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I laugh. Honestly, the way he knows nothing about bees is kinda adorable.
Then again, adorable feels like the wrong word for a literal giant who inherited all the grumpy genes.
“Don’t worry. I haveeveryintention of getting my hands messy with that honey. There are labs that can help us figure out its medicinal benefits if we send off a sample. But did you tell your brothers it’s purple?”
His eyes narrow. “I may have mentioned it.”
“Aw, man, that’s the best part! Don’t you tell them anything?” I wag a finger. “That’s half the selling point, until people taste it.”
“I stressed how rare it is,” he offers.
“And they just took your word?”
“I don’t make lying a habit.” His face tightens for a second, then relaxes. “Dexter and Patton know as much about honey as I do. Jack shit. I could’ve told them it was made from moon cheese and they wouldn’t know better.”
Okay, that wins him a snorting laugh.
I’m still laughing when a girl with hair redder than mine comes over, though hers is much straighter and hangs in glossywaves. Archer gives her a relaxed, easy smile that makes him look almost soft.
“Checking up on me already, Junie?” he asks.
“I know how impatient you get when your stomach starts growling,” the woman says affectionately. She might be a couple years older than me, maybe, and she’s predictably gorgeous. Sea-green eyes, a lovely pale face that looks like it belongs on a marble statue, and a wide smile.
She sets our drinks on the table. I hate that my heart dips until he speaks again, wondering if these two have a thing.
“This is my sister-in-law, Juniper Rory,” Archer says.
Sister-in-law? The owner? Oh,thank God.
Huge relief.
Junie, he called her. From the playful way she grins at him, they’re on good terms. Certainly better than how he seemed to be with that woman who looked like she just stepped out of a play, still wearing her costume. His wife, I guess.
It’s weird, trying to figure him out.
All the pieces don’t quite fit.
But I’ve seen my share of unhappy, passionless marriages, so it’s nothing new. I hope Arch isn’t cursed with the same fate.
“This must be her, huh? Super nice to meet you,” Juniper says to me with a bright smile. “My husband told me all about the mythical bee lady.”
“Junie,” Archer warns.
She flashes a mischievous smile. “Come on, dude. You know I had to see her for myself to know it was true.”
Snorting, he shifts his gaze to me, an expression flicking over his eyes I can’t quite read. “I’m sorry, Winnie. I promise you her treats make up for her attitude.”
“You’re lucky I’m busy, mister, or I’d fill your cupcake with gobs of cinnamon. See how you like it when you choke on a honey fireball. You’re in my second home, so behave.” Juniesmacks him on the shoulder and gives me a grin before putting a brief, reassuring hand on mine.
Archer sighs as she disappears, leaning back into his seat.
“Mythical bee lady?” I ask. “They weren’t sure I existed? Or do they have something against bees?”
“They know the bees exist,” Archer says with a shrug. “They figured I wasn’t lying about you. But the way I played up the honey, I’m sure they wondered.”
“Well, I guess you have to see the stuff to get why it’s special…”
But that doesn’t explain the mythical part.