Chapter Thirty-Two
On a warm September morning, Zoey and Archer parted as friends when she tearfully said goodbye to him at the Houston airport.
He texted her to let her know he’d arrived safely in China after an exhausting twenty-two-hour flight and had been set up in a hotel room suite with the rest of the team.
She would have liked to text daily, but Archer told her he would be on the move and unavailable a lot of the time.
Then there was the twelve-hour time difference.
Because of that, they’d decided not to put pressure on each other.
They weren’t technically in a relationship, because how could they be?
Maybe if she’d told him she loved him it would be a different story.
Maybe.
A week later, on Saturday night, Zoey was sitting on the couch watching Frasier and eating popcorn when Archer phoned.
“Hey,” Archer said. “It’s me. I have a moment. We’re just waiting outside the embassy to go to our next location.”
“Are you having fun?”
“What? I didn’t hear that.”
“I asked if you’re having fun, which is stupid because you’re working. You shouldn’t be having fun.”
On the other hand, they’d certainly had fun.
“It’s been interesting. Busy all the time. Mostly, I’ve missed you. Are you seeing anyone?”
Excuse me? It had been a week!
“Why? Are you?”
“No.” He laughed. “No time for that.”
Thank God for small favors. Maybe she should enlighten him as to why she wasn’t seeing anyone else.
She happened to be in love with him, and she needed to tell him that.
He might not like it; he might be uncomfortable with the weight of expectations, but screw it.
She had to stop worrying so much about other people’s feelings.
She had to stop thinking they were her responsibility.
Archer had told her point blank that she wasn’t in charge of his feelings, one way or the other.
Now was the time.
“Archer, listen. There’s something I have to tell you and it’s important.
I love you. What I mean is I’m in love with you.
I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before, but it all happened so fast. The truth is I’m not going to see anyone else and I don’t want you to see anyone else, either.
” She took a deep breath. “There, I’ve said it!
I don’t care if it sounds needy or jealous or possessive.
It’s the truth. I love you and I don’t want anyone else but you. I’ll wait. It’s all good.”
“Hello? Hello? Zoey? Are you there? Damn. Zoey, I’m going to have to let you go. I can’t hear you. Good night, babe. I’ll try calling again.”
Oh. My. God. She had just bared her soul and he hadn’t even heard her! Or, he had heard her loud and clear and was just trying to let her off the hook. He wasn’t ready to jump feetfirst into love after a few dates.
Zoey immediately FaceTimed Twyla. “Archer just phoned from Asia, and I told him I love him!”
Twyla smiled into the camera. She knew how significant this was for Zoey.
“That’s amazing, and what did he say to that?”
“Nothing. If he’s to be believed, we had a bad connection and he didn’t hear what I said.” Zoey lowered her face to indicate how downtrodden she felt.
“Maybe you really did have a bad connection,” Twyla, the voice of reason, said.
“Does this ever get any easier?”
“Telling the man you love that you love him? Why, yes, especially when you can do it in person. It’s far easier then.”
Zoey groaned. She got the message. She should have waited, but the irony of all ironies wasn’t lost on her.
The lover of love, the champion of amour, the giver of hugs, had never uttered those three little words to a man before.
And it was about time. The minute he got back, the second she laid eyes on him, she was going to tell him.
No more hiding behind the safety of a screen or the phone to reveal her feelings.
Archer called her about once a week after that, rain or shine.
It had been mostly rain lately, as September turned into October.
Zoey appreciated it, but she’d probably never look at a one-strike fire log in the same way again; she wanted a raging wood fire like the one Archer had made.
On the phone, they didn’t chat about much, keeping it light, but Archer indicated that there were some political tensions in the city, nothing to worry about.
Still, Zoey did watch the news more than she usually did.
Tensions were escalating in the region and the press secretary announced a travel restriction.
One afternoon, when Archer had been officially gone for thirty days, the news reported that the Chinese ambassador and his staff had been removed from the embassy and were headed out of the country for safety reasons.
Zoey saw the back of Archer’s head as he quickly moved through an airport with an entire crew of people, the ambassador in front.
Zoey went to work the next day anyway, vowing to stay away from the news.
Following that, Archer was radio silent, even after she sent him a flurry of text messages.
Tee came into the boutique later that day, dressed in slacks, a white button-down shirt and tie. He looked like an Archer wannabe.
Zoey burst into tears. Tee might be dressed like Archer, but he didn’t do it for her in the slightest. Archer had those amber eyes that were so expressive and tender, and he had a way of listening to her that made her feel like he valued everything she said.
Nobody was ever going to be able to take his place.
“Oh, hey, hey.” Tee awkwardly held his hands up like this was a holdup and he’d give her everything he had if she would only stop crying. “Please don’t cry. What happened?”
Debbie from the Salty Dog had been shopping for a holiday dress, and Mrs. Finch for something she could send Ruby for Christmas. They both surrounded her within seconds, offering tissues and hugs.
“What did you do to her?” Debbie asked Tee.
“Nothing!”
Zoey shook her head. “He just reminded me of Archer.”
Tee straightened. “Thanks, dude.”
Zoey looked up. “Archer is…he might be in trouble.”
“Oh, no, honey,” Debbie said. “What is it?”
“Don’t you watch the news?”
They both shook their heads vehemently. “Oh, heavens, no.”
“Well, I’m going to stop, too. But there was some problem at the embassy in Asia and they had the military out in force. They sent the ambassador home. The one Archer was working with.”
“Great, honey! Doesn’t that mean he’s coming home?” Debbie said. “Nothing to worry about then.”
“That’s right,” Mrs. Finch said, patting Zoey’s back. “Why, I bet he’ll be home lickety-split. Wait and see!”
No talk of how difficult it might be to get out of an airport with violence or dissension. These ladies didn’t watch the news and could afford to be positive.
“Did I really remind you of Archer?” Tee asked, head cocked, wide grin on his face.
Both ladies gave Tee such a glare that he slowly backed out of the store with his palms in the air.
Eventually, after more uplifting talk from the two women, who focused on the positive, Zoey felt a bit better.
But the entire ordeal made her realize the awful feeling of worrying that someone you loved could be in real danger.
It must have been so difficult for her poor father, worrying about Zoey being so far away, where he couldn’t protect her.
Love was a funny thing. When you truly loved someone, you didn’t want to let them go.
But the catch-22 was that you couldn’t really love someone without letting them go.
Because love wasn’t possession or fear or control. Love was having confidence and faith.
Zoey glanced at her phone, still seeing no reply from Archer.
It was okay. She pictured him in his happy place, under the stars with her, as she went about closing up the shop.
She emptied the till, swept the floors and rolled down the blinds.
She said good night to Ophelia. Tonight, she’d go home and binge-watch Frasier until she laughed so hard she cried.
Of course, she’d try not to watch the news, but no guarantees there.
Zoey heard a rap on her shop door and glanced at the time. It was 9:00 p.m., way past her closing. She peeked through the blinds and there he was, looking worn and exhausted. But he was alive and in one piece.
“Archer.”
She rolled up the blinds and hauled open the door, tugging him inside.
“I saw the news! Are you okay?”
He was actually disheveled, his tie loosened, hair mussed, his shirt half untucked at the waist. She’d never seen him like this.
For several seconds, he didn’t say anything, just tugged her into his arms and held her tight, his face buried in her neck.
“I came straight from the airport. Actually, I had them drop me off. I’m home,” he said. “That’s all that matters now.”
“Did everyone get back okay?”
“Yes,” Archer said. “We made sure of it. It wasn’t easy.”
“I missed you so much,” Zoey said. “I have something to say to you.”
“Let me go first,” Archer said.
“O-kay but mine really can’t wait.”
“Neither can mine.”
Archer dropped to one knee. “Maybe you think this is too soon, but—”
“No, I don’t think it’s too soon!”
“Facing life or death has a way of clarifying your priorities. I could take a lot of time to get to the same place, or I could just do what I know is right and cut to the chase. I’ve known since the moment I laid eyes on you that you would be everything to me, and I love you, and I’m in love with you.
I never want to be apart again. Zoey, would you marry me? ”
“I was going to tell you that I love you!” Zoey said, pulling him up off his bended knee. “That was my big news.”
“So, is that a yes?” He grinned.
“Yes, yes!” Zoey jumped into his arms.
“Hang on,” Archer said, taking her hand and leading her to the jewelry counter. “We need something.”
“Aw. This is where we first met,” Zoey said, leaning her head on his shoulder.
“Yes, that time I was speechless. I want you to know I’ve never been speechless—before, or since then.” Rummaging through the jewelry, he pulled out the sapphire ring that sparkled with color. It was the same one she’d shown him the night they met.
Zoey held out her finger and he slipped it on. “I’ve always liked that one. It’s gorgeous.”
“I will replace it with something real,” Archer said, lifting her hand to brush a kiss across the knuckles. “Whatever you want.”
She looked down at her finger, then at him, her dark eyes shimmering.
“Well, that’s what I like to hear, because what I want is you.”