Page 97 of The Strawberry Patch Pancake House

‘Some of us just aren’t built for monogamy, babe,’ her mother said. ‘I am sorry if that affected you as a kid, but moms are people, too, you know? I did my best.’

‘I know, Mom. You did great.’ And she had done great. Iris’s childhood had been filled with laughter and dancing around the kitchen and dinners with her aunt and cousin and it was beautiful and fun, and her mother had done her best.

Maybe Iris could do her best even if it wasn’t perfect. Maybe it would be enough for the people she loved.

Her mother laughed. ‘Well, good because we can’t go back and redo it now.’

‘No, and I wouldn’t want to.’

‘I love you, Iris.’

‘Love you too, Mom.’

They said their goodbyes and Iris promised to call more often, as she always did, and her mom promised, too, and then she hung her head back over the side of the bed. She didn’t know if she felt better or worse about her ability to commit to a real-life relationship.

But she did know one thing, one thing she’d somehow managed to forget. She may not have had a father, but she’d always had a family who loved her. Her mom and aunt and Bex, their own little female-only commune. Iris knew how to be part of a family.

So if she decided she wanted more with Archer, if she decided she wanted to join his family, she could do it. Even if she was still a little bit terrified.

ChapterThirty-One

‘So, is this a date?’ Iris asked from her stool when Archer met her in the kitchen.

She looked beautiful, as usual, but gentler tonight, less like she was trying to drive him to distraction and more like she just lived there. Like she was comfortable there in his kitchen in her jeans and a sweatshirt, her hair still damp from her shower. She looked cozy and sweet and like she belonged there. He shook his head, refusing to dwell on how much he wanted that. Permanently. As his girlfriend, not his kid’s nanny.

But one step at a time.

‘Do you want it to be a date, Iris?’ he asked, leaning over the island, just a little, just enough to get a bit closer to her, to smell her shampoo and watch the flush wash over her cheeks.

She looked up then, caught his gaze and her mouth tipped into a smile. ‘Maybe.’

‘Maybe?’

‘Yeah.’ Her smile grew more mischievous. ‘MaybeI want this to be a date.MaybeI want to date you.’

Archer felt like he wanted to shout how fucking happy that made him, but instead he went with a very cool, ‘I’ll take it.’

Iris laughed. ‘You’ll take a maybe?’

‘For now.’

‘Well’—Iris hopped down from her stool— ‘I know just the place for ourmaybedate.’ She grabbed his hand and Archer let her lead him out of the house.

They ended up at the ice cream store he’d passed a bunch of times but had never gone in. They should bring Olive here, he thought and then almost laughed at how she was never far from his thoughts these days.

Iris stood in line, examining the giant list of flavors hung up behind the counter.

‘What do you recommend?’ he asked, leaning down to whisper in her ear and to watch the shiver run through her when he did. God, he just wanted to be close to her.

‘I like to mix and match. My favorite combo is a scoop of Strawberry Cheesecake with a scoop of Death by Chocolate. In a waffle cone.’

‘Wow.’

Iris turned to smirk at him. ‘You’re not the only fancy-pants foodie around here.’

He laughed. ‘I guess not. You’ve been keeping it a secret.’

She shrugged. ‘I didn’t want to intimidate you.’