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winds. He swallowed a snarky comeback and blamed his jet lag again. He needed some air.
    â€œThanks for letting me know.” He tried not to sound sarcastic, but acknowledged he hadn’t been completely successful.
    Tori came toward him and touched his wrist briefly. “Hayden, I am so sorry. You have every right to be angry. I guess we were busy getting everything ready after the zoning was finally cleared. We were in a rush to fill all the positions, and we made a bad decision.”
    Hayden wanted to shrug it off and be okay with it. And eventually he would. But right now he needed to get out of here. “Thanks, Tori. Really, I’ll be fine. You guys look like you need to go back to bed.” He summoned a smile and shook his head at his brothers, who had to be nursing brutal hangovers. Given that, he appreciated how quickly they’d come downstairs. At least pissing off Hayden was a fire they wanted to put out. Wouldn’t it be worse if they didn’t give a damn?
    â€œGood call,” Kyle said. “See you later, sisters.” He clapped Hayden’s arm again, this time letting his palm linger a second. “Later, bro.”
    He headed out, and Liam nodded toward Hayden. “You always were a good sport. About everything.”
    Yep, that was Hayden. And he could live with that. Especially since it would be for only a few short weeks. Then he’d be on his way back to France.
    A FTER RETURNING TO her room to put on real clothes, Bex enjoyed a fun, if slightly nerve-racking, breakfast with the women from the bachelorette party and the men from the bachelor party—at least those who were able to rouse themselves. Now she was on her way to the Archers’ house, which she’d call home for a few weeks. It was also where Hayden was staying, and, as Sara had informed her, he was apparently already there.
    As she drove up the long driveway toward the house, butterflies flitted in her belly, and anxiety nested in her spine. She hadn’t been here in so long, and yet it still gave her the sensation of home. She supposed that made sense because she’d lived in the garage apartment one summer in college while working at The Arch and Vine. Then, after college, she’d interned with Rob Archer while working shifts at the pub. She’d stayed in the apartment again until Hayden had bought a house after about six months. They’d moved in together, which had sparked all sorts of excitement as his family believed an engagement was forthcoming. And she supposed it would have if things hadn’t gone completely and horribly off the rails.
    Was it any wonder she was nervous as hell to be back here?
    She clutched the wheel as she drove into the turnaround in front of the house. The waterfall fountain in the center was on, and if her window was down she’d be able to hear the gentle sound of the water and smell the pine trees dotting the land. The Archers had two hundred or so acres, including an old homestead built by the founders of Ribbon Ridge. Or their kids. Something like that. The area was rich with Archer family history.
    She drove through the porte cochere and parked outside the garage apartment, on a patch of pavement between the garage and the main house. She grabbed her purse and stepped out of the truck, closing the door.
    Bex pushed her sunglasses up onto her head and stared at the back door that led to the mudroom. Presumably Emily Archer was just inside—in the kitchen probably. Bex’s anxiety kicked up a notch. She and the Archer matriarch had been close once, but Bex dumping her son had pretty much severed their relationship. Bex had fled Ribbon Ridge and hadn’t looked back, aside from keeping in moderate touch with Tori and Sara.
    She shook the thoughts away from her brain. Revisiting that painful time just as she was about to step inside the Archer stronghold was not what she needed to be doing.
    Taking a deep breath, she started toward the