Chapter 26
twenty-six
. . .
Winnie
I sent my book off to my editor and blew out a breath. I did it.
Another book in the books. Pun intended.
I sat back and thought about how crazy the last twenty-four hours had been.
An absolute roller coaster.
Things had escalated with Archer and me, and it wasn’t just the physical stuff. Yes, I’d been all in yesterday, and if that phone call hadn’t come through, I’m fairly certain we would have had sex.
And I was completely on board with that.
It didn’t even scare me.
But it was the emotional connection that was so surprising. We talked about everything. I loved the way he was with his daughter. The way he cared so deeply.
Archer Chadwick was everything I never knew I needed.
At a time in my life when I’d made a conscious decision not to need or want anyone.
Melody had seemed back to normal this morning, and I’d told Archer that I wanted to tag along to drop her off at school today. He didn’t argue or tell me it wasn’t necessary. He’d just smiled and nodded.
But I knew it would comfort both of them if I was there.
Justine hadn’t been at school when we dropped Melody off, and Mrs. Groucher hugged Melody so tight that it made my heart squeeze.
I’d grown fond of the grumpy woman over the last few months. I’d surmised that being a school teacher was not an easy job, and most people didn’t understand that and judged unfairly, me included. But I got this woman now, and I’d learned that kindness could go a long way.
She’d softened somewhere along the way, and my guess was that she couldn’t deny how sweet Melody was, so she’d just accepted it.
Archer seemed a little off this morning. He’d been quieter than usual, and he seemed uncomfortable around me when he dropped me off at home on his way to work.
I wasn’t going to read into it.
A lot had happened, and maybe he was just processing everything.
My phone rang, and I saw that it was my agent, Laney.
“Hey, I just sent the book to you and Daisy,” I told her.
Daisy was the editor I worked with at my publisher.
“Yes. I just got it. I can’t wait to dive in,” she said. “But I wanted to call you to talk to you because I just hung up the phone with Daisy, and they want to send you on a tour for Whisper Sweet Nothings.”
They’d discussed doing a book tour later in the series, but I hadn’t expected it to be so soon.
“Really? So the tour would be for the April release?” I asked, and my heart raced in my chest, because that was only two months away.
“Yes. Every retailer has picked it up, and I think this one’s going to put you on the map. Really make a name for yourself. I’m guessing you can retire from your nanny gig after this release.” She chuckled.
I cleared my throat. “Okay. I’ll have to talk to Archer and make sure he can work with my schedule. How long will I be gone?”
“We’re planning on a five-stop book tour, so you’ll be gone for a week,” she said, and I could hear the excitement in her voice.
I should’ve been excited.
This was everything I’d wanted.
Everything I’d worked for.
It was all happening. My books were taking off. My career was going in the direction that I’d only dreamed of.
“Oh wow. That sounds great. I just need to make sure that Archer can cover everything on his own with Melody while I’m gone,” I repeated, because they were all that I was thinking about at the moment. I’d made a commitment to them, and I wouldn’t leave them high and dry.
“All right. I’ll have the team send over an itinerary, and we’ll start getting your travel planned in the next week or so.
But you may want to give him notice soon about an early retirement.
” She chuckled again. “In all seriousness, Winnie, I think you’re going to get very busy here after this release.
I think this series is about to explode. ”
“Okay, yes. This is amazing.” Of course it was amazing.
Get on board, Winnie.
“I’ll be in touch after I go through these edits. Talk soon.”
“Sounds good. Thanks for the good news.”
“You got it.” She ended the call, and I pulled out my calendar to see what I had scheduled during release week.
Melody had riding lessons and dance class that week. I was sure Isabelle could help get her to her activities. I was just about to text Archer when my phone vibrated.
Archie
Hey.
Hi. How are you?
Archie
Good. How are you?
I chuckled. This was slightly more formal than we normally texted one another.
I’m good. Are you being weird?
Archie
Maybe. I need to ask you something.
Okay. Ask away.
Archie
Do you want to have dinner with me tonight?
Don’t we have dinner every night?
Archie
Yes.
What’s going on? You were weird in the car, and now you’re being weird again.
Archie
Because I had something to ask you in the car and I didn’t know how to ask.
You wanted to ask me to have dinner with you when we have dinner together every night? I was going to make short ribs tonight. Does that work?
Archie
Winnie.
Archie.
Archie
I don’t want you to make short ribs.
Okayyyyy. I could make chicken?
My phone rang, and his name flashed across the screen.
“Hello?” I chuckled.
“Hi.” He cleared his throat. “I don’t want you to cook dinner for me. I want to take you to dinner.”
I paused on my way to the kitchen. “Me, you, and Melody?”
“Fuck. I’m not good at this.” Goodness, was that a nervous catch in his voice?
“Not good at what?” I asked, my heart racing so fast I could hear it in my ears.
“I’m trying to ask you on a date. And clearly, I’m failing.” He laughed. “I would like to have dinner. Just you and me.”
“I thought you didn’t do that?”
“I don’t.”
“But you want to do it with me, Archie?”
“I definitely want to do it with you, Winnie.”
Now it was my turn to laugh. “You’re ridiculous.”
“Listen, I know you’re not looking for anything serious, but…” He groaned. “I really do suck at this.”
“You’re doing great. Continue, please.”
“I know you’re not looking for anything serious, and I know I said that I wasn’t looking for anything serious. But I don’t know, Win, I feel like maybe we found something special when we weren’t looking.”
Swoon.
Serious swoon.
“You aren’t speaking. Uh, was that too much?” he asked.
“Not at all. I was swooning.” I chuckled and added, “I think we found something special, too. And I didn’t know how to bring it up. It’s probably weird because I live in your home, and obviously I don’t want to complicate things with Melody.”
“We’re on the same page. But I think she knows we’re friends, and we don’t need to say more than that. My mom asked if she could have Winnie for a sleepover tonight. I thought maybe I could take you out for dinner. Just you and me.”
“You and me, Archie. I can get on board with that.”
“Yeah? All right. It’s a date, beautiful.” Even the way this man spoke was sexy. “Did you finish the read-through?”
“I did. I just sent it off to my editor.”
“That’s amazing. Congrats. We’ve got something special to celebrate tonight.”
“Thank you.” I dropped to sit on the couch and sighed. “I’ll see you tonight.”
“Yes, you will.”
We ended the call, and I couldn’t help but smile.
Life was good.
When was the last time I’d thought life was good?
It had been a while.
I stood and headed to the hall closet to grab my coat, as there was still a chill in the air.
I decided to take a walk downtown to look for something to wear tonight and pop in to see my aunt and uncle.
“There’s my favorite girl,” Uncle Oscar said as he wrapped me up in a hug.
“Hi. Did you have a nice anniversary yesterday? And I know you spoiled Aunt Edith for her birthday.” I smiled at him.
“Of course I did. We had a great night. Ate too much, but that’s par for the course.” He chuckled.
“Good. And it’s pretty slow today, huh?”
“It is. What if I join you for a muffin and some coffee?”
“I’d love that,” I said.
“Did you send the book off to Laney?” he asked.
“I did. I sent it before I came here.” I slipped into the booth, and he took the seat across from me.
“It’s the best feeling in the world, right?” he asked as Edith came over and gave me a hug before leaving to get us coffee and muffins.
“It really is. And they want to send me on a book tour in April for the Whisper Sweet Nothings release.”
“You don’t sound thrilled.”
“No, I’m excited about it. I just need to make sure I can get things covered with Melody.” I thanked my aunt when she dropped off our drinks and wrapped my hands around the warm mug.
“It’ll be good for you to go out and meet readers,” he said. My uncle was the one who inspired me to write my first book. He’d had a very successful career as an author of thrillers under the pen name James Covington, which he’d retired from over a decade ago.
“Says the man who never toured or did interviews.” I chuckled. He’d kept his identity very private.
“The landscape of the industry has changed, so you’ve got to change with the times.” He took a sip of his coffee. “That’s when I walked away. I didn’t want to do all that social media stuff, nor do I care for interviews. But you’re young, and you’re much more social than I am.”
“You had an impressive career,” I said. “And you know you’re still my favorite author.”
He’d hit the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists multiple times.
He’d actually had a brilliant career, and most people who knew him here in Rosewood River had no idea that he’d been a big deal in the publishing world back in the day.
His books still sold well, and his royalties were pretty sweet; my aunt and uncle lived very comfortably.
Their little café barely stayed profitable, but for them it was more about being involved in the community.
“And you’re my favorite author, aside from the sexy stuff. But Aunt Edith likes those parts, so who am I to say.”
“Okay, good to know.”
“I like seeing how happy you are being here,” my uncle said. “You’re away from that toxic ex of yours, and you seem to be spending a lot of time with Archer and Melody.” He gave me a mischievous grin.
“I’m the nanny, so obviously we spend time together.”
“That little girl is the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen, aside from you.
” He smiled as his gaze locked with mine.
“And I see the way that man looks at you, and I just want to make sure that you know that it’s okay to be happy again.
You spent a lot of years being unhappy, and I know you came here to throw yourself into work and be on your own, but sometimes things happen for a reason. Don’t fight it.”
“Are you seriously giving me dating advice?”
“I wish I’d given you dating advice before you married that scoundrel.”
“Yeah, me too. But it’s all part of learning and growing, right?”
“Yes, but sometimes when you get out of something bad, it makes you feel like you need to protect yourself. And the truth is—when you get out of something bad, you should start looking for something good.”
“We’re going deep this morning, huh?” I chuckled.
“I just love you, sugar bear. I want you to have everything that you deserve.”
“Thank you. I’m glad we got to catch up this morning. I’m going to head over to the Vintage Rose to say hi to Emilia, and then I’m going to pop into Strawberry Fields and find something cute to wear on my date tonight.” We both moved to our feet.
“Your date, huh?”
“Yep. I’m having dinner with a real handsome single dad.” I waggled my brows. “See, you don’t need to worry so much. I promise I’m doing just fine.”
He whistled, which made me laugh, and I hugged both my aunt and uncle goodbye and promised to come see them over the weekend.
And I couldn’t wipe the smile from my face because I was having dinner with a man I was crazy about tonight.
And I was fairly certain that he was crazy about me, too.
And I hadn’t felt that kind of excitement in a very long time.