Page 135 of Archer

A beat of silence. “Well, I’m going to go ahead and be excited for both of us, because this is all you’ve ever wanted. You get to choose your terms and do the thing you love, one that you are angelically good at.”

“Thank you.”

Her voice dropped out of deal-making mode. “How are you feeling otherwise?”

“Ask me again in a week.”

“Deal. Take care of your Marine. I’ll handle Nashville.”

The cottage slowly filled with friends as the day progressed. Checking on Archer’s recovery, bringing food, and asking how they could be helpful.

Knox sat in the corner with his arm around Sloane’s shoulder. Colton had made himself at home at the kitchen island. Maggie moved between rooms, filling glasses, offering appetizers, and refusing help. Nash lingered in the doorway, arms crossed and a few cracks showing in his professional face. Cracks of relief, I believed.

“Should we toast?” Sloane asked, receiving a glass of wine from Maggie.

Knox raised his beer. “Another successful mission.”

Maggie tipped her glass to Colton’s bottle. Sloane and I lifted our drinks. Archer sipped his water before setting it down.

Nash shook his head, looking mildly amused. “Cheers.”

We ate dinner in the living room, plates on our laps, and talked about everything that mattered. Life, love, health, peace. No one spoke Webb’s name. He had no place here.

I was helping clean up when I caught another charged look passing between Maggie and Colton. Half a second of unguarded warmth before Colton sealed it off and Maggie returned to the kitchen.

I followed her in.

“Hey, so….” I kept my voice low. “What’s that about?”

Maggie blinked at me. “What do you mean?”

“I mean the look you just gave him, and it wasn’t the first, so don’t bother denying.”

She tucked a strand of honey-blond hair behind her ear. “It’s nothing.”

I tented my brows in my most be-serious expression.

She cracked. “Okay. I like him. I’ve liked him since Knox first introduced us. But Colton doesn’t — he’s not interested. Not like that.”

I glanced back through the doorway. Colton leaned forward on his elbows, talking animatedly, making Knox laugh. Then his eyes cut to the kitchen for half a second and back.

“I think you’re wrong,” I said.

“I’m not.” Her words were gentle, but final. “It is what it is.”

I leaned a hip against the counter, unconvinced.

“What about Nash?” I asked. “Would it bother him? If you were wrong about Colton?”

Sadness contorted her pretty face. “Nash has his own unrequited love story to carry.”

I leaned closer, invested. “Really?”

She nodded, then lowered her voice. “He met someone last summer. Spent two days with her when she came to town looking at storefronts. She wanted to open a bookstore, I think. I’ve never seen Nash happier, and he’s been married before. This was nothing like that.”

I glanced at the handsome sheriff. “What happened?”

“She went home. Didn’t come back.” Maggie turned her wine glass in her hands. “I tried to find her number once.” She blushed. “He’d kill me if he knew, but I couldn’t help it. He’s a mess, and he’s my brother. So, I bribed a friend at the garage where her car had some work done. One month of homemade hushpuppies in exchange for her contact information.”