“Yes, Archer, I will.” He slid the ring into place, then had her in his arms a second later, spinning her around, and laughter she hoped would stay in this house filled the foyer.
“So this must be her.”
Still in Archer’s arms, he turned her, and she faced a slender woman with mid-length brown hair that turned up a little at the ends. Elise would recognize her eyes anywhere; they were the exact same color as Archer’s. He finally set Elise down, a warm, affectionate smile crossing his face. “Elise, this is my mother, Rose.”
“Hi,” Elise said, quickly offering her hand. “It’s really nice to meet you.”
Rose smiled sweetly and moved in for a hug. The type of hug that seemed to go on and on and only got better as the seconds went by. “It’s very nice to meet you, too.” Her sparkling eyes met Archer’s. “Especially since you make my son so happy. Did I just hear a proposal?”
Wrapping Elise in his arms from behind, he kissed the top of her head. “She said yes.”
Tears welled in Rose’s eyes. “How wonderful!” She called over her shoulder, “Gerry, hurry. Archer’s engaged.”
Gerry, a man with kind brown eyes and stylish gray hair, hurried up the porch steps. “No kidding? Great news!” He took Archer into a rough, masculine hug and then offered Elise a much gentler one. “Welcome to the family, Elise.”
“Thank you.”
Rose entered the foyer, taking a look around. “I take it then that this will be your new house?”
Archer nodded and then said to Elise, “I asked them to come see the place and meet you. I just wasn’t expecting them so soon.”
“Oh, hush,” his mother snapped at him. “I was excited to see you and couldn’t wait.”
“Hence the running up the steps and leaving me in the wind,” Gerry said with a wink to his wife.
Rose waved him off. “Don’t even listen to them, Elise,” she said, sliding her arm in hers. “Why don’t you show me your new house while you tell me more about yourself.”
“She hasn’t even seen the house herself,” Archer called.
“Well, then, we’ll see it for the first time together,” Rose said, and Elise stepped into stride with her as they headed down the hallway. “In this family, you need to make your voice heard. The men can be loud.”
Archer snorted from behind them. “Elise is the loudest one of them all.”
Rose chuckled and patted Elise’s arm. “Good. We’re going to get all alone just fine, then.”
Elise just smiled at Rose’s spunky attitude. And as she glanced back over her shoulder, she smiled at the warm love on Archer’s expression and at all the happy possibilities ahead of them.
Epilogue
Three weeks later…
Elise placed a box of her stuff in the back seat of Archer’s truck before slamming the door closed. When she went back inside the loft, she found Hazel sitting on the chair, staring down at her toes. A classic Hazel move when she was worried. She always stayed deep in her head. Elise shut the door behind her, and Hazel still didn’t move. “Why do you look so sad?” she asked, taking a seat on the coffee table.
“Not sad,” Hazel said, snapping her head up with a big fake smile. “I’m really happy for you and Archer.”
“Hazel.”
Hazel’s shoulders curled, and she sighed. “I don’t want to tell you, because I don’t want you to worry.”
“I won’t worry,” Elise lied breezily. She might, depending on what Hazel said next. “I’m a PI, remember? I can help you figure out anything. Get anything solved.”
“I can’t afford the loft on my own,” Hazel said softly. “And I’ve decided I need to give it up, but I have no idea where I’m going to go.”
Elise reached out for Hazel’s hand. “You told me you’d be fine if I moved out. Why didn’t you take me up on my offer to stay until you found another roommate?”
“You can’t live with me forever,” Hazel said with a snort. “It’s okay. I’ll find something else. Maybe you can help me find a place.”
Her heart reached for Hazel. Out of all of them, Hazel surely thought she’d get married first. She wanted the husband, the kids, all that, but life never seemed to work out for her that way. “Okay, when do we need to do that?”
“Tomorrow.”
Elise felt her eyebrows go sky high. “Tomorrow? What?”
Hazel cringed. “I know it’s bad. But when I told Mr. Wood”—the landlord of the building—“he asked if I could leave early because he had someone interested, and I said yes.”
Elise wanted to shake Hazel. “Why did you say yes if you don’t have another place?”
“I felt bad,” Hazel said with a small voice. “Besides, Zoey said I can stay with her until I figure out what to do next.”
“Why are you staying with Zoey?”
Elise glanced back, finding Kieran behind them with a box in his hands. Obviously, he’d come from Elise’s bedroom. A quick look back at Hazel revealed her pinkish cheeks. Elise fought her smile. Hazel had a real thing for Kieran. A big, bad thing. Kieran seemed to simply like teasing her. The two of them were so opposite, Elise couldn’t ever picture them together, but maybe…
“Oh, it’s nothing,” Hazel said, breaking the silence. “Just thinking about staying with her for a bit.”
Kieran frowned and set the box down on the ground. “Can’t be nothing if you look that sad.”
Hazel huffed and threw up her arms. “Do I really look that sad?”
“Yes,” Elise and Kieran said in unison.
Hazel rolled her eyes, then reached for her cola—her absolute favorite drink. She took a long sip from her straw before she said to Kieran, “I need to move out tomorrow, and I’m not really sure where I’m going to go.”
A pause.
“My place,” Kieran said with a smile.
Hazel’s eyes went huge. Elise was pretty sure hers did too.
Kieran chuckled at their silence. “I’m not sure why that’s such a surprising idea. I’ve got an extra room and a basement to store your stuff. Use it. Get back on track and figure things out.”
Elise looked at Hazel, finding those cheeks were now bright red. Yeah, she was crushing so hard on Kieran, even if she had yet to admit it.
“You do not have to do that,” Hazel blurted out.
“What doesn’t he have to do?”
Elise smiled at Archer’s warm voice. He set a box down on top of Kieran’s and then wrapped his arms around her from behind and dropped a kiss on her neck. Elise explained, “Hazel needs to move out of the loft by tomorrow because she’s way too nice and always thinking about everyone else and not herself. Kieran offered his guest room up for her to stay in until she gets things figured out.”
“Ah,” Archer said, giving Hazel a quick smile. “Do you need help moving? I can bring some of my security guys over.”
Hazel blinked. “Um…”
“Yeah, good idea,” Kieran said. “I’m sure a few guys from the station will help too. We’ll get your stuff packed up quickly and get you moved in.” He gestured toward the door. “Come on. I’ll take you to get some boxes, if you’d like.”