Prologue
'Knock, knock’ Martin called out, in the characteristic greeting he and Jason shared
Jason opened the door and smiled as he hugged his friend, welcoming them in. ‘Come in man, Regina and Archer are waiting in the backyard’.
The Lordswicks had come to have lunch together with the James family, in their usual annual family hang-out, before they returned to the city the next day
Emma gave Jason a hug as she said hello and went on to the backyard, where she found his wife putting finishing touches to lunch on the table set up in the garden
‘Hello Gina’ Emma greeted, walking up to her friend and encasing her in a warm hug as Karen watched from behind them, her eyes searching the grounds for a particular someone
‘Welcome’ Regina beamed at them, signalling to her son Archer, who was sitting to the side, engrossed on his phone, to come greet their guests
Karen's face lit up as she saw him, 'Yes' she murmured to herself, her heart doing flip flops as usual whenever near her crush
Archer looked up and smiled at them as he went over to say hello. Pulling Karen to the side, he told his mum to call when ready and then began tugging Karen into the house, to his room to see his latest music collections. They always did bond over music. While they chatted, Karen was all googly-eyed at him as he mesmerized her as always with his suave smooth ways and talk.
He sure is handsome…Karen thought dreamily, staring at him as he went on and on about his plans for College now he was done with high school. He planned to be like her dad, a Finance guru.
His dad, Jason, had made some bad business decisions lately that left him flat broke and struggling, so much so his parents were constantly at loggerheads trying to find a way to stay afloat.
Archer shook off the depressing thought and smiled at his childhood friend, observing how pretty she had grown up to be. He scooted close to where she was seated on his bed, wondering what she was thinking of that made her face glow and her eyes all starry eyed.
Before he could say anything, he heard his mum calling out to them. ‘Archer, Karen..’
‘I guess they are ready for us then’ Archer said bringing Karen out of her daydream stare. They both went back downstairs and met their parents discussing and his mum looked up at them as they walked in
‘About time….come on you two, let’s have lunch’ Regina said laughing and shaking her head
Jason teased them on how they behaved like betrothed teenagers….at which Martin snapped his head towards him and gave him a disapproving look.
Emma shook her head and laughed. ‘Oh hush Jase. My daughter is just 15!' she chided
‘Take a seat kids, let's eat’ Jason said laughing and wiggling his eyebrow at Archer, who smiled back discretely at him
As lunch ended, the two men took Archer aside and told him they had decided he should return to the city with the Lordswicks so that he could stay with them as he attended College in their town. This countryhome was too far a distance from good Universities and besides, his parents were struggling financially to keep up with his education and so Middletown was the better option now
Archer thanked Martin and Emma for their kind gesture and told them he would come to the city in a month’s time, he had to first tidy up his school transcripts and other stuff before coming over.
Jason nodded and told the Lordswicks he would send Archer over the next month...
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Young Karen was about to awaken to many firsts in her life with her childhood crush within arm's reach. What she doesn't know is that Archer was quite the ladies' man, leaving strings of heartbreaks in his wake. Will she fall for Archer's bad boy antics? or will she discover her true self as she grows up? What future awaits Karen and Archer? Is this a tell-tale romance? Expect some whirlwind detours along the way when she encounters the Reynold brothers....
