by Darcy Burke
She brought up his name on her phone. She wasn’t really using him; she did have a few legitimate work things to review with him about phase three. So what if they discussed them at The Arch and Vine this afternoon . . .
She dialed his number before she could lose her courage and set the meeting. Operation Divorce Me was back on.
TORI HAD PURPOSELY arrived outside the pub a few minutes early. She wanted to head Cade off so they could walk in together. Right on time, he pulled up and parked across the street. She smiled and waved as he crossed to meet her.
“Hey, Tori.” Cade was a nice-looking guy, maybe an inch under Sean’s five-eleven, with dark hair and olive skin that advertised his Italian heritage. His dark eyes crinkled at the edges as he took off his sunglasses. The gray morning clouds had burned off to reveal a bright fall day.
“Thanks for meeting me on a Sunday. I wanted to go over a few things. And I also wanted to apologize for last week at Oktoberfest. I ended up getting sucked into family stuff.” That was as close to the truth as she wanted to get.
“No problem. I ran into some good friends anyway. And you said it wasn’t a date.” He looked at her intently. “Right?”
She nodded once. “Right. Shall we go in?” She turned toward the stone archway heralding the entrance.
He held the door open for her, and she immediately heard her brother’s laughter coming from the left corner. Seated with him at the booth were Sean, Dylan, and Derek. And judging from the number of pitchers and mostly empty nacho platters, they looked like they were having a man date.
She didn’t want to risk talking to them and having Sean introduced as her husband. That would open a whole awkward conversation with Cade—which she fully intended to have after she obtained her goal of driving Sean off.
She scanned the room for a nearby table so Sean would be able to see them and decided on one situated beneath the mural. She led Cade to it and took the chair that faced the booth with Sean and the others. Cade sat at the side next to her, with his back to the wall. There were two empty tables between them and the guys, and she hoped they’d remain that way.
“Hey, isn’t that your brother and Derek and Dylan?”
She looked over at them and pretended to be surprised. “So it is.”
Kyle turned his head and made eye contact, and if glaring was a language, she would’ve translated his look as what the literal fuck?
She smiled and waved and turned back to her companion. “Do you want a beer?”
“Sure. Who’s that guy with them?”
“A television producer who’s trying to talk us into doing a ‘Where Are They Now?’ show about our family.” She congratulated herself on sticking to the truth, even if she was lying by omission.
“Trying? You guys aren’t interested?”
“I’m not. Reality shows are so awful, aren’t they?”
Cade lifted a shoulder. “I actually like the competition shows—Survivor, The Amazing Race, that sort of thing.”
“I’ve actually seen The Amazing Race a few times. Sara likes it. Looks like fun.” She’d watched a season in which one of the teams had been in a long-distance relationship. They’d done the race to see if they could spend that much time together and still be a couple. She thought of doing that with Sean and acknowledged it might have been fun—before the Mistake.
The server came and took their order. Tori ordered black coffee and a hummus plate. She wasn’t terribly hungry, but the pita bread sounded good for her sensitive stomach.
She glanced over at Sean and was satisfied to see he was watching them—covertly, but still watching them. She made a show of smiling at Cade and appearing super engaged as they discussed the engineering of phase three. Every so often she’d sneak a look at Sean, and while the rest of the guys were talking and laughing, he seemed focused on his beer.
Okay, this was all fine and good, but how did she show Sean that she was moving on? He slid a look at her, and she touched Cade’s hand.
This drew Sean’s complete attention. It was now or never. Before she could lose her nerve, she leaned over and kissed Cade. She felt his shock of surprise, followed by the gentling of his lips. He tipped his head to the side and kissed her back, his fingers tangling with hers on the table.
Uh-oh, this could go wrong so fast.
And then it did.
His tongue licked along her lip, and she jerked back. She flicked a glance at Sean to see if he’d seen the kiss. He was already on his way out the door.
Yeah, he’d seen it.
Instead of feeling relieved, she felt awful, worse than she had when she’d woken up.
“Hey.” Cade squeezed her hand, and she turned to see his dark eyes narrowed with concern. “Was that a problem?”
Me using you to drive my husband off? Yes, that was a problem of epic proportions. She was a problem of epic proportions.
“I’m sorry, Cade. I really like you. I’d thought there might be something, but I don’t think there is.” She inwardly cringed, hating herself for this ridiculous idea, though it looked as if she might’ve achieved her goal.
Kyle stalked over to her table and scowled down at her. “What the hell, Tori?”
She looked up at him. “Can we talk about this later?”
Kyle put his hands on his hips. “Aren’t you going to go after him?”
Cade glanced between them, confused. “Why would she go after him?”
“Because he’s her husband.” Kyle registered the surprise on Cade’s face and shook his head at Tori.
“You’re married?” Cade asked, incredulous. “Since when?”
“February.”
“Holy shit.” Cade ran his hand through his hair. “Well, I feel like a giant tool.”
And she’d used him like one. Tori had never hated herself more than in that moment, and she’d spent a lot of time circling the pit of self-loathing over the past eight months. “I’m so sorry, Cade. It’s complicated, but we’re not really married married. I’ve only even seen him once since the wedding.”
“I’m sure you think that makes it okay, but it’s still shitty.” He stood up. “You’ll have to forgive me for not picking up the check, but I think it’s a business expense.” He looked at Kyle. “See you at the job site tomorrow.”
“Sure enough, man.” Kyle clapped his bicep and nodded as Cade left.
“I have no idea what you’re up to, sis, but I hope you realize what a clusterfuck you just made.”
Oh, she realized it, and unfortunately that had been her plan. Too bad she felt as though this one had backfired, too. Not because it hadn’t achieved the desired goal, but because she wasn’t completely sure she desired it after all.
SEAN WENT TO his car but just stood on the curb for a minute and breathed in the fall air. Nope, still furious.
Dylan had identified the guy as Cade D’Onofrio, the engineer working on The Alex. He was also the guy they’d been trying to hook Tori up with the past few months, Kyle had apologetically informed him. That alone had been enough to spark Sean’s jealousy, but then she’d gone and kissed him. His jealousy had burned into pure anger.
He climbed into his rental car and drove directly to the garage apartment, where he went about packing all of his stuff. Sitting at the small dining table, he pulled up available flights to LA on his iPad, saw one for that evening, and picked up his phone to book it.
The agent answered. “Hi,” Sean said, “I need a seat on the five thirty-five from PDX to LAX.”
“Sure, hold on.” The sound of her punching keys carried through the phone. “I’m sorry, sir, that flight’s booked.”
Fuck it all. “Standby?”
“It’s already quite long. Do you want to look at something tomorrow?”
His shoulders sagged in defeat. “Sure.”
“Hold for a moment, please.”
A knock on the door drew his attention. If it was Tori, he was slamming the door in her face. He’d had more than enough of her games.
/> He got up and answered the door, surprised to see Sara standing at the top of the stairs.
She offered a weak smile and said, “I’d hold up a white flag if I had one.”
The humor was enough to take the edge off his ire, but he was still angry. “Hang on, I’m on hold with the airline.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh, you can’t leave. Please? We were hoping you’d stay.”
He gripped the edge of the door, holding it open. “‘We’?”
“May I come in?” Sara asked.
“Sir?” The airline agent was back on the line. Sean held up a hand to signify to Sara that he was off hold and then opened the door wider to allow her to enter.
She mouthed, “Thank you.”
“It looks like there are a few seats on the nine a.m.,” the agent continued, “and a few at twelve fifteen, and then ten or twelve on the five thirty-five. Do you want to book one of those?”
He glanced at Sara, who wore an expression that could only be described as pleading. “I’ll call you back.” He ended the call and slipped the phone into the back pocket of his jeans. “Why should I stay? Wait, let’s back up. Why are you even here?”
She moved into the living room and fidgeted with a leather bracelet she wore. “Kyle texted me about what happened. Would it make you feel better to know he read Tori the riot act?”
“It would.”
Sara smiled. “I like you. We all like you. We’d like you to stay and give Tori a chance.”
“I think I’ve given her plenty of those.” He moved to stand near the table and peered out the windows that overlooked the parking area between the two garage buildings before turning to face her again. “I need to get back to LA.” Why exactly? So he could clean out his office?
Her smile faded, and she twirled the bracelet around her wrist. “You’ve been so patient. We’re hoping you could wait a little longer. She just needs time.”
Eight months, and she needed more? “I’ve been empathetic and patient and supportive. But now I’m out of time. She’s out of time.”
Sara winced. “I get it.” She crossed her arms over her chest and did that thing he’d noticed a few times. He was pretty sure it was part of her sensory processing disorder, and part of him wanted to ask if she was okay. The other part said to keep his mouth shut, that he likely wouldn’t be seeing her or any other Archer ever again.
“You keep saying ‘we.’ Are you all in on this intervention?”
Surprisingly, she laughed. He’d thought she looked too tense to do that, but apparently not. “Intervention is exactly it. Yes, we’re all in on it—Kyle, Dylan, Derek, everyone. That’s how we Archers roll. We drive each other nuts, but we don’t let each other flame out.”
He liked the sound of that, even if he had a hard time understanding the complexity of a large, crazy family. “Well, as it happens, I can’t get a flight out tonight. I can, however, get a hotel room near the airport, which I think might be best.”
She released her arms and stepped toward him. “Please don’t go. Just stay one more day, and if things are still a mess, you can leave with our blessing.”
“Sara, I appreciate all you’re trying to do, but I can’t stay. And she doesn’t want me to, either.”
“What about the show? We haven’t decided for sure, but I think we’re going to do it. We just need to convince Liam—he says he’s too busy—and, of course, Tori.”
He arched a brow at her. “Your parents are in favor?”
“Yeah. Actually, Mom thinks it’s a great idea.” She twirled her bracelet again. “So you’ll stay?”
He exhaled, his earlier anger fading into disappointment and frustration. “I might as well, since I can’t get a flight. But I’m leaving tomorrow, so decide about the show fast.”
“We will. And we’ll get Tori to come around.”
He shook his head. “I don’t know why you’re bothering.”
“Because you’re part of the family—you’re an Archer now, whether you like it or not.”
He let out a humorless laugh. “For how long? Thank you, Sara, but I don’t think I’ve ever qualified as a member of your family, and I’m sure Tori would be horrified to hear you say so.”
“You really don’t think much of her, do you?” she asked softly.
“That’s not it. I think the world of her, or at least I did. I didn’t marry her on a whim or because we were drunk. I fell arse-over-elbow in love with her practically at first sight. By the time we went to Vegas, I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her, and I didn’t want to wait for that to start. Since she agreed to marry me, I thought she couldn’t either.” The love he’d felt for her then crested over him until he thought he might drown in the emotion. What a fitting metaphor, since he didn’t think she would’ve thrown him so much as a bone, let alone a life preserver. “Unfortunately, she was apparently caught up in the moment and didn’t really feel the same way.”
Sara had brought her hand to her mouth as he spoke. She dropped it slowly. “I don’t know if that’s true. All I can say is that she’s had a rough time, and I’m not even sure she realizes how bad it’s gotten.” She took a deep breath, and her eyes took on a determined sheen. “Give me until tomorrow to get things figured out—with Tori and the show. Can you do that?”
He couldn’t help but appreciate her fervor. He suspected Sara Archer was the heart of her family. “How can I say no to you?”
She gave him a saucy smile. “You can’t, because I’m your sister-in-law. So there.” She left, and the ache in his chest lightened just a bit. If he had even one Archer on his side, maybe things weren’t as hopeless as they seemed. That, or he was just a fool in love.
Chapter Thirteen
TORI HAD PUT up with Kyle attacking her for another ten minutes at The Arch and Vine, then she’d told him he could pay her bill and left. She’d spent the next few hours hiding in her bedroom, trying to take a much-needed nap. In addition to feeling like emotional crap, her system was still off from last night’s overindulgence.
Sean’s rental car had been parked outside when she’d gotten home, but she had no idea if he was still there. Her bedroom window didn’t face that direction, and there was no way she was leaving to go look. Even though the only people who lived here were Mom and Dad, she wouldn’t put it past Kyle or someone else to be lying in wait for her to emerge so they could pounce on her.
She’d texted Cade and apologized again. He hadn’t responded, so she’d sent an e-mail doing the same. How horrible was she that she’d apologized to him profusely, and yet she hadn’t said a word to her husband?
It wasn’t as if she hadn’t been thinking of Sean. It was impossible not to. She hadn’t been able to see the look in his eyes before he’d left the pub, but if the speed of his departure and set of his shoulders were any indication, he’d been thoroughly pissed.
In search of a distraction, she got up from her bed and padded to the attached bathroom. The tile around the bathtub and backsplash behind the sink sported dark green accents straight out of the late nineties. Maybe she ought to redo everything. New tub or maybe just a shower—she had a great soaker tub in her condo in San Francisco. And a whole new vanity. Maybe a floating base cabinet, like the one in Sean’s condo.
She inwardly cringed. She didn’t want to think about him. Instead, she looked in the mirror and surveyed her face. She looked pale. She wasn’t wearing much makeup, and it showed. Her eyes were a mess—they had bags and, truth be told, were a bit bloodshot. She pulled her hair back into a severe ponytail and secured it.
Bored with this attempt at diversion, she went back to her bedroom and contemplated the TV, which she’d installed when she’d started spending so much time here after Alex died. She rarely turned it on, and when she did, it was to watch reality shows. Specifically, the ones Sean had produced, when she could find them on cable.
So much for trying not to think of him.
A knock on her door forced a groan from her chest. “Who i
s it?” she asked.
“It’s Mom. Would you come downstairs?”
Uh-oh. She went and opened the door. “Hi. I’m good up here. Thanks for checking on me, though.” She tried to sound as chipper as possible but wasn’t sure she’d sold it.
Mom’s eyes crinkled at the corners as she looked at her expectantly. “Please come down? We’d like to talk to you.”
Tori knew who the “we” referred to. They’d clearly told Mom what happened and sent her upstairs because they knew Tori would slam the door in their faces. Jerks. And they knew she wouldn’t refuse Mom, which made them conniving jerks.
Tori grabbed a light running jacket from the bed and pulled it on over her T-shirt, slipping her thumbs through the holes at the wrists and zipping it up. “Sure.”
Walking downstairs with Mom felt like she was marching to the executioner with her guard. Her stomach tossed, and by the time she reached the kitchen, she’d crossed her arms to ward off the sudden chill that had come over her.
Seated around the table were Dad, Kyle, Maggie, Sara, Dylan, Derek, and Chloe. They’d gone full-fucking intervention on her.
“Here, take my seat,” Mom said, gesturing to the empty chair at the head of the table.
“I’d rather stand.” So that I can run at the first chance.
Mom pushed her gently toward the chair. “Sit.”
Tori had no choice but to take the seat. Mom patted her shoulder and then sat in a chair she’d angled to the side between Tori and Sara.
“This isn’t necessary,” Tori said, knowing her plea would fall on deaf ears.
Kyle narrowed his eyes at her. “You don’t even know why we’re here.”
“I can guess.” She didn’t bother trying not to be oppositional. This entire situation was the definition of putting someone on the defensive.