Accidentally on Purpose Read online

  Archer’s biggest regret . . . ? What did that even mean?

  “I’m going to have another s’more while we’re waiting,” Kylie said, and she walked back to the fire.

  Still reeling while pretending not to be, Elle stayed beneath the tree, looking up through the branches to the night sky, which was clear, crisp, and admittedly stunning.

  She felt Archer come up beside her, felt the heat and strength of him, and as always her body stilled although she didn’t take her eyes off the sky. “What did you mean?” she asked.

  He didn’t pretend to not understand. “That night,” he said quietly. “I didn’t get you out before you got hurt. That’s my biggest regret.”

  The air backed up in her lungs at this unexpected statement and unwelcome memories flooded her. She and Morgan had left home about six months before that night, leaving their grifter mom to her business. The sisters had wanted a better life for themselves, a life free of trouble. Or at least that was what Elle had wanted, but Morgan, eighteen to Elle’s sixteen, had difficulty leaving trouble behind.

  Unbeknownst to Elle, Morgan had gone back to working on the side for Lars, her bad-news boyfriend, in the same field as their mom. When one of Lars’s cons had involved a jewelry heist with a load of invaluable Russian antiques, Morgan had gotten scared and come clean to Elle, wanting out but having no idea how to get out.

  Elle had told her she’d take care of it. And she’d tried. She’d taken the part of the loot that Morgan had in her possession back to Lars to tell him to leave her sister the hell alone or else. She had no “else” but she’d been willing to wing it in order to get Morgan out.

  Unfortunately, two things had gone wrong. One, Lars hadn’t been amenable to what she had to say. In fact, he’d pinned her against the wall, his plan to beat her into submission and she wasn’t sure what else, but it wasn’t going to be good. He’d gotten halfway through that plan when the second problem had hit and hit hard.

  A police raid and drug bust. Seemed along with illegal antiques, the boyfriend had also been drug running. And there she’d been, holding evidence no less. She should’ve been caught up with the others and arrested, but she’d had a guardian angel looking over her that night.

  Archer.

  He’d been undercover and he’d blown his cover to pull her out. It’d cost him everything. His job. His relationship with his dad.

  She had no idea how he’d ever forgiven her. Or maybe he hadn’t, given that so many years had gone by without any contact between them. That had changed last year when she’d landed her job in the same building as Hunt Investigations, but she couldn’t say they’d made much headway, since whenever they ended up in the same place at the same time they either bickered like children or were as silent and awkward as strangers.

  And now she could add or kissed like their lives depended on it to the list.

  But mostly what she remembered when she thought about that night was how alone she’d been. Alone, scared, and cornered in that old park . . . And Archer had seen her that way. No wonder he didn’t want her. To him, she was nothing but that little girl. All the maturing and growing up she’d done, the success she’d had, none of it could erase that horrifying first impression she’d made.

  And as always happened when she thought about it, the bottom fell out of her stomach. She swallowed hard and shook her head. “You weren’t responsible for me, Archer. I was there of my own accord. What happened was my fault. Everything that happened that night was my fault.”

  “And yet you’ve never forgiven me for it,” he said.

  Her heart squeezed so hard she had to close her eyes and take a long, deep breath and a moment to try to get herself together. She couldn’t believe he thought that. “It wasn’t you I had to forgive. It was myself.”

  When he didn’t speak, she opened her eyes.

  But just like that long-ago night, she was alone.

  Four nights later, after several long days of work and hours and hours of homework in her office, Elle finally followed her stomach downstairs and across the courtyard, the goal being the pub for some of Finn’s famous chicken wings and a tall glass of something with a good kick.

  She’d gotten a text from Finn that tonight was country night. Her concession to a costume was switching out her heels for some pretty cowboy boots and adding a cowboy hat and a belt that proclaimed her a Rebel on the silver belt buckle.

  She hadn’t spoken to Archer since the Kiss Debacle. And although she hadn’t run into him, he’d made plenty of appearances in her dreams and he hadn’t walked away from her in those. In fact, just thinking about all the things he’d done to her in the deep dark of her fantasy world always made her break out in a sweat.

  She could only imagine what would happen if they were ever stupid enough to try to swallow each other’s tonsils again. Her vagina might actually go up in flames . . .

  But they wouldn’t be stupid enough for that. Or at least he wouldn’t. After all, he’d been the one to put the brakes on. And he’d not even looked back.

  Which made that the second time. She didn’t usually keep score but she really needed to remember that the next time he appeared behind her eyelids in the night. He wasn’t right for her. And he was never going to be right for her.

  Ever.

  And if that thought hurt, she shoved it away, shoved it deep. She was good at that, real good. She’d shoved deep lots of bad before. Such as giving up on ever having anything that resembled a “normal” family. She’d never known her dad and she’d walked away from her mom a long time ago. She’d had to do the same with her sister, although that one had been a lot harder and still haunted her.

  So Archer not wanting her? Right in her wheelhouse.

  Halfway across the courtyard, she ran into Kylie standing at the fountain. She stood there in skinny jeans that emphasized her toned, petite body. She had a tear in one knee and another across her opposite thigh, was wearing a tool belt and a fleece-line leather bomber jacket, and was looking both incredibly feminine and badass at the same time.

  Elle loved the look, although she thought Kylie could use a little lip gloss. Not to please a man or anything like that. Just because she seemed pale today and needed a little color.

  Kylie blew out a sigh like the day had been hard and long, and shoved back her long, wavy brunette hair, leaving a streak of sawdust in it.

  “Um,” Elle said, pointing to it but Kylie waved her hand like she didn’t care. She had her little rescue pup, Vinnie, on a bright blue leash at her side. Four months ago he’d been all head and ears, small enough to fit into her pocket.

  He was still all head and ears, and might still grow up to be either a very big rat or a French Bulldog. It was anyone’s guess.

  In any case, Vinnie was wearing a bolo tie—clearly ready for country night at the pub. He looked up at her, his warm brown eyes dancing with the kind of excitement for life only a dog could muster.

  “You look very handsome, cowboy,” she told him.

  Vinnie panted happily and melted to the cobblestones to expose his kibbles and bits.

  “Just like a man,” Elle said on a laugh but dutifully bent down to scratch his belly. She looked up at Kylie. “You’re staring down that water like it’s your mortal enemy. What gives?”

  Kylie shrugged. “It’s going to sound pretty stupid to you.”

  “Try me.”

  “Okay,” Kylie said. “I’m trying to decide if I trust love enough to actually wish for it.” She revealed the quarter in her palm.

  “Is that what you’re doing out here?” Elle asked. “You’re trying to get the balls together to wish for love?”

  “Well, yeah.” Kylie looked at her. “Both Pru and Willa found love as a direct result of their wishing.”

  “You really believe that?”

  Kylie bit her lower lip, watching as Willa and Keane came out of the stairwell holding hands as they made their way through the wrought-iron gate to the street and vanished. “I want to beli