My Summer in London (My Summer #1)(31)
I waited for him to continue, but I was left to wonder. Just as quickly as he had approached me, he vanished.
Still reeling after he left, I wasn’t sure how long I stood there with a crazed, confused look on my face until Archer finally found me.
“Dance with me.” He beamed as he made this cute curtsy before holding out his hand.
Contemplating, I stared at the wine glass before quickly deciding to down the entire thing and take his offer. Cruz was difficult to deal with, but Archer was so easy. He knew how to have fun and live in the moment, while Cruz was … everything his brother wasn’t. And since I had already vowed to sever ties with Cruz by letting him to believe I would sleep with his brother, it was best if I tried to look the part. Of course, I wasn’t planning to really do the deed, only carry on with the flirting banter that Archer was known for.
All I knew was that, as long as I was stuck next to him, I was fine. He was hopefully my one hundred percent foolproof Cruz Elliot repellant, so I had to do what I had to do, which for the time being meant having a blast, dancing in his arms.
“I know it’s not my place to ask, but I’m curious …” he started, smiling as our eyes connected while we danced to the soft ballad of jazz being played in the background. “What in God’s given name did you do to my brother?”
I froze, unblinking as we stared at each other. My heart sped up as I thought at a billion miles per minute of how to respond to him without giving too much away.
“What do you mean?” I replied, hoping he would shine more on his blatant curiosity.
“He doesn’t want me near you. In fact, he commanded me not to seek you out.” He raised his brow, amusement playing on his face, though with evident inquisitiveness. “What he does in his life is none of my business, but he’s engaged to be married, and if he wants to frolic with other women, then I’d rather that woman not be you, Serena.”
My cheeks were beet red, but I fully knew what he was trying to convey here.
“Thank you. And I completely and wholeheartedly agree with you. I’m not like that at all. I swear—”
“I never let on that I thought you were, but if there’s a possibility that I could assist you, I’m at your service.”
Shit. Here it was, the proverbial window to emotional and mental freedom.
“God, how I want to ravish your lips …”
Ravish? Jesus Christ, Cruz was somewhere in the vicinity. I couldn’t particularly pinpoint him around the crowd, but I strongly felt his presence.
“Umm …” I licked my lips. “Kiss me … That’s all I ever need.” For now.
He lifted my chin so our eyes met. “That’s all I needed to hear,” he murmured, grinning mischievously before his lips softly met mine.
It wasn’t overly consuming like the one I had shared with Cruz; however, it was sweet and teasing, exactly like the man, himself. I knew Archer wanted me, but I also knew he had a lot of women on his speed dial. I wasn’t delusional enough to believe this could blossom into something. We were, after all, young, so I planned to just live in the moment and enjoy it as much as I could.
Although I knew what was at risk, I also knew I had to be a little reckless to make this nightmare go away, and to be honest, I never expected to like kissing Archer so much. Maybe asking for his help wasn’t a bad idea after all.
Chapter Seventeen
“Are you sure you want to retire to your room?” Archer bemoaned, not hiding the fact that he didn’t want to cut the night short. We had just finished going through a few plates of decadent chocolates, fruits, cheeses, and tarts.
Hiding my smile, I made a half attempt of an eye roll before shaking my head at him. “I’m sure.”
Archer, though nice and playful, was too touchy-feely for my liking. It wouldn’t have been so bothersome had I not encountered Cruz and that peculiar conversation. As much as I enjoyed Archer’s company, I knew I needed some alone time to ponder, go to sleep, and wake up the next morning with it in the back of my mind. Before I could reflect, I had to part with Archer first … if he would let me go.
“Could we possibly continue this upstairs, then? I don’t want to part with you, not just yet,” He pressed.
His eagerness to get to the next level with me had a polarizing effect? which wasn’t doing him any good. He had an idea what was going on between Cruz and I, and a part of me wished he could be a little more understanding.
Popping a blackberry into my mouth, I made a placid smile. “Don’t you have some place to get to? A party or whatever else it is you do at this time of night?”
“I do …” He trailed off before he reached for my outstretched hand that was languidly sitting on the table, mindlessly stroking it with his thumb, hoping to evoke some sort of emotions from me. Then he leaned over towards my ear and whispered, “But I’m giving you the chance to persuade me not to.”
“Goodness, well, lucky me.”
He was being provocative, and I didn’t know what to do or say other than laugh it off.
“A no really means no with me, Archer.”
“All right, all right.” He nodded before holding up his hands in surrender. “But the moment you change that pretty head of yours …”
“It won’t,” I promised. I knew myself too well. Had I wanted to be with him, there wouldn’t be anything to stop me, but that wasn’t the case, so there was no need to make him wait or lead him on. The night had been fun—we both had admitted earlier on—but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to continue this charade. After all, I had a lot going on just from trying to persuade myself that Cruz Elliot wasn’t the man for me to pine and obsessive about.