Chapter Thirty-Nine
ARCHER
I’m a married man.
A sentence I never thought would apply to me and, oftentimes, never thought I wanted it to. That was, until Darcy Thompson waltzed into my world and flipped it upside down, and now I can’t stop staring at the platinum band on my hand or thinking about how good she sounds with my last name.
Darcy Moore.
To my wife, I know we’ve been a whirlwind, but to me, it’s been over two years of waiting for her to see me for who I am.
A complete fucking simp for her.
Reciting my vows was the single greatest honor I’ve ever had. Even if it was in a small room with only an officiant to bear witness, it was perfect.
When the double doors had opened and Darcy stood in the entryway, a single yellow rose clutched between both hands, I couldn’t have been prouder. She looked incredible and every bit as stunning as I’d imagined in that dress.
Her reaction when I had revealed it was pure shock as she shook her head in denial, repeating that she’d never have gone for a dress like the one I’d picked out.
Perhaps she thought it was blind luck on my behalf.
It wasn’t.
Back before she had moved to New York and whenever I knew she was in town, I would find myself rushing to get through my postgame routine, excited to catch a glimpse of her at Lloyd’s.
Even if she only gave me a few minutes, I’d take them with both hands and then head home to only fantasize over what it would be like if she’d come back with me.
I stared into many mirrors, convincing myself I hadn’t been batshit crazy over what I did when I walked past a boutique in town one day and saw that Vivienne Westwood dress in the front window.
A sane man would’ve kept walking, thinking how beautiful his crush would look in it.
But I wasn’t that man, and Darcy wasn’t just a crush.
She’s an obsession that’s only grown stronger since that day a year ago, when I pushed through the shop door and dropped four thousand dollars on it right there and then.
And the yellow bows stitched into her pumps?
I stand, waiting for our bags to be returned, and flush again at the memory of me trying to use a sewing kit last week. Originally, I had planned to have a pair made especially for our day, but time was short, and I had an uncompromising vision of how she’d look when I married her.
“Is everything okay?” Darcy steps toward me.
Since the airport is dead and there’s no one around, I let my inhibitions drop a fraction, and I lean across, setting a kiss on the top of her head before our bags are returned to us.
“I’m good, just thinking over everything.”
She reaches up onto her tiptoes and pulls down the bill of my cap, smiling the whole time. “Thinking’s good, but try not to overthink. I find it never ends well. Not unless you have a spare sudoku book.”
I pick up her hand and kiss her palm. “Does downloading the app count?”
Darcy rolls her eyes, but I see the way she swoons in response.
“I was thinking of asking Jack and Kendra over to our place for a meal after practice tomorrow night. We could tell him then.”
She nods right before her eyes flare. “Wait. Our place?”
I interlace both our hands, holding them down between us. “You’re aware that we’re married, right? I don’t recall needing to drug you to say yes.”
Her eyes narrow to slits. “It’s a fair point, well made. But I will miss my little apartment, even if it’s cold and unsafe.”
“Keep it if you want. We can cover the monthly rent,” I say as we head toward the doors leading to the airport exit, me pulling both cases behind.
Her nose scrunches up at the idea. “No. Affordable housing is hard to come by in this city as it is. I couldn’t justify keeping my apartment for purely storage and nostalgic reasons.”
“Storage?” I question. “We live in a huge penthouse apartment. You don’t need storage space.”
“Have you seen my shoe collection?” she volleys back.
I stop walking, and Darcy pulls up alongside me. “And that collection is only going to grow bigger. Anything and everything you want, it’s yours.”
“Where did the driver say he’d wait for us?” Darcy reaches onto her tiptoes as I pull my bill even lower and scan the room for a board with my—our—last name on it.
“I don’t think he’s—” Darcy starts talking, but cuts off abruptly, her face paling.
“What’s the matter?” I ask, trying to follow her line of sight.
“Jack.” Her voice is weak, barely a whisper. “H-he’s here and staring straight at us.”
At first, I think she’s joking. She has to be. Why would Jack be here?
“Archer!”
It’s his voice I hear first before he steps through the double glass doors directly in front of us.
Beneath the bill of his cap, his face is beet red. Even from here, I can see how the muscles in his jaw clench and strain. Enraged eyes travel from me to his sister and then back to me.
Heart racing, I take Darcy’s hand and start walking toward a different set of exit doors at the back of the building, trying to get away from prying eyes. There are only a few staff members and other passengers around, but I don’t want to give them a show. That’s the last thing we all need.
As we keep walking, Darcy and I don’t speak, even though the silence between us screams a thousand words.
This is not how it was supposed to go down. He wasn’t supposed to see us here. This is worst-case scenario number one, playing out right in front of us.
A huge part of me wants to head straight for a taxi since our driver obviously isn’t here. But I know in the long run, that would only make everything worse.
Closing my eyes, I force back my doubts over how badly this could all play out and turn on my heel to face my new brother-in-law.
Standing around ten feet away from me and with both hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans, Jack reminds me of a bull that’s just been shown the red flag. His chest is heaving, eyes glazed, although even darker than they were before.
He looks like everything I imagined he would when we eventually broke the news, only worse.
“Jack, listen. Let’s not do this here, okay?” My mouth is dry as I deliver a sentence I hope will remind him of how precarious this environment is. I hold up a hand. “We were going to head straight back home from here, so why don’t you come with us? We can talk there.”
“Why the fuck are you both here? Together?”
I’ve only ever witnessed my friend like this once before.
It was right after he found out about some texts Kendra’s ex had sent to her in an attempt to break them up.
Let’s just say, it didn’t end well for that dude, for his face especially.
That day, I saw a different side to the golden retriever personality.
He might be all smiles and jokes ninety-nine percent of the time, but on the rare occasions he feels betrayed—just like he does right now—a much darker character emerges.
I predicted the Tommy Schneider news would only be a prequel to the main event, and I was correct.
“Jack,” Darcy whispers, taking a step forward, “Archer’s right. Let’s not do this here, okay?”
In response to her plea, his eyes soften as they flick to Darcy.
“Why are you both here?” he repeats, eyes growing harder again.
“I drove here to surprise Kendra since her flight from Madrid is due in at any second. I planned to take her out for a meal, but now I’m thinking I’ll just take you out instead.
” His nostrils flare, breathing back to ragged.
It’s a risky move, but I’m left with no choice. I can see the way he’s spiraling. I step closer, and he does the same. I’m for sure within punching distance, and it wouldn’t shock me if he did just that. But like I said to Darcy, I’ll take whatever he hands out without retaliation.
“We just got back from Miami.” I force the words out, working to keep my voice calm and steady when I’m anything but that underneath.
Jack looks off to the side, blowing out a cynical breath.
“You didn’t think you could get away with it in New York, so you took her away, where you wouldn’t get caught.
I fucking knew it. I knew you were a piece of shit, but I gave you the benefit of the doubt because even I didn’t think you could be this fucking stupid. ”
If it wasn’t for the bills on our caps, our foreheads would be touching as he gets right in my face. “Abbie never existed, did she?”
I swallow hard, bile rising into my throat. “No.”
He puffs out another breath, eyes dropping to the ground before rising back to mine. “You’re a fucking coward—you know that? Making up some bullshit about a chick so you could have your way in secret.”
“It’s not what you think it is,” I say, wincing because while this absolutely isn’t, it’s a classic line everyone says when they’ve been caught red-handed.
“I’ll tell you what it is,” Jack bites out, jaw ticcing, molars grinding.
“It’s Archer Moore sticking his dick in whoever he wants and to hell with the consequences.
You just couldn’t leave her alone, could you?
She was off-limits and a conquest you had to have, even if you knew it would set fire to our friendship and the team. ”
I see red. Despite understanding exactly why Jack would conclude what he has, he couldn’t be further from the truth. I’m so fucking sick of being judged for my past and the choices I made before I fell in love with Darcy.
Smoothing a palm over my mouth, I can’t suppress the sneer that pulls at my lips. “Be very, very fucking careful what you say next, Jack. My best advice would be not to judge what you don’t understand.”
His brows pull together, face still awash with rage. “If I don’t understand and it’s not what it looks like, then why didn’t you come to me sooner? Why all the sneaking around?”
I open my mouth to tell him exactly why—that I was respecting my girl’s privacy and wishes, but also because it was really none of his goddamn business until we decided to make it.
“Because I’m pregnant, okay? I just turned twelve weeks pregnant,” Darcy bursts out, frustration lacing her voice.
Jack’s head darts to his sister, and he takes a step back from me, his eyes falling to her stomach. Beneath the oversize sweatshirt she’s wearing, you can’t see her cute bump. Tears pool in the corners of her eyes, and all I want is to gather my wife in my arms and promise everything will be okay.
“Fuck it,” I announce.
I do exactly that when I loop my arm around her shoulders, pulling her into my side. She buries her face into my hoodie, and my heart swells in response.
Her brother watches on, the blood draining from his face. “Y-you’re pregnant? With Archer’s child?” he finally pushes out.
“Yes,” she whispers back, one hand falling to her stomach. “So, when you ask why we haven’t said anything sooner, it’s because we wanted to find the right time, and I only just finished my first trimester.”
He points to her hand resting on her stomach, eyes growing even wider than before. “Wait, you got fucking married too?!”
I drop my head down to the floor.
What a fucking disaster.
“Yes,” I reply, looking Jack straight in the eyes. “We did. But I’ll repeat myself again: let’s not do this here.”
With a bright face and looking super excited, Kendra approaches from behind her husband. The second she registers he’s talking to us, her face drops, turning as pale as my wife’s.
“What’s going on?” Kendra asks as she sidles up next to Jack.
The atmosphere is explosive. One false move or word, and Jack is going off at the deep end.
I’m not sure if it’s the presence of his wife or he’s finally processing our surroundings, but when he swallows thickly, I can tell he’s holding back what he really wants to say. And right now, I’m grateful because I know he needs to calm down.
“Why don’t we go back to our place and talk?” I suggest again, hoping this time, he’ll accept our invitation.
I watch the way Darcy and Kendra exchange glances, wondering what Jack is going to say.
“That sounds like a good idea,” Kendra agrees.
Holding up a hand, Jack shakes his head, and my hope dissolves. “No. Kendra just got off a long-haul flight, and I need some time to process what the fuck has happened so I don’t go and say something I’ll regret.”
He looks at Darcy then, a gentler meaning in his eyes.
“I’m sorry, Darce, but I need a minute. I get why you didn’t tell me about the pregnancy, but …
I don’t know. I just feel like you’re not thinking this whole thing through.
It’s like you’re having a knee-jerk reaction to splitting with Liam and …
” He trails off, not knowing what to say next.
“I’ve thought everything through,” Darcy quickly counters, her voice a touch sharper.
Tipping his head toward the ceiling, Jack then refocuses his attention back on me. “I’ve literally got nothing to say to you right now. The betrayal is too much for me to comprehend.”
“We need a time to talk, away from heightened emotions and crowds, and I’ll happily lay everything down for you,” I reply, trying once more for him to see reason.
He smirks, and it isn’t a warm, amused, or friendly one. “Yeah, I’m sure you will. But what I’m saying is, Archer, I’m not sure I’ll ever be ready to talk to you. Ever again.”