3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Archer

I stood in the Henderson's backyard and mentally prepared myself for what lay ahead. Family portraits with two young children were guaranteed to be a challenge. I took a deep breath, adjusting my camera settings for the umpteenth time.

"Alright, everyone, are we ready to get started?" I asked, trying to sound more enthusiastic than I felt. The parents, Sarah and Ross, nodded encouragingly, positioning their two little ones—Lucy, who was five, and Danny, who was three—on the metal bench that Sarah had positioned in front of their koi pond.

When Sarah had called and booked the shoot, I'd been concerned because she'd insisted on doing it in their backyard. Once I arrived, I was relieved to see that it was actually a beautiful space.

"Just sit nice and still, okay?" Sarah instructed, her voice sounding like a mother who'd asked her kids to sit still too many times to think they would actually do it.

"Like statues!" Lucy declared, but her eyes sparkled with mischief as she nudged Danny, who promptly lost his balance and toppled off the bench, giggling uncontrollably.

I raised my camera to my eye, fighting off an already brewing headache, and snapped a few shots. They wouldn't be the family portraits Sarah wanted, but I could tell she adored her children, so I thought she would enjoy the extra shots.

Sarah got Danny up off the ground and brushed him off before placing him back on the bench next to Lucy.

"Alright, let's try that again!" I said, forcing a smile. "Big smiles, everyone!"

Lucy sprang up, her hands on her hips, striking a pose that could only be described as a cross between a superhero and a model trying way too hard. Danny, however, had spied something across the yard that caught his attention.

"My dinoswar," he shouted with glee as he jumped down off the bench and ran across the yard. He reached down and picked up a toy dinosaur. "Look, Lu Lu, it's my dinoswar,"

Sarah gave me an apologetic smile as he started making roaring noises and chased the dog around. "That's his favorite toy. We looked everywhere for that thing yesterday but didn't find it. Of course he would find it now."

I shrugged. "That's okay. Maybe we can use it to get a good smile out of him."

"Danny, come on back over here and take a good picture for the nice man," Ross urged, trying to coax his son into some semblance of cooperation.

"ROAR!" Danny replied, waving the dinosaur in my direction, but Ross swooped him up and spun him around like an airplane before depositing him back on the bench.

I adjusted the camera again, trying to frame the shot, but Lucy decided to hop up and spin in circles, her dress flaring out like a colorful flower. Breath, Archer. I reminded myself they were kids, and this was what kids did. Like earlier, I snapped some shots of her, a couple of which were pretty fantastic, but I could tell Sarah was nearing the end of her rope.

"Lucy, don't you want to take a picture with the dinosaur!" I joked, trying to lighten the mood while I mentally debated switching careers to something less chaotic—like accounting.

"Dinoswars don't take pictures!" Danny insisted, flopping onto the ground and rolling around, pretending to be a dinosaur. "They go Rawwrrr."

"Okay, Hendersons, let's regroup!" I called out, waving my hands like a coach trying to rally a sports team. "Let's take a deep breath. In… and out."

Lucy took a deep breath, but it ended in a giggle. Danny, now completely distracted, had found a flower and was busy pulling off its petals and tossing them in the air.

Okay, this was definitely not working. It was complete chaos, but they were cute kids.

"Let's try something different," I said, hoping to bring some calm to the storm. "How about if you all sit on the grass? We can revisit the bench a little later."

They all plopped down, a jumble of limbs and children's laughter. I snapped a quick shot, catching the moment before Sarah and Ross managed to get everyone into a position that would almost make a nice family photo.

"Okay, guys, let's try this. Danny, can you sit in your mom's lap?" He scrambled to get there, taking a second to roar again and make his dinosaur use Sarah's arm for a snack. While she got him situated, I turned my attention to the other two. "Now, Ross, can you kind of turn to the side with your left knee raised up? Yeah, just like that. Now you lean on your leg with your left arm." I watched as he did as I said. "Perfect. Now, Miss Lucy Lou, can you sit right there in front of your dad?"

I took a couple more shots of them that I thought would make them happy. There was only one thing I would change if I could. I doubted it would work, but I wanted to try, anyway.

"Hey there, Danny. I think you're right. I think dinosaurs like to roar. Not take pictures. Can you tell me what he says again?"

He nodded seriously and tossed his head back, drawing in a deep breath before letting it rip. "Raaawwwrrr!"

I chuckled. "Exactly. Will you let me hold him for a second? I think he might like to watch you get your photo taken better than having to smile for the camera."

He looked at me doubtfully, but Sarah said something in his ear, and he reluctantly hopped up and brought me the toy.

"He won't bite me, will he?" I tried to sound serious as I took it.

"He's a"—he paused, searching for his word—"he's a herpaplore. He eats flowers, not people."

"I see. Good to know." I was pretty sure that he was a T-Rex, and they weren't herbivores at all, but I wasn't going to argue with him.

"Come back over here, Danny," Sarah said. "Mr. Bushard will take good care of Dino."

He looked at me suspiciously but did as she said and ran back over. Ross straightened Lucy's skirt, and they all looked back up at me expectantly.

"Alright, Henderson family! Big smiles!" I called, lifting the camera.

An hour later, I'd managed to get some pictures of the kids together on the bench, and now they were running around the yard playing. I was packing up all my gear when Sarah came over. "Sorry, Archer. I know they're a handful."

"I think I got a lot of fun shots of them, though. I think you'll have a hard time choosing." I'd send her a link later where she could go and look at all the photos and decide which ones to have printed. I wasn't about to tell her that her kids weren't a handful, but I think I got enough great shots to make it difficult to pick which ones to keep.

"Well, thank you. I can't wait to see them."

By the time I carried everything out to the car and put it in the back of my SUV, I was beat. I'd been trying to eat better, but on days like this, I wanted pasta. And not just any pasta. I wanted the Chicken Fran?aise from Bellissimo, but it was on the other side of town, in the complete opposite direction from home.

It was only about a fifteen-minute drive from here to my place, and I really wanted to go home. Of course, if I ordered food now, I'd have plenty of time to get home and take a quick shower before the DoorDash person showed up.

Hmm, to behave or not to behave, that was the question, I thought as I pushed the button to close the hatch. I went around the car and was reaching for the hand on the driver's door when I heard a loud roar from the backyard followed by a shrill squeal and thought, fuck it. Tonight, I wanted comfort food, and I wanted someone else to bring it to me.

Crispin

Today had been a long day. Normally, after having as many classes as I'd taught, I'd have gone back to my brother's house and crashed. Unfortunately, my brother had texted me that my parents had shown up at his place. As tired as I was, I wouldn't be able to relax with my father there, so I decided I might as well DoorDash and make some extra money. It was probably a sign from the universe.

My first class this morning only had half the usual number of participants, and my last session tonight had consisted of only one woman. As much as that sucked financially, it was a blessing for me. Just the two of us essentially led me to giving her a private session, which included meditation, and me making a last-minute decision to pull out my crystal singing bowls. I knew from prior classes that she enjoyed them as much as I did.

After changing clothes before I left the studio, I picked up an order from Bellissimo's. As luck would have it, I again headed back to the old Windsor Hotel. The order didn't have any special instructions for delivery, so I knocked on the door. When no one answered right away, I banged on it a little harder, ready to leave the bag in the hall and shoot the customer a text if they didn't respond this time.

"Hold on," came a deep, hurried voice from the other side.

"Sure, take your time," I whisper-yelled back, not wanting to disturb the other residents on this floor.

The man who answered was the very definition of eye candy. He was bare from the waist up with a liberal sprinkling of chest hair and gray sweatpants slung low on his hips. Yummy. I took a moment to appreciate the display since he was running a fluffy towel roughly over the top of his head.

"Hey, sorry. I took a quick shower. You arrived faster than I expected," the man said, lowering the towel. I gaped up at him. It was Mr. Tall, Dark, and Broody. And hot damn, now that we were so close, compared to me, he really was a giant.

His eyes widened. "I… hello."

With the hand not carrying the plastic bag containing his order, I waved. "Hello," I squeaked. Good grief. What was wrong with me?

His gaze perused my body quickly, and I suddenly felt self-conscious. I'd changed into my dashing gear, a pair of baggy black jeans and a plain black t-shirt. It was the safest way for me to deliver, but not what I normally wore when attempting to attract a sexy man. Darn it. Why had it never occurred to me that I might run into Mr. Sexy while delivering here at the hotel? I'd have been more mindful of my appearance. "Uh… don't you usually eat at the bar?"

His face went through a series of twitches like he was confused. Of course he was. He didn't know I'd taken to searching the bar for his presence every time I passed by. "Excuse me?"

"Sorry. It's none of my business." I waved my arm frantically, completely embarrassed, and pivoted on my toes to get the hell out of there.

A gentle hand gripped my forearm before I took two steps. "Is that for me?" he asked, pointing at the bag in my hand with an amused grin.

"Oh my gosh." I was screwing this up so hard. I finally had my chance to talk to the man I'd been crushing on, and I was acting like an idiot. "Yes." I shoved the bag, which was clearly marked with the name of the restaurant, into his chest, his very bare chest. Oh nice. The minute I'd drank in his drool-worthy body when he'd opened the door, I'd wondered if his hair was soft or scratchy, and it felt like cotton. I moved the back of my knuckle down, enjoying the softness.

A husky chuckle drew my attention back to his face where he smirked down at me.

"Oh my gosh." I hopped back, taking his dinner with me. "I'm so sorry. I don't know what's gotten into me. That was so rude."

His smile grew. "No problem. What man doesn't like to feel appreciated?"

Uhh . Had my dreams been answered? Was he gay? He had to be. Between staring at me through the window of the studio and the smirk on his face from me feeling him up, there was no way he was straight. Well, I guess he could be comfortable with his masculinity. I gulped and looked away. My brain was spinning, and I couldn't find words.

He held out his hand. "I'll take that."

"Yeah, sorry." Where was my normal cool? Okay, I wasn't actually ever cool, per se. But I liked to think I had a little more game than this. Seeing him on the other side of that door, half naked, had flustered me.

As I held the bag out, his hand covered mine instead of gripping the plastic. "Aren't you one of the yoga instructors at Harmony and Joy?"

I nodded like a bobblehead. "Future owner," I blurted.

He quirked his eyebrow, and the scowl I was used to seeing on his face reappeared. "Then why are you delivering food?"

I shrugged. "Like I said, future owner. I'm still trying to buy the brand from my friend, Aziza. You might have seen her before. Willowy Black women with braids. She's built quite a brand in town, and she's selling it to me. She's moving to Florida, and I want to start making payments or something sooner than later, so…" I trailed off, realizing he hadn't asked me for my life story. So much for hoping he'd be interested in me or even maybe attend one of my classes. He was probably questioning Aziza's life choices to sell to such a space cadet.

He narrowed his eyes and studied my face. "Unless I'm mistaken, when I passed by to go to my darkroom early this morning, the light was already on in the yoga studio. Don't you have early morning clients?"

Dark room? In the building? Color me intrigued. "We, well, I guess I do."

The tilt of his head was barely noticeable. "So you were there?"

The warmth of his hand covering mine was distracting me, as was my curiosity about this dark room, so I nodded absently.

His fingers tightened slightly around mine. "And now you're delivering food tonight?"

" Mhm ." I glanced down at the big strong hand wrapped around me and wished I could turn my hand over and clasp them together without dropping the bag. I couldn't, so I wouldn't, and he'd probably think it was weird anyway. Although, in my defense, I'd never had a customer hold onto me like this before.

His gaze followed mine, and he cleared his throat. He released me and gripped the other edge of the plastic bag. "Thank you."

Stepping back into the middle of the hall, I waved awkwardly—again—because, apparently, this was something I did now. "You're welcome. Enjoy your dinner," I said, skimming my eyes back down his body quickly to memorize every detail of the muscles laying below his golden skin.

"I'm sure I will." He began closing the door, then hesitated. "Are you almost done for the day?"

Frowning, I shook my head. "Na. You were my first order tonight, so I should probably give it another couple of hours."

He growled softly. At least, that was what it sounded like, but that didn't make any sense. Why would he care about my work schedule? Feeling a little self-conscious and uncertain under his blatant scrutiny, I began side-stepping toward the elevator. "Uh. Guess I'll see you around."

Expecting him to agree and close the door, I was surprised when he leaned out into the hall. His mouth twitched from side-to-side before he finally said, "Be careful tonight and get some sleep," in a sharp tone.

Now most people would've probably thought he was kind of a dick or that he should mind his own business, but half of what had attracted me in the first place was his grumpy demeanor. I had all kinds of fun ideas on how to turn his frown upside down, but in this case, his words warmed something inside of me. I hadn't shared my master plan with anyone, so no one, not even my brother, knew how much I was working outside of the studio or how exhausted I was. Even though I didn't know…

Stopping short, I said, "My name is Crispin, by the way." Ugh . I wanted to facepalm. Why was I being so weird? "You know, in case we run into each other again in the building."

The edges of his lips tipped up at the corners. "I'm Archer. It's very nice to meet you, Crispin."

"You, too." Eek . I finally had a name for my fantasy man. Not wanting him to see the goofy smile on my face, I turned and, with a little skip to my step, headed down the hall. As I rounded the corner, I glanced back, surprised to see Archer in all his magnificence still standing there watching me leave. Well, well, well… maybe I hadn't made as big a fool of myself as I thought.