Page 68 of Shots Fired

“This—me telling you what I’m about to say—was inevitable. I guess the timeline has just been brought forward because you’re carrying my baby.”

He smiles proudly, and I drop my gaze from his, feeling the opposite of pride and more anger at my own stupidity when it comes to contraception.

“Show me your eyes, Doll.”

I hesitate, and he props a finger under my chin, asking me to look at him without words.

I do as he asks.

“Good girl. Now, I need to know how much more you can deal with today.”

I laugh at the thought of me having anything left in my emotional reserves. Despite how drained my body and mind are, curiosity wins out. I need to know what Archer has been hiding. I felt something was off when I more than likely fell pregnant that time he visited my apartment and I asked him to take me to bed.

“I can handle whatever you have to say,” I reply.

He raises a single brow, bottom lip pinned between his teeth. He looks really unsure, more uncertain than when I told him he was going to be a dad.

“Do you want more than just a fuck-buddy arrangement?” I whisper.

I could be well off the mark, but I don’t think I am, and I hate to see him torn up like this.

He shakes his head, and just like the time at my party when Jack announced that Archer had a girlfriend, my stomach drops. Disappointment flooding my insides.

“No, Darcy. I don’t want more than a fuck-buddy arrangement with you.”

I swallow so hard that I can practically hear it.

“I want itallwith you.”

My mouth runs dry, my words completely stolen.

The hand not laced through mine finds my lower abdomen, his warm palm offering some light relief to the bloating and discomfort I’ve been experiencing.

“I want it all,” he reiterates. “Our baby, this life, with you. The truth is, I wanted it before I got you pregnant, and now that you are? I’m going to take everything you can give me with both hands and never let it go.”

His blue eyes shine brighter beneath the car lighting as he looks at me with awe. “Some might say I’ve been an idiot to continue sleeping with you when you’ve made it repeatedly clear what we are. The thing is though, I haven’t had a choice. I’ve been trying to stay away for longer than I can remember, and all the while, I’ve been falling deeper for you.”

A single puff of laughter leaves his chest as his hand dips underneath my top, palming my bare stomach. His thumb rubs slow circles that fire off delicious tingles.

“I think, deep down, you know I’m all in with you. Each time we’re together, the mask that I fixed in place when I first met you slips further. You’re right when you say I haven’t ever had a girlfriend, but that doesn’t mean I can’t develop feelings for a girl who literally won’t leave my head. It’s been this way for a long time, Darcy. Only now, I feel compelled to tell you my truth. You need to know where my head is at, and, goddammit …” He squeezes his eyes shut, dark lashes resting against his cheeks before he opens them again. “I need to know where you are with me because either I’m going fucking crazy or you feel something for me too.”

He leans into me, lips ghosting my ear. “I’d tear down entire cities and whole-ass countries to keep you and our baby safe. So, just know, if you’re thinking about running away, I’m going to chase you. Anywhere, everywhere. Forever.”

“I literally don’t even know what to say.” My entire body trembles. “Maybe I wasn’t ready to hear all that.”

Stress pulls at his face as he releases my hand, wrapping an arm around my waist. “I knew it would be a lot for you, but like I said, voicing it was inevitable.”

As my tears reemerge, Archer wipes them from my cheek.

“I genuinely thought I’d be sitting in that passenger seat”—I motion toward the empty chair next to us—“trying to figure out how I’d cope as a single mum. I thought you were going to lose your mind and tell me you couldn’t do this. Instead, you’ve not only told me you’re in this, but it’s the best news of your life and … and …” I sniffle again. My whole body weighed down with intense exhaustion. “That you have feelings for me?”

Archer cocks his head to the side, the crease between his brow much deeper than before. “Do you remember when I told you over text that you have a lot to learn about me?”

I shrug a shoulder and nod at the same time. “Yeah, I do.”

“Well, consider this lesson number one in Archer Moore. If you’d like, we can even name the class.” He taps his chin in thought, eyes growing wide.

I automatically chuckle.

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