Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
T wo days later, Archer had the day off—as enforced by Gladys, who insisted he needed to balance work with his new family life. After watching him pace around the house for the first half of the day, Iris suggested they go to the spring farmers’ market, mostly because he was making her crazy. Archer had perked up at that, and even though he was clearly planning to get things for the diner, Iris figured it still counted as a day off. Especially since Olive was along for the trip.
Iris had her tight by the hand as they made their way through the stalls. If she’d had a leash, she totally would have used it. She didn’t trust this kid for a second. Not after her little sleepwalking episode.
‘Can we get strawberries?’ Olive asked.
‘Not in season yet,’ Archer said, and Olive frowned.
‘We’ll get something else that’s just as good,’ Iris assured her, even though looking around she saw mostly lettuce and other greenery she was sure Olive would immediately reject.
‘Pretty good selection,’ Archer said, perusing each table as they walked.
‘We might not be Paris, but we do know how to have a farmers’ market,’ Iris said dryly and Archer rolled his eyes.
‘So, what are you going to get?’ she asked.
‘I like to take a lap first and just see what everyone is offering.’
‘Sure, makes sense,’ Iris said, spotting and waving to a few of her students.
‘Arugula looks good,’ Archer said, his forehead creased in thought. It was similar to watching him cook. He was in chef mode. Iris bit down on a smile. Way too many neighbors out here today, and the last thing she needed was to set off the rumor mill by gazing at her boss with a goofy grin on her face.
‘PUPPIES!!’ Olive’s screech stopped Iris in her tracks and nearly gave her a heart attack. She looked up to see Kira, Bennett and half of their pack in tow. ‘Let’s go see them!!’ Olive tugged Iris along behind her through the crowd.
‘You brought Elizabeth and Benny to the farmer’s market?’ Iris asked Kira as they approached.
Kira smiled, patting the big dogs on their heads. ‘They’re very well behaved.’
Bennett laughed. ‘Yeah, Benny only snatched one peanut-butter cookie from Annie’s booth.’
‘That was a misunderstanding,’ Kira said. ‘And we paid for it.’
‘Can I pet the puppies?’ Olive asked, eyes wide. Elizabeth, Bennett’s biggest dog, was nearly her height, and she gazed at Olive, her tongue lolling out of her mouth.
‘Sure,’ Kira said, squatting down to Olive’s level. ‘She likes it when you scratch right here.’ She demonstrated by scratching between the dog’s ears, and Olive followed suit, her face lighting up when the dog nudged closer to her.
Iris smiled and looked up to glance at Archer, but apparently they’d lost him.
‘I was going to introduce you to Archer,’ she said. ‘But he’s wandered off.’
Bennett laughed. ‘How are things going with the new gig?’
Iris shrugged. ‘It’s fine.’
‘Oh, and how’s life with the chef?’ Kira asked, standing back up with a knowing smirk on her face.
‘Also fine.’
Fine, as in she spent way too much time thinking about how fine he was.
Kira’s smirk grew.
But luckily, Olive had moved on to petting Benny and was now getting full-face licks and her delighted giggles attracted Kira’s attention.
‘Oh, he likes you!’ she said, and Olive beamed.
‘She probably tastes like maple syrup,’ Iris said with a laugh.
‘Well, that is the way to Benny’s heart.’
‘Iris, can we get a dog?’
‘That’s a question for your dad.’
‘Where is he?’ Olive asked. ‘I need to ask him right now.’
Kira laughed. ‘I like your spirit, kid.’
‘Why don’t we stay here with Olive, and you can go track him down,’ Bennett said with a not-so innocent smile, like he knew the last thing Iris should do was spend time alone with her sexy boss. He was starting to fit in with this town a little too well. Him and Kira both.
‘Yeah!’ Olive cut off any response Iris was about to give. ‘I’ll stay with the dogs and you go find my dad and then we’ll ask him.’
Iris glanced back and forth between Bennett and Kira’s conniving smiles and then sighed in defeat. ‘Fine. I’ll go find him. Won’t be long.’
‘Have fun!’ Kira said with a wink.
‘Don’t take your eyes off of her,’ Iris said, ignoring that comment. ‘She wanders.’
‘If you think this child is going to willingly leave these dogs, then you’re crazy, but we’ll keep a very close watch. I promise.’ Kira raised a hand to her heart in a solemn vow and Iris just glared at her before traipsing off to find Archer.
It wasn’t hard. He was surrounded by half a dozen septuagenarians and most of the book club.
‘I had a sleepwalker!’ Marissa was telling him as Iris approached. ‘The little guy was always ending up in the strangest places. Found him one morning up in his tree house in the backyard.’ She laughed like that was hilarious, but Archer looked horrified.
‘Outside?’ he croaked.
‘Don’t worry, they outgrow it eventually.’
‘Right. That’s very … comforting.’
‘Did you try the baked ziti I dropped off last week?’ Carol asked, nudging her friend aside to get closer to Archer. Iris bit down on a laugh. ‘I would love to get a chef’s opinion on it.’
‘It’s always a bit dry, if you ask me,’ Estelle muttered, and the laugh escaped Iris’s mouth.
‘I … uh…’ Archer stalled.
Iris knew for a fact most of the meals the town had dropped off were still frozen solid. Relief flooded Archer’s face when he caught sight of her, as though he knew she would save him from having to explain that they were only three people and couldn’t possibly consume that much food. And also, that he was a food snob.
‘Okay, ladies, harassing-the-new-guy time is over now. Off you go.’
‘Oh, Iris, you’re no fun.’ Marissa giggled.
‘See you in class, girls.’
‘Bye, sweetie.’ Carol gave her a quick peck on the cheek, followed by more hugs and shoulder pats and goodbyes from all the other ladies.
‘Your adoring fans?’ he asked as the ladies wandered off.
‘Some of the many,’ Iris said with a smile.
‘Where’s Olive?’
‘She’s with Kira and Bennett and their dogs. Oh, and you should brace yourself because now she wants one.’
‘Oh, God. Am I supposed to get her a dog?’ The panic was clear in his voice.
Iris shook her head with a laugh. ‘You don’t have to get her a dog.’
‘Okay, good. I don’t think we can manage a dog.’
Iris ignored that we, the one she was not at all sure she wanted to be a part of, and started rifling through the canvas bag slung over Archer’s arm. ‘Whaddya get?’
‘Mostly some fresh herbs, some lettuce, arugula…’
‘Everything’s green.’
‘It’s early in the season.’
Iris frowned. ‘Come with me.’ She linked her arm through his and tugged him through the crowd.
‘Hi, Annie, hi, George,’ she said when they arrived at the bakery table. ‘This,’ she said, turning to Archer, ‘is the best table at the market. And baked goods are always in season.’
He smiled, that dimple popping in his cheek, and Iris had to look away lest she do something inappropriate here in the middle of town like lick her boss’s face.
‘Hi, Iris, hi, Archer, what can I get you?’ Annie asked.
Iris shook the inappropriate thoughts from her head and turned her attention to the table spread with delights. Shortbread cookies, cardamom twists, sugar cookies in the shapes of little bunnies and chicks, chocolate donuts, and iced lemon pound cake were laid out in front of them. Annie had outdone herself this week.
‘We’ll take two slices of the pound cake and…’ she turned to Archer, ‘what do you think Olive would like?’
His brow furrowed in concentration as he considered what Olive might want and it was that consideration that nearly did Iris in. He was so damn thoughtful when it came to his kid.
‘The bunny cookie.’
‘Excellent choices,’ Annie said, putting their treats in a bag and taking Iris’s card for payment. ‘Enjoying the market?’ she asked Archer.
‘I am, actually.’
Annie laughed. ‘Don’t look so surprised.’
He smiled. ‘Sorry. I don’t mean to be an asshole.’
‘It just happens sometimes,’ Iris finished for him with a pat on the arm. ‘Thanks Annie!’ she called, pulling Archer to their next stop. ‘One more thing before we circle back to Olive.’
She kept her arm linked through his, her hand resting on the curve of his bicep. It was nice, walking side by side with him. It was nice to be out of the house together.
Not that it could be anything other than a friendly trip to the farmers’ market, but she was allowed to enjoy the feel of Archer’s arm beneath her hand and the occasional brush of his hip against hers. Wasn’t she? Of course she was.
The only dangerous part was that this nice day out together might make her want more of them.
‘Here we are.’ They stopped at the florist’s table. ‘Plenty of colors,’ she grinned up at him and his returning smile had her stomach flipping and her cheeks warming.
‘Beautiful,’ he said, his eyes still on her face and, damn, he was handsome out here in the light of day. All this fresh air was making her lightheaded.
Lupita, who was manning the booth today, cleared her throat and Iris tore her gaze away from Archer’s.
‘Hey, Lu.’
‘Hi Iris.’ Lupita glanced from Iris to Archer, a knowing look on her face but Iris could not deal with another busybody Dreamer today.
‘A bunch of the yellow tulips and a bunch of the pink, please,’ Iris said before the woman could ask any questions about Archer or Olive or their living arrangement or Archer’s family history.
‘Here you are.’ Lupita handed Iris two bundles of flowers wrapped in brown paper and Archer handed his card over before Iris could get to hers.
‘Thanks, Lu. See you Tuesday for my spring wreath-making class,’ Iris said before they walked away. ‘I wasn’t trying to make you buy me flowers,’ she said to Archer, jokingly, but finding him looking at her intently again.
‘I don’t mind buying you flowers.’
‘In a professional way, of course,’ she said, not able to help the teasing smile on her face.
‘Of course,’ he said with a slight smile of his own. He’d dipped his head closer to her ear and his words were warm on her cheek. His hand slid to the small of her back, guiding her through the crowd. The press of his fingers into her body sent sparks skittering down her spine.
But stronger than the feeling of Archer’s big, warm hand was the feeling of the town watching them. And Iris knew this town. She knew how they thought and how they talked. And if they thought anything untoward was going on between her and Archer, what would that mean for his custody agreement?
The town would probably be delighted if they were officially together, but Archer couldn’t be seen as someone who had casual flings left and right. What kind of environment would that be for a little girl? Never mind that it was the exact environment that Iris had grown up in, and she’d turned out just fine, except for maybe a bit of an issue with commitment.
But that didn’t matter. Archer needed to be seen as the responsible dad that he was.
And she could not get in the way of that.
‘We should probably find Olive,’ she said, taking a hard right past the last booth and onto the grassy lawn where she’d last seen Olive and Kira. Archer’s hand dropped from her back and she refused to feel sad about its absence. It was one thing to flirt with Archer in the privacy of his own home, but out here they needed to be careful.
She had to be careful with this considerate man and his little girl. The last thing she wanted was to cause problems for either of them.