“Mama’s not scared of nothing!”
He couldn’t help but grin again at her excited defense of Ally. It was a testament to the kind of love and loyalty she inspired in people. “Nothing except falling on the ice.” He took her hand, trying to explain as simply as he knew how. “Do this to stop,” he showed her, dipping his toe slowly towards the ice. “But I’m right here, okay?”
“Okay, Daddy.” It was just that simple for her and Archer was so humbled he knew he would work every day to earn the trust she’d placed in him. “Look! Grandma!” She waved her little pink gloved hands wildly, nearly falling before they even got moving.
“Hey sweetie. I’m gonna watch you and your dad together for a bit, okay?”
He thought she might throw a tantrum, but Glory was proving to have the same steady nature as Ally. She nodded and reached for his hand again. “Ready.”
He pushed off the ice, holding her with him, smiling as her laughter grew louder and louder. “Push left. Push right.” Glory repeated the words for a full revolution of the rink before she got it, grinning proudly up at him. “Great job, kid. Now let’s practice.” He grabbed her hands and turned in front of her, skating backwards to check her form.
“Wow! I wanna do that!” She tried to turn but he held her, lifting her in the air when she would fall. “I’m flying! I’m flying, Grandma!”
Her laughter was the only sound he heard and Archer felt so light and free, so happy he began to spin and turn, making her laugh and squeal even harder. Her body shook with laughter until he slowed and neared his mom. “We looked pretty good, didn’t we?”
“Adorable,” she said softly, gloved hand spread over her heart.
“Cocoa or more skating?”
She pretended to think about it, chubby little finger to her chin and then she grinned. “More skating!”
That’s my girl. They spent nearly an hour on the ice, skating and goofing around but mostly laughing. By the time they shucked their skates, Glory had skated side by side without falling three times around the rink. “You did very good today, Glory. You’re a natural.”
She wrinkled her nose. “What’s that?”
“It means you do it easily, like you were born to do it.”
A smile split her face. “Really? Thanks, Dad. You’re a good teacher.”
“Thanks, but how do you know?”
“Mama says a good teacher makes learning easy and fun.”
Thanks, Ally. He had a feeling he would be saying that a lot in the coming months and years. “You’re good for my ego.”
“What’s a ego?”
“My pride. Your words make me feel good.”
She stood, a serious expression on her face as her tiny hands grasped his face. “I’m glad you came home.”
And there went another piece of his heart. Soon she would have it all and he’d be going crazy trying to protect her and keep her happy. “Me too. Let’s go. You coming, Ma?”
She shook her head, a conspiratorial smile on her face. “I have plans but Ally invited us for dinner. I told her you’d love to eat her cooking.” She bent to hug and kiss Glory. “See you later honey.”
“Bye-bye, Grandma!”
She looked up at Archer and he grinned down at her. “So Glory, what’s your mom’s favorite dessert?” He might go to hell for pumping his daughter for information, but he was a man desperate to have both of his girls at his side.
“Since you’ve stuffed me full of caramel pecan cheesecake, you two will have to decorate the tree.” With a hearty pat of her stomach, Ally dropped down on the sofa with a soft, oof!
Archer grinned. It wasn’t part of his evil plan when he’d asked about dessert, but it got him more time with mother and daughter so he would take it. “If you insist. I am yours to command.” He flashed a flirty grin, feeling smug and satisfied when her lips twitched and she looked away.
“Glory show your dad where the decorations are.” She kept her eyes closed as she spoke, looking relaxed and content.
“Okay! Come on.” She tore from the room, leaving him to follow or get left behind. He followed much slower, and he was met with an impatient little girl with her hands on her hips. “You walk slow,” she accused.
“I’m older and I have all the muscle to do this,” he told her and scooped her over his shoulder, pushing open the door to a room filled with all kinds of stuff. “What’s this?”
“It’s our junk room! For now, Mama says.” She rolled her eyes affectionately.
“I don’t think I can carry all these boxes plus you,” he told her, looking seriously worried.
“I can help, silly!”
“All right, then.” He smacked a kiss on her cheek and set her on her feet. “Tell me what to do.”
“Lights,” she insisted. “They take forever,” she said, sounding a lot like Ally.
It took several trips between the two of them, but eventually they transferred all the supplies from the junk room to the living room. “Now comes the hard part,” he said as he dug into one of the boxes and lifted up at least ten pounds of tangled Christmas lights.
“I’ll help,” Glory offered with a wide grin.
Archer was so happy to spend time with her that he set her a few feet from him and explained how to do it. “Let’s get them untangled and then we can worry about if they work.”
“Okay.” Her little tongue stuck out as she focused on trying to get the green cords unraveled. “Dad, where were you?”
He froze at the question, innocent as it was. “When I was in the military or after?”
“Yep,” she sang and those chubby little fingers kept working hard.
“I was in Iraq and Afghanistan and then a few other places before leaving the military.” He’d been through and hell and back over the past decade, fighting and killing, dodging bullets and sending out a whole lot more. “I didn’t come home right away and I should have but I had to get my head on straight.”
She looked up with a frown. “How?”
Archer grinned. “I needed to do something useful that wasn’t what I’d been doing,” he explained, looking to Ally for assistance.
“Come here, honey.” Ally patted the seat beside her but Glory climbed into her lap and wrapped her arms around her shoulders. “Your dad was in the military. That means he helped keep people safe all around the world, but that’s dangerous work.” It looked like she was in pain, trying to figure out what to say next and Archer wished he could help. “People he served with, who helped him protect people, they didn’t all make it home and some who did make it home were very badly injured. You understand?”
Big blue eyes turned to him, filled with questions and wariness. Then she slid off Ally and walked over to him. With him sitting on the floor they were nearly the same height as she cupped his face. “You got a owie?”
“A few,” he grinned, “but nothing too bad. You know what I always need to make me feel better?”
“What?”
“A hug.”
She grinned and lunged at him like a little flying squirrel, tightening her arms around his neck and squeezing with all her might. “I like hugs.”
“Me too.” She smacked a kiss on his cheek and stepped back.
“I love you Daddy.”
Every emotion he’d bottled up over the past ten years, rose to the surface at four sweetly spoken words and he tried to push them down before the telltale wetness around his eyes turned into something like tears. “I love you too, sweet girl.”
And then she was back in little tyrant mode, untangling lights and bossing him around until the tree was overloaded with both store bought and handmade ornaments. Glitter and tinsel, popsicle sticks and even popcorn hung everywhere. It was the Jackson Pollock of Christmas tree decorations. He loved it. “What do you think?” He took a step back to examine the loud tree and grinned when Glory stepped beside him, her pose mimicked his.
“I like it. But it’s missing a topper.” She ran from the room and returned with a
gold and red wrapped box that she handed to Ally. “It’s a gift from grandma.”
Even from his spot near the tree, Archer could see the worry on Ally’s face. His Ma could have gotten anything from a wedding cake topper to a plain old angel, one never knew. She took a deep sigh and tore off the wrapping paper as Glory cheered her on. “Oh.” She stared at it for a long moment, tears welling in her eyes as she handed it to Glory. “I think this was meant for you.”
Glory took it and Archer’s curiosity was piqued by Ally’s response. Then by the reverent way Glory looked at the star, traced her finger over it. “I love it. Look,” she handed it to him with strange look on her face.
When he saw it, he knew why. The big golden star had a spot in the center for a photo and his ma had chosen their senior prom picture. “We looked so young.” And so happy and in love. They had no idea what the future had in store for them.
“We were young.”
His gaze connected with hers and he could tell her thoughts were the same as his. Lost chances and missed opportunities. They both felt them hard in that moment, he could feel it. He wanted her, badly. And she wanted him, even if she didn’t want to. He had to find a way to capitalize on it. “I think your mom should put up the star, don’t you?”
Her head bobbed up and down with excitement. “Yeah! Come on Mama!”
“Oh honey, no. I can’t reach up there.” She relaxed back into the sofa as if that were the end of it.
“Don’t worry, I’ll help you. I have muscles, remember?” he grinned and flexed, feeling intense male pride as her gaze darkened and raked over him with the force of a caress.
“Like I could forget,” she grumbled and stood. “Okay, hand me the star.”
Archer dropped it in her hand and she turned to face the tree. His hands grasped her waist and lifted her straight up, he ignored the way she stiffened. “Got it?”
“Yep,” she answered, sounding all sexy and breathless. “Got it.”
He held her for anther long moment just because it had been far too long since he’d held her. With his head dipped low, he took the moment to inhale the flowery scent of her hair. “Ally.”
She turned in his arms and looked up at him with a sad smile that said it all.
Dammit.
Chapter 9
Ah, sweet solitude. Ally had just finished loading up the rest of tomorrow’s shipment of candies and she had at least another hour of cleaning ahead of her. Since Cindy had taken Glory to do her Christmas shopping, she had the house to herself and she planned to make the most of it, starting with a deep scrub. Ally kept her house as clean as a single mother of a five year old could, but once in a while she needed to remove the layer of grime that built up in corners and tall furniture.
She cranked up the music, shaking her booty as she wiped to the beat of her modern Christmas songs. They weren’t quite as good as the oldies but Ally felt like bouncing. She was no longer the kind of girl who bounced, so she shook and bounce with everything she had.
So far things between Glory and Archer were going great, and he’d stuck around which thrilled Glory to no end. She couldn’t stop talking about her father and his overall awesomeness. Ally was happy for her.
Even if she hated hearing about him. Not that she hated Archer, she didn’t. She wasn’t pleased with him but that was in the past. She would continue to be civil to him and ignore the heat that still blazed between them. Because ignoring it was all she could do. Succumbing would be stupid, even if he did manage to look handsome and somehow adorable when he and Glory were together. It really was damned frustrating.
She scrubbed away her frustrations on the wall behind the fridge, the range above the stove and even the baseboards around the entire house, all in an effort to banish thoughts of Archer from her mind. She would not think about his lush, pink lips that were so often shadowed by a sexy semi-permanent scruff. “Dammit.” This was ridiculous. She’d thought about him on and off over the past ten years, but never like this. She wouldn’t allow it.
Ally sang her heart out instead. Whatever song came on, she sang it like she wrote it and performed it at Madison Square Garden. At first it was just a way to rid her mind of thoughts of her now-returned first love and baby daddy. “Finally,” she groaned when the house sparkled as much as her body ached. Making chocolates though a great job, was hard on her muscles and joints which was why she planned to indulge in a long, hot bath.
After she put something together for dinner. A quick scan of the fridge and she decided to put together a quick Shepherd’s pie. It was a great way to get Glory to eat vegetables and she thought it was nice to have something warm to eat when the temperature dipped low. She quickly diced everything, sautéing it and making a thick gravy, only stopping to stretch her neck and back muscles between assembling the dish.
And then it was time for her bath. Hot water and lavender and basil bath oil had the room smelling like one of those relaxing spas with scented steam. She removed her clothes as the tub filled and lit a few candles so the overhead light could remain off and she could relax. “Amazing,” she groaned as her body slowly sank into the hot water. The soft bluesy strains of a Nina Simone song began to play, her deep soulful voice pulling out the last remnants of stress from her shoulders. You’re not the only one feelin’ good, Ms. Simone.
Eyes closed with her head resting on the bath pillow, Ally willed her body to relax, to go into that boneless state that was the ultimate in relaxation. If she could get to that point, she’d be perfect for the next week. She could get through the rest of the holiday hoopla, get more chocolates ready to ship and give Glory the best Christmas ever.
And not think about the man who’d invaded her life so thoroughly, she could hardly remember a time he wasn’t there. Or the person currently knocking on her door. She didn’t move, feeling too relaxed and satisfied to care since she wasn’t expecting anyone. If it was an emergency Cindy would call and she had a key if she needed to get in. Or maybe I’m just rationalizing.
Then the damn bell started to ring. Over and over until she could barely hear the music. And the pounding started again. “One damn minute!” She stepped out of the tub, not even bothering to dry off and she snatched the robe off the back of the door and wrapped it around her body as she stomped down the stairs to yank the door open. “What?” I should have known.
Archer. He smirked, looking her over with an appreciative glint in his eyes. “Am I interrupting?”
“What gave it away, the fact that I didn’t answer? I know you think this is cute Archer, but it’s not. Your mom has Glory and this is my time. For me. The only time I get to take care of myself, do you get that?” And all the soothing effects of scented bath oil, candles and Nina Simone seeped away, replaced by anger. Annoyance. “Why are you here?”
“I planned to cook you dinner, but it smells like you beat me to it.” He made a big show of sniffing the air, edging closer to her. “I’ll put this away if you want to get dressed. Or not. I prefer this outfit.”
She tried not to groan even though she really wanted to. “You can’t just invite yourself over here, even when Glory is home Archer. This isn’t your house.”
“I figured we should talk and since Glory is with Ma, this is the perfect time.”
He was right. About that much, at least. “Either way, don’t just show up here and if no one answers the door, go away!” She turned on her heels and stomped back upstairs, angrily snatching the stopper from the tub and blowing out the candles. “So much for relaxing at home.” And her schedule was too damn busy for another day like this. Thanks, Archer. It took just a few minutes to moisturize and she slipped on the first things she could find, green yoga pants and a white sweater. She refused to get dressed for someone who’d stopped by uninvited and unapologetic about that fact.
She knew the moment he set foot in Blissful, that he would screw with her mind. Her life. But I don’t have to let him. With her bathroom set back to rights, she pushed her feet into her butterf
ly slippers and found Archer pouring wine in the kitchen. “What are you doing here, Archer?”
He sighed and slid a glass to her. “I can’t stop thinking about that kiss.”
Me either. But she would never reveal how much that kiss had shaken her. She didn’t want to admit it aloud and definitely not to him. “Try.”
He grinned. “I know you can’t stop thinking about it either, Ally. You forget that I know you and I see the way your gaze drifts down to my mouth involuntarily.” He licked his lips just to make a point and she shook her head before looking away.
But as his words sank in, the reason for his visit became clear. “You came here for sex? That’s what this is about?” She should have known. Crazy girl.
“Not specifically,” he grinned again, that sexy, panty melting grin that just made her angry. “But I wouldn’t be opposed to it. With you,” he clarified.
“No thanks.” She pushed the glass of wine away and leaned back, arms crossed over her chest.
“Why not?”
“Where should I begin? How about the fact that you’re just getting to know our daughter, why would you want to confuse that? When the sex stops, we’ll still have to find a way to be there for her, or do you plan to go back to wherever when that happens?”
His look darkened and he frowned at her, scrubbing a hand over his face. “That’s really what you think?”
She shrugged because she had no idea. “I wouldn’t presume to know you anymore. But I do know that when we start dating other people this could get complicated and awkward and I don’t think we need more of that, do you?”
A dark look flashed in his eyes but it happened so quickly Ally was sure she imagined it. “No, we don’t. But that doesn’t mean I want to think about you and another man.”
She shrugged, already bored with the conversation. “I don’t date often because being a single parent is a second full time job, but I do date so it will happen Archer. Get used to it.” She stood, pushing her chair back without sparing him another glance. Completely disgusted, she shook her head. He’d come for sex. Not to talk about spending more time with their kid or where he would live in Blissful, but about getting his dick wet. “So typical.”
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