Chapter Forty-Three
ARCHER
I have never grabbed my clothes and gotten dressed so fast in my fucking life. And trust me when I tell you that for me, that’s really saying something.
I know who’s standing on the other side of the door. I don’t need to check my smart doorbell to confirm it. Only Jack could time his visit to absolute fucking perfection, and for some reason, he’s always had a specific knock.
With my hand on the door handle and while thanking myself on repeat for updating the security code to the elevator recently, I check over my shoulder to make sure Darcy’s in the bathroom, taking a bath and not racing through the apartment, naked, because that’s the last fucking thing I need when I open this door.
“She fucking loves me,” I whisper to myself, a shot of adrenaline kicking up my heart rate.
Drawing in a deep breath, I drop my eyes to be sure my dick has definitely deflated and pull the door open.
My gut was right.
“Hey,” Jack greets me beneath a Blades baseball cap. He casts his attention down the hallway, closing his eyes like he doesn’t particularly want to be here.
“Did Kendra make you come over?” I ask, stepping to one side so he can enter.
For a brief second, he hesitates, but then moves forward, and I close the door behind him, determined not to be the next one to speak. He’s barely said two words to me outside of the rink, and if there’s any hope for our relationship, it’s time he started talking.
“Is Darcy here?” he asks.
Heading over to the kitchen, I do what I always do when Jack stops by my place to watch game footage or generally hang. With my arm outstretched, I offer him a beer.
“She’s taking a bath, and she’ll probably be a while,” I reply, feeling the tension grow thicker with each second.
He stands next to the island with both hands in the pockets of his jeans, staring at the bottle I’m offering, like if he accepts it, then he’s somehow yielding.
Don’t leave me hanging, please.
Finally, he steps forward and takes the bottle. He doesn’t immediately twist the cap and take a pull, like he usually does, instead setting it down on the counter in front of him.
“Why are you here?” I try a different tactic since he ignored my question about Kendra.
He shrugs, turning on his heel as he heads over to the floor-to-ceiling window.
“You’re right; Kendra did tell me to come since the girls are freaking out over how things are between us. I was in this part of town, picking something up for Emily, and the next thing I know, I’m standing outside your door, having listened to my wife,” he explains, his back still to me.
“Something for Emily?” I repeat, a dose of love spreading inside my chest.
He nods. “Yeah. I have it in my truck, but I’ll save it for after she’s born.”
My throat tightens, and I take a sip of beer in an attempt to temper my emotions.
“What did you get her?”
Turning to look at me, he can’t hide the subtle smile as it plays on his lips. “You’ll see come the birth.”
Something about that statement gives me hope, like he isn’t going to cut me out completely.
Feeling like now is the best opportunity I’ll get, I decide to approach with caution. “Are you ready to talk?”
Jack walks over to the couch and takes a seat, and I sit on the coffee table opposite him, forearms resting on my knees as I wait, yet again, for him to speak.
“I guess that’s why I’m here, although I still don’t know what to say. I’m just sick of this awkward atmosphere.”
“That you created,” I counter, immediately regretting that I did.
Jack goes to stand, but I hold up a hand.
“I’m sorry. Don’t go. I’m frustrated, is all. I’ve been waiting to clear the air, and you haven’t given me the chance.”
Thankfully, he sits back down, twisting his hands around.
“I hate seeing you like this.”
Jack’s brows pull together. “Like what?”
I circle my own face. “I’m used to the golden retriever Jack. The one who can’t stop talking and ripping the shit out of me. I can’t remember the last time I saw you smile.”
“When did you start sleeping with my sister?” He glosses over my previous comment, no sign of the old Jack reemerging.
But at least he’s talking, and at this point, I’ll take whatever he’ll give me to start an open dialogue. This isn’t just about me or him or the team. This is about my wife and the way I can see how this whole thing is cutting her up.
“The night of her birthday party.”
I watch the way his jaw tics.
“That was over three months ago. You’ve been keeping all this a secret for that long?!” He huffs out a disbelieving breath. “No, wait. Of course you have. She’s over fourteen weeks pregnant.”
“Fourteen weeks and two days, and starting to show.” I’m so fucking proud, and I wear the smile to match.
“She’s doing so well, taking everything in her stride with the vitamins and shots she needs.
We had a blood test at eight weeks, and she got through it like a pro.
I distracted her with a story about me being an idiot when I was younger, and the test was over before she knew it. ”
Jack scrubs a hand over his mouth, his face softening. “I never even thought about her fear of needles.”
I nod once and recall the look of absolute dread when the phlebotomist visited that day. “I remembered you talking about Darcy’s fear of needles and figured she’d need some extra support through the pregnancy.”
Something like understanding creeps into his stoic expression, and my hope blooms a little brighter. I decide to keep talking since I can sense he’s way more receptive.
“Darcy getting pregnant when she did was never in our plan. That said …” I eye him cautiously. “I won’t lie to you again and tell you that I hadn’t thought about what it would be like to spend a life with her. The number of times I wanted to sit you down and unload my feelings?—”
“Then why didn’t you?” he asks. “I’d have had way more respect if you’d come to me at the start.”
Twisting my hands around anxiously, I know how important these next few minutes are to the future of our friendship and family.
“For the exact same reasons you waited four years to tell Kendra how you felt—fear of rejection. I’ve spent my entire adulthood jumping from one woman’s bed to the next with zero chance of catching feelings.
It wasn’t because I was scared of the concept of a relationship, more that I didn’t want one.
That was, until I did and with the one person who was off-limits, and that thought did scare me shitless.
With Darcy, all it took was a few minutes in her company, and I was enraptured—fucking ruined, to be honest. I got the opportunity to get to know her on a platonic level, and I’d never done that with a woman.
Again, it was something I’d never wanted with any other woman. ”
I pause and let him absorb my words. Jack remains still as he studies me carefully.
“Darcy made it pretty fucking clear she wanted to have fun with guys after Liam, and honestly, I got it—why she’d want to keep her heart at a safe distance from other pricks who could tear it apart again.
But when she moved to New York and started going out and garnering male attention right in front of me, my remaining willpower dissolved entirely. ”
Jack goes to speak, but my emotions are so high that I hold up another hand, needing to get everything out into the open after two years of hiding.
“No matter how many times I considered coming to you and explaining how I felt and what my intentions were with your sister, I couldn’t envision an outcome where you’d understand or take me seriously. And then when you found out Liam had cheated, it was like big-brother mode hit a whole new level.”
I puff out a defeated breath.
“I had you on one side, warning me to keep my distance when, in fact, I was the only guy who had honest intentions with Darcy. Then, on the other side, I had the girl of my dreams telling me all she wanted was fun.” My voice shakes slightly on the final word.
“Because that’s all I could possibly be good for, right?
That was a reputation I’d built for myself, and it was one that nearly cost me everything. ”
“Archer … I …” Jack starts, but stops himself as he struggles to find the right reply.
I keep going, feelings finally spilling from me in one cathartic declaration after the next.
“After a while of having safe and exclusive fun together, I was starting to feel like the only person who was going to get hurt was me, although that was a risk I accepted just to be near her and spend time with her. That’s when she got pregnant.
Darcy was convinced I’d run a million miles away from her and any responsibility.
” I look him dead in the eyes. “I didn’t.
Hearing her say she was carrying my baby was the single best news I’d ever heard, and the only place I wanted to be was by her side. ”
An involuntary, cheek-aching grin overtakes my face as I recall the start of my wife falling in love with me.
“Witnessing the way each hug became tighter and each kiss grew deeper was incredible. It was like we were part of this bubble we never wanted to burst. Outside of its walls, we knew a shitstorm was ready to rain down, but while we had our bubble’s protection, nothing could stop us.
Nothing can stop the way I worship your sister. ”
When I next lift my eyes to my friend, his shine with pools of emotion.
“You accused me of marrying your sister because I got her pregnant.” I shake my head as the devastation I felt when he said it trickles through my veins once again.
“It’s true that we married in secret because we knew her employment visa was time-sensitive.
Also, there was no way you wouldn’t do everything in your power to either stop us out of anger or at least make it really fucking difficult. ”
Jack doesn’t argue as he continues to listen.
“The bottom line is, Darcy can do what she wants. She can be with who she wants. She chose me, and there’s no way I wouldn’t have put a ring on her finger or had yellow bows stitched onto her wedding shoes whenever she gave me the honor of being her husband.
Circumstance brought our timeline forward, but my love for her has always been real. ”
Against the backdrop of nothing other than the faint noise of the world outside, I swear I hear Jack swallow as he scuffs his sneaker against the floor.
“And the Abbie thing?” he asks quietly.
I push a hand through my hair. “If there’s one part of this story I regret, it’s allowing you to conclude I was seeing someone else.
I want you to know I don’t lie, but I am a human being, and I made a mistake.
I was so desperate to keep seeing Darcy that Abbie gave me a good cover story as I soaked up whatever time I could get with the real woman I was dating, even if only in my head.
” I chuckle darkly. “Jesus, if you knew some of the stuff I did to keep her safe or in my life, then?—”
Smiling, Jack interrupts my rambling. “I honestly don’t want to know, Archer. You’re your own brand of unhinged, and so long as Darcy is good with the possessive vibes you give off, then I guess I’m okay with it too.”
“Does this mean we’re good?” I ask carefully.
When Jack stands up for a second time, I don’t stop him. Instead, I do the same.
Pulling off his cap, Jack holds it down by his side. He releases a tension-easing breath, and I find myself mimicking his exhale as we stand a few feet apart.
“I misjudged you, Archer. I don’t know if it was blind rage or my ego getting the better of me, but I did.
Honestly, it’s probably why I showed up here today because despite my anger and hurt, I knew you weren’t the kind of person who would easily betray a friend or the sister he protects with his life.
” He shakes his head slowly. “The Liam scenario fucked with my head because I’d seen how badly my blood dad treated my mum.
Liam reminded me of him, and all I wanted for Darcy was happiness and good people around her as she moved to New York.
Truth is, I should have more faith in my sister’s judgment of people, along with my own.
I should also probably listen to my wife when she tells me I’m being a prick. ”
He holds out a hand, and I close the whole distance, wrapping my arm around his back. A feeling of relief floods through me as wetness settles onto my eyelashes for the second time today.
“It’s going to take time to fully heal from all this, but … yeah, we’re good, Archer,” he whispers. “Welcome to the family, buddy.”