Page 56 of The Strawberry Patch Pancake House

Archer laughed like he was relieved that Iris had jumped in and agreed with his confusing and messy and beautiful feelings about Olive.

‘Yeah. They are. And she’s so … vulnerable, she really needs us, Iris.’

Iris swallowed hard. The way he’d just lumped them together did incredibly concerning things to her insides. Did she like it? Did she want Archer to think of them as a little family or was that thought insane and terrifying?

She internally shook herself. That wasn’t what he said anyway. He was just stating the facts. Olive, a minor who was literally incapable of feeding herself, needed both her father and the woman employed to take care of her during the day. Right. That was all. No need to get tummy-swooping feelings over that.

‘And she’s funny, too,’ Archer went on. ‘And, oh my God, when she wants to cook with me? That melts my heart.’

Iris grinned. ‘See, soft and gooey.’

He laughed. ‘I guess you’re right.’ He shrugged. ‘Anyway, yeah, I guess I did mean it. She was the best surprise. Even though I still miss my old life. A lot. And that diner is making me insane. And this town…’

Iris waved away his list. ‘Yes, yes. I get it. The kid is growing on you. The rest, not so much.’

He smirked. ‘Other things are growing on me, too.’

Aha! She was right. Flirting was back on the table when they were out here in the world. It was safe out here.

‘Oh, yeah? Like what?’

‘Like, long red hair clogging my shower drain.’

Iris’s laugh surprised her so much she almost spit her cider out. ‘Hey!’

‘There’s so much of it!’ He said it like it was a problem, but the way he was eyeing her braid made her think that maybe it wasn’t a problem at all.

Iris smiled. ‘It’s not red, anyway. It’s strawberry blonde.’

‘Oh, excuse me for not knowing the exact color of the hair causing plumbing issues.’

‘You’re exaggerating!’

He laughed. ‘Maybe a little.’ His eyes roved over her before landing back on her face.

‘Nice to know you’re thinking about me while you’re in the shower, though,’ she teased.

‘Oh, Iris, you have no idea.’ The words were a low rumble, muttered under his breath as though maybe she wasn’t meant to hear them. But she had. And the idea of Archer thinking about her in the shower zipped through her body, hot and dangerous.

She leaned across the table, like a really stupid moth to a really sexy flame.

‘You think about me in the shower, Archer?’

He held her stare and she was trapped. ‘Iris,’ he growled in warning. She was pushing it. This was wildly inappropriate. But didn’t that just make it hotter?

‘Tell me about it,’ she said and watched the muscle in his jaw flex and his eyes darken. Oh yeah, definitely hotter. But they were safe here in the middle of the bar. This was just harmless flirting.

Just keep telling yourself that, Iris.

‘Those nights when you come out to the kitchen…’

‘Yeah?’

‘I can’t get you out of my head afterwards. Your mouth and your hair and that damn shoulder that’s always bare. I want to rake my teeth across it.’

Iris’s breath caught, forgetting where they were, forgetting that they were surrounded by half the town. She pressed her thighs together. If they were at home, she would have already climbed across this table and attacked him. But they weren’t at home.

‘And then what?’ Her voice was quiet, breathless and nearly lost in the noise of the pub, but Archer’s gaze was trained on her lips.