Page 52 of Archer

My stomach dropped. “What happened?”

He scrubbed a big hand over his face. “I need to tell you something I should’ve told you last night.”

I joined him at the railing. “What?”

Archer pulled out his phone and tapped the screen, then held it out to me. “A camera alert came through around ten last night. Back deck motion sensor.”

I looked at the footage of a tall and narrow shadow near the dune, barely separate from the inky darkness all around.

Goosebumps rose on my skin, and I sucked in a small breath of air. “What is that?”

“I’m not sure. Colton’s reviewing the footage to verify it’s just a shadow.”

“You think it isn’t,” I said. That was what he was saying, right? “Do you think it was the man from the hardware store?” I puzzled, then narrowed my eyes. “Why are you just telling me now?” I thought about last night again. “I was in my room singing at ten o’clock. You brought me tea, and you didn’t say a word about this.”

“I sent the footage to Colton immediately.”

“But you didn’t tell me.”

He looked away. “I haven’t heard back, so it was probably nothing. And you hadn’t slept the night before. I thought⁠—”

“You thought you’d decide what I could handle.” The words came out sharp. “You thought you’d protect me from potential information about the stalker I hired you to protect me from? The one you promised to help me find? The one I’ve been dealing with alone for half a year? How does that make any sense?” I stepped back so I could glare at him properly.

“Harper—”

“No.” I held up a hand, livid. “You don’t get to decide what I need to know or when I need to know it. This is my life, Archer. You’re supposed to be helping me, not managing me. I have someone who does that already, and she’s not here for a reason.”

He flinched. “You’re right.”

“Damn right I’m right.” I paced the deck, mind reeling. “What else haven’t you told me?” What other decisions had he made about my safety without including me? Surely this wasn’t the first time.

“Nothing.” He moved closer but kept distance between us. “This was the only time, and it was wrong.”

I stopped pacing and looked at him. Really looked at him. The guilt in his eyes was raw and genuine. “Why did you really keep this from me? What did you think would happen?”

Archer barely met my eyes. “The situation you’re in is already hard enough. What you’re going through is miserable, unfair, and impossible. I want to be the one who improves your days, not the one delivering this kind of news at night, when you’re already exhausted.”

He huffed, as if the words pissed him off. “I’m trying to maintain a professional distance, but I do not want to do that. You are in my thoughts constantly. I worry about you. I want to protect you from everything, from this nut, from anyone and anything else who dares to frighten or upset you. Last night, I wanted to shield you from the information that would scare you. And that’s not fair to you. I know that. And I’m sorry.”

His confession hung in the air between us, so heavily I wasn’t sure I’d understood him correctly. His scowl returned, but his cheeks darkened beneath his stubble.

His Adam’s apple bobbed, drawing my attention to the strong column of his throat.

My anger faltered. And I replayed his words.

I wasn’t wrong about the connection I’d felt, or the longing I’d seen in his eyes. He felt this too.

“Keeping things from you was wrong, and I won’t do it again. That’s a promise, and I never go back on my word.”

A thread of delight pushed passed any fear the video footage had conjured. My pulse hammered a staccato beat inside my head. I fixed him with my most over-the-top smile. “Archer Stone, are you falling in love with me?”

A small bark of laughter broke on his lips and shattered his pained expression. “I’m doing my best.”

Chapter 15

Harper

My heart leaped and twisted at the thought of Archer caring for me beyond the scope of his role here. But I hated that everything was so unnecessarily complicated. Why couldn’t we have been two people who met at a concert and built something fun and normal together?