29. Archie
Archie
I can’t decide if Frankie and everyone else showed up at the exact right time or the absolute worst time.
When I think about how close I came to kissing the girl who used to be my stepsister, I lean toward the right time.
But when I look at Pipe r—who’s never been anything close to a sister to me—I want to kick every last one of the gatecrashers out of my house and get back to what they interrupted.
Not because I’m desperate for some action. That’s never been my thing. What I’m desperate for—what has me on fire—is Piper. I’m burning to kiss her in a way I haven’t felt for anyone else.
“Are you going somewhere, Archie?” Frankie asks as we walk to the front room. Dex, Britta, and Stella are already there.
“Hadn’t planned to. Why?”
“You’re all dressed up,” Dex says, answering for Frankie.
I look down at what I’m wearing, then unintentionally glance at Piper. “You all act like you’ve never seen me in trousers and a nice shirt.”
“I never have,” Britta replies.
“Me neither,” Stella pipes in. “You clean up nice.”
I force myself not to look at Piper to see if she agrees with Stella. “What’s this all about? Shouldn’t you two be in bed? It’s going on nine pm.”
I direct the last question to Dex and Britta, who are early risers.
“I told them what Dad’s done now and called an emergency brainstorming sesh.” Frankie waves everyone toward the couch. “We’re going to figure out a solution to keep you here.”
“Unless you really want to go back to Aus,” Dex quickly adds before sitting next to Britta on the couch. “We want to support whatever it is you want, mate.”
I let what they’ve said sink in. My sister and my friends are here to help.
Usually, I’m the one rushing to their rescue when I think they’re in trouble.
Being on the receiving end of help is new for me.
I’m uncomfortable, but as I’ve spent most of the day in that space, I take a seat next to Frankie, ready to listen.
“Where are you going, Piper?” Frankie asks.
I look around Dex and Britta who are still standing, surprised to see Piper walking toward the stairs.
“I didn’t think it was my place to be here,” she says hesitantly.
“Of course, it’s your place. We need you!” Stella scoots over and pats the space next to her on the couch.
Piper smiles and walks back, taking the spot Stella has created for her. Which happens to be right next to me. So close our shoulders touch, and I’m not sure how I can solve any problems when I’m transfixed by the smell of her lemon verbena scent floating around her.
“Okay, so everyone is up to speed, our father…” Frankie points to herself then me.
“Has threatened to cut off Archie’s allowance if he doesn’t return to Brisbane.
Unstated, but strongly implied in his threat, is that he’ll also make it impossible for Archie to access the trust fund with all of his ‘Surf City’ earnings. ”
Stella leans forward to look at Frankie and me. “No offense, but your dad sounds like kind of a jerk.”
“That’s putting it mildly,” Frankie answers at the same time I say, “He hasn’t always been.”
Piper nods, but I’m not sure which of us she agrees with.
“So, what are your options, Arch?” Britta asks.
“Option one,” Frankie answers for me. “Fight our dad for this house, win, then sell the house and start Bombora.”
Piper tenses.
“Option two,” I pop in. “Go back to Aus and work for Dad.” I scratch the back of my neck. Honestly, though I know it feels spineless, that one makes the most sense. “I play out his plan until I come into the trust, then make Bombora happen.”
“Don’t make that an option, Archie,” Frankie pleads. “You won’t be happy.”
“With my trust fund, I can support both of us, Frankie. You won’t have to keep living in the middle of nowhere, working at a crap diner, and I’ll still get to pursue my own dream. I’ll just put it off for a few years.”
“I like working at a crap diner in the middle of nowhere.”
I shake my head. “For now. You won’t forever.”
Frankie shifts away from me. “I don’t need you playing Dad, Arch, telling me what I want.”
I pause long enough to take in what she’s said. “Right. Sorry. I reckon I don’t want you cheated out of what’s rightfully yours, even if it means sharing what’s mine.” I squeeze her hand to keep her from arguing further.
“And you gain control of your trust when you’re thirty?” Dex asks.
I nod.
He considers this, then quietly says, “It’s only two years. Once you have your own money, you come back here and do what you want with your life.”
I tip my head, Dex seeing the possibility makes it that much more real. Two years isn’t that long. But it's also forever.
“What are you doing, Dex?” Frankie throws up her hands. “We’re trying to keep Archie here; not find ways for him to do what Dad wants.”
Dex fidgets in his seat and looks at me.
“I don’t want you to go, mate, but I get how important your relationship with your dad is.
That’s on the line right now, but you’ll always have the people in this room by your side, no matter where you are.
Like I said before, we want whatever it is you want.
” He looks at Frankie. “It’s your life to choose, Archie. ”
I scan the room. Everyone nods. Even Piper.
Frankie, though, shakes her head. “Dad won’t let you leave. You go back, you’ll be stuck there, working for him.”
I open my mouth to disagree, even though I reckon she’s more right than wrong, but Piper speaks first.
“Frankie’s right,” she says, softly. “You won’t be able to come back. You’ll have lost your chance to do what you really want.”
I turn from Frankie to Piper, and her mouth pulls into a sad side-smile. “I think I agree with Frankie, Arch. You need to fight him. If I convince Mom she should take a cash settlement, your chances will be better.”
My nickname on her lips makes me want to kiss her almost as much as I did a few minutes ago. Then I realize what she’s saying.
“No way.” Only a few hours ago, I would’ve been relieved to hear those words. Not anymore. Not when Piper’s dreams are imploding even faster than mine. “Dad won’t back down easily. It would be a long, drawn-out fight.”
Piper lifts her shoulders. “I don’t have a reason to stay in LA anymore. I can’t go back to Valente. I had job offers in New York. Maybe it’s not too late. I still have friends there, and I made good connections in school.”
“You have friends here!” Stella exclaims.
“What happened with Valente?” Frankie asks.
“They stole the designs from my portfolio to use in their Fall line,” Piper answers.
“That’s the problem we should really be trying to solve,” I say. “How do we stop Valente from stealing Piper’s work?” I look at my friends for answers, grateful to deflect the attention from me.
“Archie, they’ve already stolen my work,” Piper says, firmly. “There’s literally nothing I can do to get my designs back except move on and prove I don’t need Valente. Any plans for revenge will have to be long term, but we can do something about you and Malcolm right now.”
She glares at me, but not in her usual way. There’s no dislike in her gaze, only a warning to back off.
I don’t listen. I can’t when every time our knees touch or her fingers brush my arm, I want to turn back time to an hour ago, both of us in the gym with the only problem to solve is how quickly we can erase every millimeter of space between us.
“You can’t leave. We’ll figure out what to do. I have lawyers. You can sue.”
“ Malcolm has lawyers,” Piper pushes back.
“So do I…”
“ If you go back to Brisbane.”
We go back and forth like this for a few minutes before Stella breaks in.
“Expose them online,” she says casually. “Valente, I mean.”
Piper and I both pivot to Stella. “What?”
“If you have proof that they stole your designs, we make a video and get everyone we know to share it across social media. The star power in this room alone improves your potential to go viral, but if we get Rhys and Georgia Rose on board, there’s no way you won’t.
They both have millions of followers.” Stella speaks with the confidence of a social media manager who consistently has viral reels and Tik Toks. Because that’s exactly who she is.
“You know Georgia Rose Beck? From At Home with Georgia Rose ?” Piper’s wide-eyed expression gives away how impressed she is.
“All my life,” Stella answers.
“She’s my sister-in-law,” Britta adds.
“Did I forget to mention that?” I say.
Piper rolls her eyes. “Yes, you forgot to mention that your best friend’s wife is related to the biggest home design influencer on social media.”
Then she turns back to Stella. “Even if we went viral, that wouldn’t stop Valente from using my designs. They’ve made enough changes to claim they weren’t my ideas.”
“So, you release your designs before Valente does.” Stella lifts her shoulders in a no-big-deal kind of shrug.
Piper laughs. “Yeah, because I happen to have a spare garment factory to help me manufacture my designs, which, to add another layer of complication, I want to produce using eco-friendly and sustainable techniques.” She lets out another, more bitter, laugh.
“I appreciate you wanting to help, but let’s get back to solving Archie’s problems.”
“Okay, but listen…” Stella slides to the edge of the couch, a huge smile on her face.
“You could make a few pieces, right? Because that’s all it would take to set up a crowdfund type thing.
Show the pieces, tell the story of what Valente is doing—people love a good little-guy-versus-The-Man story—pre-orders flood in, and you have the funds to start your own brand. ”
“Stella, you clever woman…” I say, looking from her to Piper, expecting Piper to be as excited as I am about getting revenge on Valente. She’s skilled at revenge, after all. My hair is proof of that.
But Piper’s pressed into the couch, looking as interested in Stella’s idea as she would be in eating the sushi from last night out of the garbage.
“I don’t have the name recognition for thousands of people to pre-order my designs. I think they’re good, but I doubt people will rush to buy from a no-name designer. And Valente might claim I stole the designs from them.”
“I’ve seen your work,” Frankie cuts in. “It’s top notch. People will absolutely want to buy from you. The hard part would be keeping up with demand. There’s no way you could do it by yourself.”
“With enough demand, she wouldn’t have to,” Stella answers before Piper can. “She can hire people to help.”
I nudge Piper. “What about your friend who got fired today?”
She sits straighter, more interested but still unsure. “I don’t know how I’d find her, but maybe she’d be interested. Still, I’d need more than my portfolio as proof that Valente stole from me and not the other way around, in case they accused me.”
We talk through those possibilities until Britta stifles a yawn. Dex notices and stands.
“I’m out of my depth here, and Britta needs to get to bed,” he says, stretching, then looks pointedly at me. “You can only deflect so long, mate. You still need to make some decisions about your own fate.”
Britta holds out her hand for Dex to pull her up. “You and Piper could always work together, if you’re going to start Bombora, Arch,” she says with another yawn. “You’ll need a designer.”
I stare at Britta, considering whether her idea is sleep-deprived nonsense or pure genius.
“That’s a ripper idea, Britt!” Dex says proudly before kissing her cheek.
“It really is,” Stella mutters, her eyes scanning back and forth like she’s searching for the perfect place to put this finishing touch on her original idea.
“Piper exposes Valente, crowdfunds to start her own line, and announces it will be available in larger quantities under the Bombora brand when Archie’s first store opens. It’d be kind of a double launch.”
She drops her eyes to Piper and me and smiles proudly. “Or something. That’s off the top of my head. But I can do some research into crowdfunding if you want.”
Piper and I are speechless, and Stella’s smile slowly falls without quite disappearing. “Think about it, anyway.”
“No, I’d love that,” Piper says, a bit in awe. “If you don’t mind looking into it. I’d love to explore every possibility for producing and marketing my own line…I’m just not sure I want to do it under someone else’s name.”
Her eyes dart to me, and I nod. I get it. If her name isn’t going to be on her designs, she’d be better off staying at Valente than designing for a company that doesn’t even exist yet.
“Of course! Let’s get together tomorrow to talk more,” Stella says, vibrating with excitement.
I’m pleased they’re getting to be friends. Piper doesn’t know Stella well enough yet to understand she’s a force to be reckoned with. Stella will come up with a plan before Piper has time to question whether she should launch her own line.
Still buzzing, Stella tells me goodbye and follows Britta and Dex to the front door where Frankie holds it open for them.
Piper and I, still sitting side by side, look at each other. I can’t read her face, and I wonder if she’s considering what Britta’s said. Could we work together?
Or she might be replaying every interaction we’ve had this week, same as I am. My breakdown of the week comes down to ninety-nine percent battles and sabotage, one percent flirting and almost kissing.
It’s the one percent of our interactions that has me questioning whether I could work with her without wanting to follow through on that kiss every second we're together. I’m tempted to try now, even with Frankie in the next room.
But my sister seeing us isn’t the only thing at stake. Now that Dad and Cynthia have finally come to an agreement on assets, they can’t be rid of each other fast enough. What happens to my relationship with Dad if Piper and I start something? If I even still have a relationship with Dad, that is.
The biggest issue, though, is that I dunno if I’m ready to risk losing my heart to Piper. Because if I kiss her, there’s no turning back. I’m all in.
“Piper Quinn,” I whisper, then chuckle to myself.
She gives me a questioning look, but I get the sense she has an idea about what I’m thinking.
I never could’ve predicted how much I’d like the feel of that name on my lips or the sound of it in my ears. But the biggest surprise of all is how much I want Piper close enough that I can hold her in my arms.
Maybe even forever.