“I’d like that as well, Julius.”
I haven’t kissed another woman since college, and right now, I want nothing more than to press my lips against Autumn’s. I lick my lips while I psyche myself up for what I’m about to do. My body leans closer, and my eyes never leave hers.
“Autumn,” I say her name softly. A wave of excitement, longing, and desire passes over me. The tension between us is thick. Her tongue darts out, wetting her lips, and her chest heaves as she inhales. “I’m sorry for being a complete ass when we first met. Do you think you’ll ever forgive me?”
“Uh-huh,” she says as she nods slowly.
My mouth twitches in anticipation. I’m about to kiss the woman who has muddled my thoughts since the moment I met her. She’s haunted my dreams, kept me awake at night and showed me what it feels like to lust after someone after the heartache I’ve felt.
My hand gently cups her cheek. Autumn closes her eyes and tilts her head into my palm, and pushes her lips against my skin. Electricity zings through my body, and the hairs on my arms and the back of my neck stand at attention.
“I can’t wait,” she says, launching herself into my arms and pressing her lips to mine. I stumble back a step or two and wrap my arms around her waist. Autumn knows what she wants, and when she opens her mouth, I give her any and everything I can in this moment. I walk us to the railing, needing it for support. One hand moves to her hair while the other pulls her tighter against me. Her lips and mouth are demanding, greedy, and I return her passion with reckless abandon. Why did I wait so long to talk to her? To apologize to her?
I blaze a trail of languishing kisses across her jaw and down her neck. She pulls at my shirt, yanking it from my pants. My mouth drops open when her hands caress my heated flesh, and her fingers dig into my skin. I step back and reach for the back of my collar, the intent of taking my shirt off when I realize where we are.
“We have to stop,” I tell her reluctantly. “But please don’t think I don’t want to do any of this with you because I do.” I glance down at my pants to prove my point.
“I got carried away.”
“Sweetie, you can get carried away anytime you want.” I cup her cheek again and run my thumb over her cheekbone. “Believe me, I want . . .” I let my words linger in the air before I kiss her again. This time, it’s soft yet filled with passion. She tastes like heaven. When we part, I kiss her nose and then take her hand in mine.
“Where are we going?”
“Dinner.”
“It’s not time.”
I laugh. “It will be by the time we get back into town and fight traffic.”
Seventeen
Autumn
Weeks ago, if someone asked me what I thought of Julius Cunningham, I would’ve told them he is nothing but a bully with a bad attitude and a chip on his shoulder. If someone asked me last week after I saw him with his daughter, my answer would be something like he’s softening up or he’s not so rough around the edges like I had thought. Ask me now, and I’d fumble for words because I’m drunk. Drunk off his lips and the way he cupped my cheek before he kissed me. Smitten by his kindness and how he knew I needed to see the city from this vantage point, and that he made sure we had the privacy to do it alone. I look over at him now, driving my car, and find it hard to believe he hasn’t been in that seat for longer than a few hours. He fits perfectly. It’s like we’re on a date for the millionth time and not some paid-for excursion. Everything feels natural and not forced like I expected it to be.
I glance over my shoulder and imagine his children in the back and wonder if his son will like me or if his parents’ divorce is proving to be too much for him. I’ve never dated a man with children before and am unsure how children become incorporated into a relationship. I suppose I’m ahead of myself, thinking there will be a relationship between Julius and me, or even the children and me, but the thoughts are there, and I can’t stop them. Nor do I want to. He’s a single father who I know puts his family first, which I respect and admire wholeheartedly.
A warm hand squeezes my thigh, bringing my attention back to the man sitting next to me. He drives with one hand on the wheel and the other now intertwined with mine. How did we go from barely speaking a cordial word to each other to this?
“What are you thinking?” he asks, almost as if he can read my mind.
I lean into the headrest and give him a soft smile. “Just wondering how we got here.”
Julius chuckles lightly, winks, and turns his attention to the road. “I’ve been asking myself for weeks why I was such a dick to you.”
“Did you ever come up with a good answer?”
He laughs again. “Nope, other than we met at a bad time. I think if it had been any other day, things would have been different. I’ve been attracted to you from the beginning, and I think I let all those thoughts I had play with what was really going on.”
“Which was?”
Julius kisses the back of my hand. “I have spent my entire adult life with Elena, and unlike her, I never looked at another person. Then you walk out onto the balcony, and bam, it’s like a ton of bricks are dropped on my head because there’s this gorgeous woman standing a few feet from me, who is smiling at me—and I think ‘wow, I’m an epic shit because I’m married.’” Julius pulls up to a red light and looks over at me.
“Except, I’m not. My wife, or soon-to-be-ex, has moved on and done so very publicly, and nothing is stopping me from doing the same. Once I realized this, you were all I thought about, but I still had a hard time reconciling this attraction. Once I started my ‘I hate Autumn campaign,’ it was hard to stop because deep down, I didn’t want to like you.”
“And now?” I think I already know the answer, but still want a little reassurance.
“And now I’d like to take you on a date or two or ten,” he says with a shrug. “I guess what I’m trying to say is, I’d like to explore where this could lead.”
“I’d like too as well.”
My answer pleases Julius because he leans over and kisses me, much to the disgruntled driver behind us pressing down on the horn longer than necessary.
“I have a few choice words for whoever is behind us.” Julius drives forward while shaking his head and muttering a few profanities. After a bit of silence, he says, “Have you ever dated someone with kids?”
I shake my head. “I haven’t, but I also haven’t dated a whole heck of a lot. Besides, I think there’s a slight age gap between us.”
Julius’s mouth drops open, and he looks at me wide-eyed before busting into a fit of laughter. “Are you calling me old?”
“Not at all, but I wonder if you know how old I am.”
He winks and chuckles. “I’m going to come clean here. I’ve spent some time looking you up online, so yes, I know how old you are, plus you went to school with Peyton, so that makes you a year or so younger than her. I guess the true question is, do you know how old I am?”
“I do.” Honestly, I’ve never considered age to be a determining factor when it comes to dating. I’ve always been the type of person to encourage my friends to date whomever, as long as they’re happy.