my head.
I think back to the morning I took Layla to the waterfall. I was stupid to think that would actually change anything. I’ve heard all these stupid stories from my siblings about that place being a good omen for love. And well, I was fresh out of ideas. So as a last ditch effort, I gave it a try, took Layla on a date by the falls, and hoped the water would work its magic and make her fall in love with me.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Now, here I am, helping her move out.
“Really, though,” Darius pipes up. “Aren’t you disappointed that she’s leaving?”
“It is what it is,” I mumble.
“Please,” Mason hawks. “Nobody’s buying the nonchalant act.”
Nolan nods in agreement. “You’re so freaking obvious. We know you’re obsessed with that girl.”
Darius eyeballs me. “Let’s not forget the lengths you’ve gone to, to save her time and time again.”
“So what? I did her a couple of favors. It was no big deal,” I try to rationalize.
He laughs. “Well, a hardware store is one hell of an impulse buy.”
I exhale loudly. “Look, you all know I don’t have a good track record with love. It’s just not in the cards for me. I have a thing for emotionally unavailable women. It’s always been that way,” I remind them, taking a stab at myself.
My very first love ditched me for someone else. The other women I’ve tried dating were all dating other people. I don’t particularly enjoy being the rebound, but it seems that’s all I can get.
Layla may not currently have plans to go back to her ex. But whether I like it or not, they’re a family, so who knows what the future holds?
“Or maybe you just have a thing for giving up when relationships get hard,” Nolan snipes back, surprising the heck out of me.
Darius nods. “Dude, this is probably your very last chance to make things right with Layla. Before you lose her for good.”
“I don’t know how,” I admit, feeling defeated.
“Serenade her at the farmer’s market,” Mason suggests.
“Take out an ad spot in the newspaper,” Darius says.
“Announce your love over the intercom at work.” Nolan grins at his brilliance.
I glare at them. It’s a mystery that they all have women in their lives.
I’m obviously not taking any of their ridiculous suggestions. But still, my brain is churning.
I’ve been trying to play it cool for so long. Now, I can’t do it anymore. I just burst, my free arm flinging wildly as I speak. “She doesn’t want me, dammit! Do I need to remind you all that my entire relationship with Layla was fake? All of it was fake. Everything you saw. The family dinners, the dates, the wedding, all of it. We were faking the whole damn thing, and it doesn’t matter what—”
My words cut off at the sound of a loud gasp behind me. I swing around to find my mother standing in the doorway.
Fuuuck.
I stand there with a paint roller in my hand as my mom’s eyes fill with tears. It’s obvious she heard everything. Mom knows I lied about my relationship with Layla. She knows I lied to her.
“Oh, shit,” one of my brothers mutters in the background.
Shoving my roller into Nolan’s hands, I rush over to Mom in a hurry. “I…It…It wasn’t…We weren’t…”
“You weren’t what?!” Mom retorts sharply.
“We weren’t trying to hurt anyone,” I start. “Layla just agreed to do me a favor and be my wedding date, so I didn’t have to take some stranger or go alone. Then, things, well, they got out of hand, I guess.” I wrap my arms around her shaking shoulders. “I’m so sorry, Mom. I should have never deceived you like that, and—”
She shrugs out of my hold before I can finish.
“When I was at the market earlier and I heard that Layla was moving out of your house, I had to come here and get the story myself. But I wasn’t expecting this. ” She’s never looked more disappointed in me. “I refuse to believe that it was fake, Archer. Because I was there. I saw you and Layla with my own eyes.” She roughly wipes at her teary eyes. “I haven’t seen you like that since you were a teenager. You were happy with her.”
“Mom. It’s complicated.”
“Well, tough luck, Archer,” she says mercilessly. “Because this is one of those times when the hard thing is worth fighting for.” Her warm palms come up to grab my cheeks. “Be the man you could be if you stopped holding back. Be the man you could be if you dropped your bullshit and fixed things with that sweet girl.”
“I…I’m…” my mouth flaps closed.
Mom stares at me expectantly. “You’re what , son?”
I’m starting to forget all my excuses. The only reason I’m not trying to convince Layla to be with me is because I’m scared out of my mind. Which is a pretty embarrassing thing to admit to your mother when she’s cussing you out.
I turn around and find the guys still staring at me, too, with judgment in their eyes. Is Nolan right? Do I really just give up when things get hard? Shit. That’s not me. That’s not who I want to be.
I face my mother again. I give a single nod. “I’m going to put my shit aside, and I’m going to fight for Layla.”
Mom grins solemnly, patting my cheek. “Of course you are.”