Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
~ARCHER~
I could have stayed with her last night, but I have a shit ton to do in a short time. If she thinks I’m leaving, she obviously doesn’t know me very well.
But I’ll be happy to remind her.
Because I’m not going anywhere. If she needs space and time to get used to the idea of having me around, that’s fine with me.
I’m in no hurry.
I’ve temporarily settled myself in a suite at a seaside resort, and I have a meeting with a real estate agent in fifteen minutes. I’ve had breakfast, and a five-mile run already, and am on my way to look at the house that caught my eye yesterday when I was on the beach with Elena.
Ally.
I need to get used to her name. She has my last name. I wonder if that’s a coincidence or if she told her grandmother what name she wanted to use. She should have my name. And she would if she hadn’t been afraid of her father.
“Mr. Montgomery?”
I nod at the woman standing by the front door of the large house on the cliffs. I can hear the waves crashing in the distance. “Yes, ma’am. Ms. Stebbins?”
“Cheryl, please.” She shakes my hand and then opens the already unlocked door. Cheryl knows how to do her job well. She’s an attractive woman, dressed in a simple, classy suit. Her blond hair is styled in waves down her back, and I can see she recently applied red lipstick to her pouty lips. But her smile isn’t flirtatious, and she’s all-business when she gestures for me to walk in ahead of her. All of the lights inside are already on. “This particular house has been on the market for about five weeks.”
I nod again. I did a little research on this property last night while I ate takeout in my hotel room. The main living space is bright and open, with floor-to-ceiling windows that give me an unobstructed view of the ocean beyond. The furniture looks new, is simple, and fits the space perfectly. “Is it possible to buy the furniture with the house?”
“I’m sure we can make an offer and see what they say. They’ve already moved out of state.”
The views from the kitchen and living room and then the master bedroom are simply stunning.
“The house was built in 1982, but as you can see, the current owners completely remodeled the home, updating all of the rooms.”
“It’s nice,” I reply, taking in the white kitchen with black lower cabinets, the up-to-date light fixtures, and brand-new floors. It’s better than nice. It’s gorgeous. Living here while I win my girl back won’t be a hardship in the least. “I’ll take it.”
Her eyebrows climb, and those red lips part in surprise. “Just like that?”
“Just like that.”
“Do you have preapproval for a loan?”
“I’ll pay cash. I’d like to close as soon as possible. And I’d like to ask the owners if I can move in right away, paying them rent, of course, until the closing date.”
“Like I said, they’ve left the state, so I don’t think that will be a problem.”
“Great. You’ll be able to reach me all day should you need to.”
“This could be the easiest sale of my career,” Cheryl says as we walk outside, and she locks the door behind us. “I’ll start making calls and drawing up the paperwork right away. I’ll call the current owner and get back to you today regarding your questions.”
“Thank you, Cheryl.”
I shake her hand again and then lower myself into my car, headed back to the resort. The first matter of business for the day is finished. If E— Ally won’t let me stay with her, I’ll buy my own place. It’s a good investment anyway.
I hurry back up to my suite and call my assistant, Leslie.
“Are you coming into the office today?” she asks when she answers the phone.
“No. I’m going to be working remotely for a while, Les.”
“Killing me, boss.”
I smirk and open my laptop. “There’s nothing you can’t handle in that office.”
“You bet your ass about that,” she says. “But I can’t sign your name or write million-dollar checks. That’s above my pay grade.”
“No one writes million-dollar checks,” I say as I press my finger to the pad on the keyboard and log into the computer. “We do everything electronically these days. Speaking of, I just bought a property in Oregon.”
She’s quiet for a moment, and I can just imagine the frown on her pretty face.
“Oregon?”
“Bandon, Oregon, to be exact.”
“Commercial property?”
“A house. One that I’m going to be living in for a bit, and then I’ll lease it out.”
“I’m sorry, am I speaking to Archer Montgomery?”
“I don’t pay you extra to be a smartass.”
“You should. My smartassery is deeply undervalued. What are you doing in Oregon, Arch?”
“Let’s call it a working vacation. I’ll have my home office set up soon. You can reach me anytime.”
“I have a list of messages for you,” she says. “And you haven’t answered your email in three days.”
“I’ll work on that today.”
“Are you okay, boss?”
“I’m great. Better than I’ve been in a long time. But, Les, where I am is confidential. If anyone asks, I’m just out of town.”
“That’s the answer I give anyway. Please, and I mean this most sincerely, check your email.”
“I promise, I’ll do it today. I’ll keep you posted.”
“Be careful.”
She hangs up, and I grin. Leslie’s been with me since I started the business five years ago. She knows more about the day-to-day than I do, and that’s no lie. We joke about her lack of compensation, but I pay her well for the job she does for me.
She’s worth every penny.
Feeling confident that Leslie has the home front taken care of, I briefly think about what I should have for lunch, but my phone interrupts my decision making.
If Cheryl’s calling already, it’s either very good or very bad news.
“Hi, Cheryl.”
“I have some excellent news for you, Mr. Montgomery. The sellers have agreed to your terms and are willing to include the furniture with the full price offer.”
“Excellent.”
“As I mentioned, they’ve moved out, so all of their personal effects are gone.”
“When can I move in?”
“Immediately.” She laughs as if she can’t believe it. Truth be told, neither can I. “We have some paperwork to take care of, and then it’s all yours.”
“Excellent.”
Four hours later, I’ve checked out of the resort and am unpacked in my new ocean-front house in Oregon. Setting up my office didn’t take long, given that the desk and chair, along with shelves were already in the room. All I had to add was my laptop. I will need to find a store soon for a printer-slash-scanner, and I’m sure Leslie will give me a list of things I’ll need, but this will work just fine for now.
I made a grocery run to stock up on the essentials, which for me is roughly five-hundred dollars-worth of food and snacks, some cleaning supplies, and a few bottles of the wine I saw at Ally’s house.
Now, despite all of the food in the place, I decide I’m too tired to cook, so I drive to town and walk into the diner. I sit in a deep red booth, looking forward to the burger and fries I just ordered.
“Archer?”
I glance up, and there’s Ally’s friend from the other day.
“That’s your name, right?”
“Yes, and you’re Ally’s friend…”
“Lindsey.”
“Right. Nice to see you.”
“You, too. I guess I’m confused. I saw her today, and Ally said that you left yesterday.”
“Did she?”
“Yeah. She didn’t look great, actually.”
My heart stops, and my eyes narrow. “What do you mean?”
“Pale, quiet. I figured she was just still getting over the family emergency she went through. But here you are.”
“Here I am.”
I don’t ask her to join me. That’s not appropriate. But I also don’t want her to rush off and call Ally. I want the news that I’m still here to come from me .
“I had some business to see to, and I didn’t want to leave until I knew she was okay. I’ll look in on her before I head out of town.”
Lindsey’s shoulders sag, and a smile spreads over her lips. “I understand. I’m glad she has you as her friend. I wish she’d told me about you before. I always thought Ally was a lonely person, but maybe she’s just private.”
“She’s definitely private,” I agree. “Have a good night, Lindsey.”
“You, too.”
She waves and walks up to the counter where a bag of food is ready for her to take away.
In a town as small as this one, I won’t be able to be here for long without Ally knowing it. And that’s okay, it’s not a secret. But until this minute, I didn’t realize how much I wanted her to find out from me, not someone else.
So, I’ll have to make sure I run into her tomorrow and get going on my plan to win her over.
She never did go for flowers. She wouldn’t turn them away, but posies aren’t the way to El—Ally’s heart.
Donuts and coffee. Every day during her junior year of high school, when I was a senior, I picked her up for school with a bag of maple glazed and a white-chocolate mocha. It was a sugar shock to the system, that’s for sure, but it never failed to make her smile.
I know that she works for the wild animal refuge just outside of town, so I park out front and, armed with all the sugar in the land, walk inside.
“We’re not open to the public yet.”
“I’m not here for the animals,” I reply with a smile. “I’m hoping I can see Ally.”
The man’s eyes widen in surprise. “She’s here, back with the babies.”
“Can you please ask her if she has a moment?”
He nods. “Sure. Hang on.”
He disappears through a door, and I’m suddenly as nervous as I was the other day when I rang her doorbell.
Here’s hoping she doesn’t pull a gun on me this time.
“Can I help—?” The words die on her lips when she walks out and sees that it’s me. “What are you doing here?”
“I brought you breakfast.” I pass her the bag and the cup of coffee with a smile. “I know you work super early and have already been here for a while, but I got a late start. Sorry about that. I hope you still like maple.”
She frowns and glances into the bag.
“I haven’t had one since the last time you…” She swallows, shakes off the rest of the thought, and looks back up at me. “You left.”
“No, you kicked me out. There’s a difference. You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here.” I wink and lean on the counter that she’s standing behind. “I bought a house. I think you’re going to like it. I hope so, anyway.”
“You bought—?” Her mouth opens and then closes again. “What in the hell, Arch?”
“We can talk about it all later.” I tap the counter with my palm and step back. “I shouldn’t hold you up. Enjoy your breakfast. I’ll pick you up at six.”
“For what?”
“Dinner, of course.”
I turn and whistle as I step out of the building.
I wasn’t lying the other day. She used to make a hell of a spaghetti. But she always loved it when I made tacos. So, for tonight, that’s precisely what I’m going to make her. It works out well because I can prepare the majority of it early, then go pick her up and finish it up when we get back to the house—after I’ve given her a proper tour of the place.
With all the veggies chopped and ready, the cheese shredded, and the pico and guac made and in the fridge, I grab my keys and hurry out to my car, ready to drive across town to Ally’s house to bring her home with me. I’m craving her company. Bandon is a small town, but I can’t get to her fast enough. After I park and take a deep breath, I walk up and knock on the door.
There’s no answer.
I frown and knock again, then walk over to look in a window.
No movement inside.
I head around the house, and there she is, sitting on her deck with her feet up on the rail and a glass of wine in her hand.
“There you are.”
“Go away, Archer.”
“No way.”
She rolls her eyes. “Is the fact that I don’t want you here really that big of a hit to your fragile male ego?”
I know what she’s attempting to do. She’s trying to piss me off and push me away.
It’s not going to work.
“I’ve told you for days, I’m not going anywhere. You don’t want me to stay here, and that’s totally fine with me. I would prefer to be able to hold you at night, but I can respect your wishes.”
“Obviously, you can’t, because I told you to go home. ”
“Well, technically, I live here now.”
“Tell me you didn’t actually buy a house.”
“I did. You’re going to love it.”
“Archer.”
“Ally.”
She stumbles over the next words and frowns. “You called me Ally.”
“That’s your name, remember?”
She blinks quickly, the way she does when she’s surprised.
“Listen, I don’t care what your name is, as long as I get to be with you. So, yes, I bought a house, and I’m here to get to know you better. To get to know you again. ”
“This is a very expensive courtship,” she says, swirling the wine in her glass.
“You’re worth it,” I counter. “Now, are you going to come let me feed you, or what? I have everything ready for you.”
“I shouldn’t,” she says. “I should demand that you respect my wishes and go.”
“No, you should come and see this killer house and eat my tacos.”
“Tacos?” Her eyes fly to mine, and she swallows hard, tries to seem unimpressed. “I don’t even like tacos.”
I step to her, and without touching her, lean in to brush my nose over hers. “Liar.”
“Tastes change.”
“Not when it comes to tacos, sweetheart.”
“Did you buy a house on the beach?”
“Yup.”
“Tacos and an ocean view?”
I simply smile at her.
“Fine.”