Page 88 of Terms Of Un-Endearment
His brow lifts. “Can I see them?”
“When I’m done, yeah.” I turn to the espresso machine and busy myself prepping our coffee before he can catch my blush. “What are you working on?”
“My proposal.”
My head whips around. “Does that mean you’ve decided to stay?”
He sighs. “I still have some things to work through, but I’m not ready to give up on starting Bombora yet, or the idea of workingwithyou to do it.”
I smile. “Good to know.”
It’s closer to a yes than a no, and I’d rather give him space to make it a solid yes than push him toward something neither one of us is as ready for as we think we are.
He smiles back. “You wanna join me down here for a bit?”
I tip my head. “That depends on what you mean by ‘joining’ you. As your annoying stepsister, the woman you wanted to kiss earlier or your prospective partner?”
He lets out a low laugh. “How about something else?”
“What would that be?”
“A friend?” He shrugs.
“I like the sound of that.” I smile wider.
As much as I wanted to kiss Archie—still do—friendship is the thing I’ve always wanted from him. So, for now, that will do.
But he’s sparked hope for much more. I’m not giving up the idea of being more than friends or business partners.
I want to be Archie’s everything.
Chapter 31
Archie
Piper sets a cup of coffee in front of me, then jogs upstairs for her stuff. When she comes back, her arms are not only filled with her sketchbook, toolbox of supplies, and iPad, but she’s also changed into trackpants. Cheers to that. The more she has on, the easier it will be to think of her as a friend.
As attracted as I am to her—I can’t deny anymore that I am—we have too much rocky history to rush into anything. The truth is, the more time I spend with Piper, the more I want to really get to know her. But we’re still on unsure ground. Like the ocean floor, everything may shift with the next wave of trouble coming.
And yeah, there’s more coming. I’m not goin’ back to Brisbane—I’ve made my call on that. But if I go up against Dad over the house, I’m in for a proper mess. I don’t want to pull Piper into it unless what we have is something more than a passing attraction. I suspect it is. Whether it’s a relationship or a partnership—hopefully both—I want to build on solid foundation.
Piper sets her stuff on the opposite end of the table from me, then slides into the seat and smiles.
I smile back and lift my cup. “Thanks for this. I’ve still got a lot of work to do to make this proposal presentable for potential investors.”
She looks surprised. “You’ve written off your dad?”
I lift a shoulder. “I’ll send it to him too, just in case. Who knows? He may be blown away and decide to let me use my money the way I want.”
Piper doesn’t look convinced. I don’t blame her. I’m not either.
“I’m not getting my hopes up, but I have to try every avenue.”
She watches as I sip my coffee. When I set my cup down, she asks, “You sure you want to risk the rejection, even if you’re prepared for it?”
I shift my gaze from her to my open laptop and the PowerPoint I’ve started. “Yeah, nah. But I’ve gotta do my part to keep the door open between Dad and me.”
Piper rests her elbows on the table and leans forward. “Archie, you’re not the one threatening to cut off the relationship. That’s Malcolm. Don’t forget that. His choices aren’t yours, even if you’re the one who suffers the consequences of them.”
