Page 37 of My Darling Mayhem

I should change.

No.

I wasn’t going to do that, not for him. I was fine.

But as I passed the mirror, I nearly gasped. My sweats had a suspicious brown stain near my inner thigh.

“Oh my god!” I gasped, sliding them down in a panic. How long had that been there? Did he see it?

I pulled it up to my face and inspected the stain, knowing it was probably chocolate because that’s what I had been snackingon earlier. Irritated, I tossed them in the hamper and slipped into loose pajama shorts. They were on the shorter side and gaped a bit in the legs, which meant I’d have to be careful when I sat, but they made my ass look fantastic, and since I’d just shaved my legs, it was a win-win. While I was standing there, I put on a few swipes of mascara and lip gloss before fluffing my hair and walking back out. I left my sweater behind and tried to breathe, so when I reached Archer, all I would do was talk about the logistics of the fence, keeping it casual.

“Hey.” I smiled at him as I rounded the corner. He was inspecting Montana, squinting at something on the image.

“Are these all places you’ve traveled?”

His blue eyes flitted over my face quickly as if he was waiting for me to confirm something. Then dropped to my legs, where they narrowed.

“Nope. We haven’t gone to a single one; they’re goal locations.”

Archer’s jaw ticked as his gaze moved up. He gently returned the postcard to the fridge and placed the weaker-than-average magnet in place to secure it.

“How come you haven’t gone yet?”

I shrugged, “Money…time...work…my car.”

He nodded, then gestured at Montana again. “I want to take Kane to Yellowstone sometime. Go see a few national parks and let him ride a horse. I think he’d really like that. I heard of this cool ranch where they let you stay on the property and care for your chosen horse that week like a real rancher.”

“He would love that, Archer.”

I was about to ask him about his custody arrangement with Kane, when he approached me, his face somber.

“Look, I know I said it to Cruz, but I wanted to tell you, I’m sorry. I know I messed up by allowing the club to come out. I never should have allowed any of that to happen. Cruz couldhave gotten hurt, and I know you probably won’t ever trust me now, but I just needed to be sure you knew that I was sorry.” His eyes seemed tired as if this apology took the rest of whatever reserve he had in him.

The apology tugged and pulled at my pride, melting it into empathy.

“Thank you for apologizing. I appreciate that.” I had to change the subject because my neck was hot, and Archer was looking at me like he wanted to kiss me. Not that I would hate it if he did kiss me, but suddenly, the idea of being kissed by him made me feel nervous.

Moving past him, I cleared my throat. “If you don’t mind me asking…where are you at in the custody process?”

He brought his hand up behind his neck and tugged on his hair before blowing out a breath.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t pry.” I opened the fridge and pulled out two cans of sparkling water. I handed him one and walked toward the living room. Once I’d crossed my legs on a cushion, I cracked the top of the can and took a sip, letting him decide what he wanted to do.

“Can I slip out of my boots and join you…or?”

I tucked a few strands of hair behind my ear, trying not to freak out over getting to see him in his socks. “Of course.”

He carefully slipped out of his motorcycle boots and set them near the patio door, then sat beside me on the couch. “You’re not prying…I think we’re past that. At least, I hope we are.”

His eyes found mine over the top of his can as he sipped. I fought a smile as I touched the can. “I certainly think so…your motorcycle ran through my fence, so?—”

“Not my motorcycle, let’s get that straight.” Archer half-turned toward me, leaning closer to my side of the couch.

I shifted so my back was against the armrest, and I was facing him, which allowed me to push his thigh with my foot. “Tell me.”

He gave out another sigh. “The foster parents are great and aren’t making this any harder, which I appreciate, but the state seems to think Kane is better off with them or someone from the state than me. I have to prove that I’ve had my job for long enough and have been established long enough…the house is a great start, but they want me to have some time in it to be sure I won’t move around again. They want Kane to be established in a school without having to leave. So basically, we’re just waiting. Kane’s case worker doesn’t particularly like me, so that’s not helping things.”

“Can you get a new one?”

---