Chapter Twenty-Eight
Zoey had been humming Ed Sheeran love songs all morning.
Last night with Archer had been incredible.
He was tender, passionate, kissing her and taking her to bed like she was a precious piece of china he couldn’t drop.
She’d never connected with someone like this, not just physically but a heart connection.
She had a little spring in her step when she opened the door to Glamtique.
Pumpkin spice latte in hand, she flipped her sign from Closed to Open and went to work.
She had a big day planned. Ophelia would get a new outfit: a bright orange-and-yellow plaid skirt with brown tights and kickass boots.
It would scream “Autumn” in the best way.
She had brought silk faux leaves with her to scatter on the floor of the window box and near the apple barrel.
A tiny detail, but one that mattered. She’d fill some orders that had come in online and unbox items she’d received from an estate sale. By then it would be time to go home.
After, she’d stop by the market and get the ingredients to fix Archer a five-star meal.
This time, she was stepping away from the pumpkin-infused theme, because she had the distinct impression it wasn’t Archer’s favorite.
And face it, you could only put pumpkin in so much.
It felt like time to pull back a little.
He would arrive around seven, and they were going to have a late dinner and then…
whatever materialized. Five days! She and Archer had five days together before he had to leave for Asia.
They would make use of every spare minute they could be together.
If it wasn’t her busiest season, Zoey would close the shop, but that would be bananas.
She didn’t want love to make her irresponsible.
Good thing she was open, too, because Valerie Kinsella came in just before closing time, dragging her two children with her.
The little girl was in a stroller, but her two-year-old son, Wade, toddled beside her, holding her hand.
He was the image of his father and had that same wicked smile and glint in his eyes that spelled trouble.
“Help,” Valerie said. “We have a Halloween party to go to, and I can’t find a black dress to save my life. I’m going as a witch. Keeping it simple.”
Zoey smothered a laugh. Valerie was the furthest thing from a witch Zoey could imagine.
She was a third-grade teacher, and all-around saint in general.
But she did appear flustered now, her hair wild and unruly, probably due to the wind that had kicked up outside.
Yep, on top of everything else going right in Zoey’s life, the weatherman had predicted rain.
Tonight, she and Archer would have a fire.
“Mama, me want candy!” Wade wailed, but when he noticed Zoey looking at him, he quieted, bashfully smiled and lowered his head.
“If you’re good, we’ll stop by the boardwalk after,” Valerie said. “Daddy will meet us after he gets off work.”
“Daddy!” Wade jumped up and down.
Zoey bent down to tweak Wade’s little nose. “Hello, cutie.”
“Hewo,” he said, then turned and buried his face in his mother’s skirt.
“You’re in luck,” Zoey said. “I believe I have just the right dress for you.”
“If you do, that makes you a lifesaver. I can’t buy anything online anymore because my size is different. I don’t even know my size anymore!”
“Say no more.” Zoey led her to the dress she had in mind, and she held it up to Valerie.
“Something with a longer hem?” Valerie asked hopefully.
“Let me see.” Zoey searched through dresses.
After her third try, she found one that met with Valerie’s approval. Just then, a loud crack of thunder sounded, and rain started to fall as if someone had just emptied an Olympic-sized pool on the roof. The water came down in sheets, making it difficult to see outside the clear glass windows.
“Uh-oh. I don’t think God likes this dress,” Zoey joked, since the timing was nearly perfect.
“That rain wasn’t supposed to come until tonight!” Valerie said.
The sudden downpour had folks scurrying into her store, seeking shelter. South Texans weren’t always prepared for the rain since it came so infrequently. Zoey would bet no one had an umbrella, except possibly in their car.
“I shouldn’t have come today but I was worried you’d run out of inventory. Everyone keeps talking about your new assistant and how he gives the best fashion advice.” Valerie’s head swiveled around. “Is he here?”
“No, I’m sorry. He actually…um, he quit.” She couldn’t bring herself to say she’d fired him.
“Oh, that’s too bad. I never got a chance to meet him!” Valerie shushed her baby, who’d started to fuss.
“Yeah, it is too bad. He was a great help around here.”
“Mama, I wanna go spawsh puddles!” Wade began to jump up and down and tug on Valerie’s skirt.
“No, sweetie, it’s too wet out there to find a puddle,” Valerie said. “We need to stay in here until it stops raining buckets. Then we’ll scoot on out of here and go get that candy.”
Customers, not having anything better to do, wandered around the store, reverse window-shopping. Zoey greeted everyone she knew by name, but she also saw a few new faces.
“Is Archer here?” asked a young woman. “I’d love his advice on a pair of shoes.”
“Which ones?” Zoey didn’t carry many, so the girl’s request had her a little befuddled.
She held up a pair of adorable blue-and-white ankle boots with cutouts. “These. I got them online. I just brought them in so I could get his opinion.”
“They’re super cute, but I’m sorry, Archer doesn’t work here anymore.”
“What? Are you kidding me?” She jutted her lip.
“Yeah, I’m sorry. What kind of fashion advice did he usually give you? Maybe I can help?” Now Zoey was truly curious, because she’d never asked.
“Oh, he was just the best. What I liked most was his honesty. I could always tell when he didn’t want to hurt my feelings but wasn’t going to lie to me, either.
Every time I ask my boyfriend for advice, he lies like a rug because he thinks I’ll get mad if he tells me the truth. Archer didn’t have that problem.”
“Mmm,” Zoey said, nodding her head. “You know he didn’t really have a background in fashion.”
The girl laughed. “Yeah, I could tell. But no matter what he said, I felt good about myself after talking to him.”
For a moment, Zoey didn’t know what to say.
“Well, let me know if I can help you with anything,” she finally said. “I think the boots are really cute, by the way.”
Before long, word got around the store that Archer no longer worked there.
Everyone wanted to know where he’d gone, would he possibly be available to FaceTime with them, and could Zoey give them his number.
She said no, obviously. She’d known Archer was a hit with her customers, but she had no idea just how much everyone liked him.
When it continued to rain, and little Wade became more and more agitated, Zoey led Valerie to the bridal annex, where she could sit for a while and nurse her baby.
To occupy Wade, she found a large box she hadn’t yet broken up.
Turning it on its side, she presented it to him as his new fort.
He squealed with delight and climbed in.
“Oh, my God, thank you,” Valerie said, leaning her head back against the wall. “I need to call Cole. He’ll be worried.”
Zoey heard Valerie on the phone explaining to Cole that they were hunkering down at Glamtique, and not to worry. Cole told her to stay at the boutique and he’d come and get them.
Even as her shop took on the distinct aroma of damp clothes and wet hair, Zoey couldn’t complain because she sold an item every few minutes.
When people were bored, they shopped. Her entire stock of scents and lotions sold out, and as luck would have it, so did all the new sweaters and the few windbreakers she had in the store.
“Your shop has the best fall vibes,” one of her regulars said to her. “It always feels to me like we go straight from summer into winter.”
“Fall is 100 percent my favorite season.”
That statement drew assents from a few of the customers, who started mentioning everything they loved about autumn.
“Piles of leaves that my dog loves to jump in.”
“Cozy fires and roasted marshmallows.”
“Turkey and pumpkin pie!”
“Mashed potatoes.”
“Boots and sweater weather.”
Zoey glanced around the shop with pride. Sometimes she told herself that her mother wasn’t really here—that it was a nice thought, and nothing more. But she’d never felt her presence more than today. Zoey had created something special here, an extended family of sorts.
And while she loved the fashion, decorating the shop and scouring the internet for vintage finds to sell in her store, the people inside were the best part.
* * *
“I’m sorry. I’d offer you something to drink but I don’t have much,” Archer said once he’d invited Patch inside.
Patch held up a palm. “That’s okay, I won’t be long.”
Archer stuck his hands in his pants pockets. “How can I help you?”
“You can’t. I’m just here to thank you for everything you’ve done.”
“Ah, well, sir, I was simply doing my job. Zoey is a nice girl and easy to be with.”
Patch snorted. “My daughter is a lot of things, but easy is not one of them. She’s special and beautiful and unique. But…not easy. Anyway, I wanted to thank you for last night. I had not realized that you and my daughter became such good friends.”
Archer didn’t think it his place to tell Mr. Lambert they were far more than friends now. He didn’t think any father would want to hear that, so he went with the safe and plausible. It was also true, which helped.
“She mentioned that in her previous experience with bodyguards, they became like part of the family.”
“That’s true.” Patch walked to the window and looked outside. “But you have influence with her, and I have a feeling it had a lot to do with the way she’s accepted Robin. At our dinner, you might have noticed things weren’t going well.”
“Yes.” Archer cleared his throat. “I noticed.”
“But when Robin went to get her dress the next day, everything had changed. We both expected to get some pushback—it wouldn’t have been out of character for Zoey. I think you might have had something to do with how quickly she came around.”
“Zoey wants everyone to be happy and find love, and she wants that for you, too. It just happened sooner than she’d expected. Robin took her by surprise.”
“She took me by surprise! Happened sooner than I expected!” Patch laughed. “Son, do you know what it’s like to lay eyes on a woman and not be able to speak for several seconds?”
Archer almost lied and said no, he didn’t have any idea, but Patch kept talking.
“That never happens to me. Being a football player, naturally I was used to the attention from the ladies. They came after me hard when my wife died, but I had Zoey there, intervening, knowing I wasn’t ready.
We spent a lot of time together, the two of us, grieving.
And after she left, well…” He tugged on his shirt collar.
“Let’s just say I had some fun for a while.
There was no point in getting married again.
I’m pushing sixty and not having any more kids.
It seemed like all the women after me were too young, anyway.
I don’t fool myself—I know they’re after a lifestyle I can provide.
But Robin…she knows me, she doesn’t need my money, and damn, she’s still so beautiful. ”
“You don’t owe anyone an explanation.”
“That might be true, but I felt guilty. Like I’m almost too lucky. Twice in a lifetime, when some people don’t even get this once.”
Again, Archer could understand the feeling. There was something rare about feeling this way. When he and Zoey were together, he felt like they were the only two people in the world. He’d never felt that way before.
“Anyway, I’m not just here to thank you. You were doing your job and doing it well. I have an offer for you.”
“Sir?” Archer cocked his head.
“As it turns out, Alec is retiring early. He really likes you. What would you think about coming to work for me and taking old Alec’s place?” He turned to Archer. “I will pay you twice what the agency is and you can stay in Texas. I think my daughter might appreciate that.”
It was the last thing Archer had ever expected to hear, and it was punctuated by the sound of thunder crackling.
The rain began to fall in sheets, and all Archer could think of was how happy this would make Zoey.