Page 101 of Try Hard

“A client?” I asked sceptically.

“Definitely not. No, a member of staff. It’s going well.”

I smiled at her, noting the way she avoided my gaze. I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen Sophie so shy about anything. “I’m happy for you both.” I laughed briefly. “Does your new partner know you’re spending so much time hitting on other people?”

“Partner is a strong word for it…” She scrunched up her face like she couldn’t quite figure out what the correct term would be. “And I’m not hitting on otherpeople.”

“Okay. Otherperson.”

She shrugged. “They’re cool with it. We’ve talked about the whole thing. I’ve told them you’ve got terrible taste and have taken up with my sister instead.”

“I see.” I was suddenly fascinated by the whole relationship, and desperate to know who this person was that they were willingly letting the person they were dating run off for a night of flirting with their sister’s… whatever I was. Maybe messy, undefinable relationships ran in the Archer family.

I hoped we weren’t about to get a weird reveal about whoever Jeremy was hooking up with.

“Okay,” Marnie said, joining us in the hallway and carrying multiple containers of food.

Sophie shot me a salacious grin before stepping back and disappearing into the kitchen.

“You really don’t have to give me all that,” I said as Marnie handed me a bag to put them in.

“Nonsense. You and Eve might be hungry later.”

I fought the blush threatening to rise up my neck and take over my face. Talking to Sophie about Eve was much easier than talking to Marnie about her. “Well, thank you. To both you and Terrance. It was a wonderful evening.”

Marnie laughed and sent me a knowing look. “I’m glad my incredibly forward daughter didn’t ruin it for you.”

“Not my first experience of Sophie, don’t worry. I’m used to her.”

“Well, hopefully it won’t be so long before I get to see you again this time. Especially if Sophie isn’t scaring you off.”

I cleared my throat as I heard Eve coming back down the stairs. It was remarkably easy to be around Eve’s family. Perhaps because they reminded me of her.

I looked at Marnie and said quietly, “I’d like that.” And I really meant it.

???

It was throwing it down when we made it back to my parents’ place, rain bouncing off the car and the pavement, and running down the road like a stream.

“Wait there,” Eve said as she grabbed her bag plus the one her mum and Terrance had given us, and jumped out of the car.

It only took a second for me to realise what she was doing as she raced around the car, her clothes already soaked, and yanked my door open.

I scrambled out, dragging my bag with me as I laughed in surprise. “Archer, you didn’t need to do this!”

“Let me woo you,” she called back over the pummelling rain as she held her bag over my head to protect me.

I shook my head as I wrapped an arm around her waist and we ran for the door. The sconce beside the door was like a beacon in the night, calling us into the warm, dry house.

When I got the door open, I tried to gesture Eve through first, but she wasn’t having any of it, practically lifting me through the doorway, even with her hands full.

“You’re ridiculous,” I muttered as I closed and locked the door behind us.

Eve barked a laugh as she attempted to shake a little of the rain off without wetting the entire hallway. “I wasn’t expecting to run into you here, Big Jezzer.”

I paused before moving closer to her and looking into the living room. Sure enough, sitting together with the TV on and the fire going, were my mum, dad, and Eve’s dad.

Jeremy laughed. “Well, the Archers got a Pendrick for dinner, and the Pendricks got an Archer for dinner.”