7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Archer

I watched him as he looked at the webpage I'd thrown together for him the best I could with what I knew, and his reaction was everything I'd hoped for. He might have said he didn't need one, but he sure seemed excited about having it. He might be buying an established business name, but that didn't mean he would keep all the previous owner's students, and a webpage was a great way for new people to learn about him and his studio.

"It's really just a beginning. It still needs work, but there were a lot things I didn't know."

He looked up at me with big doe eyes. "Like what?"

"Well, there's a place we can put your class schedule, and you can also let people sign up for classes. There's even an option for you to take payment for the class online if you want."

"Oh, so you would need my class schedule then."

"Right." I clicked through the site to where I had a page all ready to go. "And I would also like to put a description of the different types of classes you offer." I stopped talking and looked at him. "You do have different kinds of yoga, right? I tried to do this part myself, but I don't know anything about it, so I didn't know what to say."

"Yeah, I offer a few varieties. I even offer chair yoga for those people who aren't able to take the other classes."

"See, that's the kind of thing people need to know. And you have the thing you do with the glass bowls as well. I was going to try to look that up, but I decided it would be better to get the information straight from the source."

"They're actually crystal bowls, not glass, and it's called sound healing. I'd love to tell you all about it."

"Great. When do you have your next class? I don't have anyone scheduled for portraits today, so if you have time, we could work on it."

He glanced up at me nervously, and I was afraid I'd read him wrong, and he hated it. Maybe he didn't want a webpage at all and had just been trying to be nice. I knew that sometimes I could be a bit heavy-handed.

"But if you aren't interested, I'd be happy to share the photos with you. Maybe you can use them for promotional materials or something."

"It's not that." He rolled his bottom lip up over his teeth and chewed on it for a second before continuing. "It's amazing, but I can't pay you for this."

"I didn't ask you to, Crispin. I was a new business owner once, and someone helped me to get all my ducks in a row. I want to pay it forward."

He let out an adorable little giggle that made me smile. He really was about the cutest thing I'd ever seen. "My ducks are absolutely not in row. Hell, I don't even know where my ducks are at this point."

"Well, I'm an excellent duck wrangler. What do you say? Do you want to come up to my place and see if we can get this all finished?"

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. Luxe has a fabulous caramel cheesecake. How about if we get a couple pieces to go? I can put on a pot of coffee, and we can knock this out."

"Okay, if you're sure you don't mind."

"I'm sure. Go grab anything you need from your studio while I order our dessert. I'll meet you in the lobby."

I walked over to the counter and waited while Terrance took a young woman's order. When he was finished, he turned to me. "Can I get you anything else, Archer?"

"Actually, I want two pieces of your cheesecake to go."

"Two, huh? Is the guy who was with you joining you for dessert?"

"It's nothing, I'm just doing him a favor."

"He's a cutie, though."

" Mhmm ." I agreed.

"I wouldn't spend too much time doing him a favo r or you might miss your chance." He slid two pieces of the cheesecake across the counter to me.

"Yeah, thanks for the advice." I had no intention of blowing my opportunity, but that was none of his business. I picked up our to-go order and went to meet Crispin.

I found him waiting for me in the old hotel's lobby with a laptop tucked under his arm. I held up the bag containing our dessert. "Got them."

"I've never seen the inside of one of the apartments. I've always wanted to, but ringing the doorbell and handing the food over is the closest I've ever come."

"Hopefully you won't find my place a disappointment. I put most of my creativity into my photography, so my condo is nothing fancy."

"At least it's yours. I'm staying with my brother, so I don't even have my own place right now." He ran his hand over the railing as we went up the stairs to my floor. I could hear the awe in his voice, and I got it. This hotel had been a grand place in its day, and this staircase was stunning. "Taking this old hotel and turning it into a living space was so smart, and keeping the original lobby was genius. It gives the place such a cool vibe."

"It does have a cool vibe, doesn't it? It was all my friend Hitch's idea. I love living here."

We made it up to my place, and I opened the door, letting him walk into my living room. "Oh wow. I don't know what you're talking about when you say it isn't fancy. This place is awesome."

I looked around at it, trying to see it through his eyes. It was an awesome place. It had an open floor plan with high ceilings and nice big open windows. I was one of the first people to buy one of the condos, and I'd been here long enough that I sometimes forgot just how amazing this place actually was.

"Let me put our coffee on, and we can get started."

Crispin

"Okay. That sounds good."

Archer only took a few steps toward the kitchen before he stopped and grinned. "Crispin, you can come all the way in and have a seat. Make yourself comfortable."

"Okay." He smiled at me again and made his way into the kitchen while I wandered farther toward the couch. I didn't know why I was suddenly so nervous, but I suspected it had more to do with the man himself than this project we were working on.

What he wanted for the website itself was pretty cut and dry. There was already a schedule, and I could easily list off what each class was and the benefits. The About Me page would be a little harder since I wasn't all that interesting. No, my nerves had everything to do with the tall, handsome man who wasn't near as brooding as I'd originally thought. In fact, all he'd shown me today was kindness. What the hell was he even doing wasting his time on a hot mess like me? Especially since I didn't have the funds to pay for any of this.

"Crispin, sit down."

Startled by the sound of his voice, I dropped down onto the edge of the couch and perched there.

Archer clucked his tongue and shook his head. He placed two mugs of coffee and the bag with the cheesecakes on the middle of the coffee table and took a seat. He patted the couch cushion in the middle, which would put me right next to him. "Scoot over here and relax. I promise I won't bite." He winked.

Would it be inappropriate to tell him I wouldn't mind if he did? Biting back a giggle—no pun intended—I slipped out of my shoes and moved closer to him, pulling my legs up and crossing them in front of me. "Better?"

He nodded approvingly, and my stomach fluttered. He was so damn handsome, much hotter up close than he'd been from a distance. "I wasn't sure what you like in your coffee, so I fixed it like I do my own when I want a little treat."

Curious, I leaned forward and picked it up, sipping a little into my mouth. There was just a hint of sweetness. "Yum. This is delicious."

"A little sweet cream. I figured it would pair perfectly with our dessert." He then proceeded to pull two pieces of caramel cheesecake out of the bag and handed me one.

After I'd moaned around the first bite of pure heaven, he smiled and took a bite of his own. Watching him pull the fork out of his mouth, licking off every bit of the yummy deliciousness, I'd never wanted to be a utensil so badly in my life. Embarrassed at the track of my own thoughts, I forced myself to focus on my sweet treat.

We were halfway done when Archer said, "Before we get down to the nitty gritty, why don't you tell me a little about yourself and how you came to be the new owner of Harmony and Joy."

Rolling my eyes, I waited until I swallowed my bite and responded, "It'll probably be better to start with the class schedule and stuff. An About Me page will bore potential clients so badly that they won't even want to give the studio a shot."

Archer paused with his fork halfway to his mouth and frowned. "I sense a reoccurring theme here that I don't much care for." While he put the cake container on the table and picked up his coffee and sat back, I frantically searched my mind trying to figure out what he meant. Archer cleared his throat. "Let's start with this. What's your middle name?"

"Jean, after my grandfather."

He smiled so wide that the skin crinkled around his eyes. Wow. "You're never going to believe this, but my middle name is also Jean, after my grandfather."

"Really? That's cool. We have something in common."

The smirk that appeared on his face threw me. "I think we have more than one thing in common."

I wondered—hoped—that he was talking about our sexuality. There was no mistaking the fact that I was very proudly gay. I'd never tried hiding it, and even my father, as unreasonable as he'd been lately, hadn't batted an eye when I'd told my family that I was gay. Considering the fact I pretty much drooled every time I was around Archer, and my not-so-subtle touching of his chest, and the fact he hadn't decked me for it, I thought perhaps he was at least open to male attention.

Before I had a chance to ask for clarification, he said, "Like take the fact we're both business owners."

Oh. Yeah, that. "I mean, I wouldn't say I'm a successful business owner yet. I'm a baby entrepreneur, if anything."

He graced me with a soft smile, one so kind that I relaxed a little more back into my seat. "We all have to start somewhere."

"True, and I did get lucky with how this opportunity dropped into my lap."

"Tell me about that." I hesitated, not wanting to bore him, but he reached over and patted my knee. "Seriously, Crispin. I want to hear how you ended up with the studio."

So I told him. And because he kept asking questions, I told him everything. Laying it all out in a way that I'd never done for my brother or anyone else. Sure, Ben knew bits and pieces about how much I'd hated my job and how I felt like I'd found my place on the yoga mat, and Aziza knew that running my own yoga studio was my dream, but I'd always left out little details.

Since my friends couldn't really understand why I was working so hard or why I'd disappeared from partying with them, and my dad had become outright hostile since I left my financial career in the dust, the only two people I had left to count on were Ben and Aziza, so I wanted to make them proud. I also didn't want them to worry about me. Or for Ben to regret letting me move in while I pursued this or Aziza to regret offering it to me.

"I guess that's it," I said, shrugging my shoulders. "Hope I didn't put you to sleep."

Archer grunted. "Are you kidding me? You told me you were boring, but that story is anything but. Damn, Crispin, I'm in awe of you."

Startled, I gaped at him. "By me? I'm a twenty-something, who has no clue what in the hell he's doing. What's so impressive about that?" I held my arms wide, indicating his condo as I continued. "You're the one who's inspiring. Look at this place. It's beautiful. And I happen to know they're not cheap. Yet, you work for yourself, own this place, and rent one of the spaces downstairs for your office."

"Studio and darkroom," he corrected with a grin.

Rolling my eyes, I wrinkled my nose at him. "You know what I mean. If it weren't for the fact that Aziza already built a reputation and a clientele, and our place is on the side of the building with no direct access from the outside, so it's a little cheaper, I'd never even begin to dream that I'd be able to keep our location here. I'm still not sure I can."

Which sucked, and I hated thinking about it, but it was something I might have to face. It might be a less expensive space inside the Windsor, but that didn't mean it was cheap.

"Hmm. You don't see what I see, but we'll work on that." Archer glanced at the watch on his wrist, then back up to me. "How about dinner?"

"Dinner?" I asked confused, then checked the time on my cellphone. Holy crap. I'd talked the whole afternoon away and into the early evening. I felt my cheeks warm with embarrassment that I'd taken up so much of his time, and we hadn't done a thing on the website, which was what he'd asked me up here for. "I'm sorry. I wasted your whole day."

"On the contrary, I think this was a very valuable use of my time. I'm glad that we both had the availability today. So how about it? Let's go downstairs to the bar, and I'll treat you to a nice meal for satisfying my curiosity."

Snorting, I rolled my eyes. It was nice of him to act like he cared about me sharing every little detail of my life. On the other hand, he'd asked a million questions that kept me talking. The question now was, did I want to spend more time with him? Hell yeah. Did I understand why he wanted to spend even more time with me today? Not even a little bit. Was I one to look a gift horse in the mouth? Nope. No way. "If you insist."

His eyes twinkled. "Oh, I really do."