But then she stepped away, her eyes wide with horror as she looked up at him. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me.”
Griff blinked, the abrupt end to their kiss taking him by surprise. His skin felt cool at the loss of her body against his. “It’s okay…”
“No, it’s not. I’m an idiot. Blame the heat or something.” She fanned herself as though it wasn’t cool on the hilltop. “It was so inappropriate. You’re my tenant, I’m new in town, and I’m newly divorced.” Autumn attempted a smile. “Believe me when I tell you I’m a walking disaster right now.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You don’t look like a disaster.” So she was divorced. He’d store that little gem away to think about later.
“You don’t know the half of it. I’m making bad decisions left, right, and center at the moment.”
Bad decisions? He swallowed down his reaction. “We should be heading back anyway. The sun’s slipping away.”
“Sure.” She nodded. “That makes sense.”
“And I’m sorry to hear about your divorce.”
Her expression softened. “Another bad decision. Or a series of them.”
“Let’s head down that path,” he suggested, pointing at a graveled trail winding down the other side of the hill. “I know a shortcut back to the parking lot from there. Should only take us half an hour or so.”
She nodded, pulling her lips between her teeth. “Sounds good.”
This time, they kept a distance between them as they walked, and Griff kept his hands firmly fisted at his sides. And if he was still feeling a little bit crazy about the way the afternoon had turned out? He could live with that. They’d stopped before things got serious. That was something to be glad about.
He and women didn’t mix. He should have learned that by now.
8
Pouring herself a large glass of wine, Autumn swallowed a mouthful before draining the water from the pan and adding the creamy sauce. What the hell had she been thinking, kissing Griff Lambert?
She hadn’t been thinking, that was the problem.
Laying her plate and glass in front of her on the small kitchen table, she twirled a forkful of spaghetti and lifted it to her mouth. She was under no illusion that Griff was devastated at her pulling away from him. Yeah, he’d looked surprised, and more than a little confused, but he’d been back to his easy-going self by the time they were halfway down the hill.
It was Autumn who could barely bring herself to look at him.
She took another large sip of wine, letting the cool Sauvignon slip down her throat. She’d bought it from an amazing little wine shop she’d discovered along the boardwalk, a few hundred yards from the pier. Was it only this morning when she’d walked in there and talked about the different grapes with the owner? It felt like a lifetime ago.
Her life was a disaster. That’s all there was to it. She hadn’t lied when she told Griff she’d been making one terrible decision after another.
First getting married to the wrong guy.
Then getting divorced.
Not to mention buying a damn pier on the other side of the country while drunk. And now she was throwing herself at tenants.
Her phone began to vibrate on the table in front of her and she sighed as she looked at the screen.
What was this, the tenth call? The eleventh? She couldn’t avoid her dad forever.
Taking a quick glug of wine she swiped her finger to accept the call. She’d always been the kind of person to rip off a Band-Aid, rather than gingerly tug at it. She might as well find out what he had to say.
“Hey, Daddy.”
He paused, as though surprised she’d answered. “I’ve been calling you for days,” he said after a few seconds. “Where have you been?”
“I’ve been busy working.”
He sighed. “I was on the verge of calling the local police department to ask them to do a wellness check.”
“There’s no need for that. I’m absolutely fine. Did Lydia not tell you we spoke?”
“She did. And I have to say I’m surprised that she’s being the reliable one right now. I never thought I’d see the day.” He huffed. “So how are things going with the pier? Do you have a business plan yet?”
“I’m still working on it. Things are a little slower here than in New York.”
“When do you think you’ll be coming home?”
“I don’t know. A while.” The thought of getting back on a plane to New York made her chest hurt. Yeah, she’d made an idiot of herself today on the trail, but she wasn’t ready to leave. This morning on the beach she’d felt like she’d finally come home. Made friends. Laughed a lot. These were things that felt in short supply in New York.
“We miss you here, sweetheart. I just want to help you get back on track. Have you thought about putting the pier back on the market?”
“I’ve only just bought it,” she said with a laugh.
“I could talk to people. Or you could. Maybe Josh could help,” he suggested, sounding hopeful.
The thought of Josh having anything to do with the pier – or her – made her blood turn cold. “I have it under control, Daddy. Please don’t talk to Josh.”
Her dad sighed. “I don’t know how to help you.”
A smile played at her lips. “Maybe I don’t need any help with the business,” she said softly. “Though I’m glad that you care.”
Something beeped on the line. “I have another call,” he said abruptly. “But think about what I said. Your home is here with us.” His voice turned business like. “I’ll look into some options for us to work through.”
She swallowed down a sigh. He always did this. She could protest and he simply wouldn’t hear her. Sometimes it was better to say nothing at all.
“Goodbye, Daddy.”
“Good night, Autumn. I’m looking forward to you coming home. This town isn’t the same without you.”
She ended the call and carried her plate over to the garbage disposal, letting it run extra long to enjoy the grinding noise.
Today hadn’t turned out to be the best day in the world. But tomorrow was another one.
“So how’d your date go?” Jackson asked as the three guys carried their boards toward the water. It was early on Monday morning – the sun had barely begun to rise on the hills behind them, tingeing the darkness of the ocean with sparkling pink tips. The beach was empty and combed – the sand laying in perfect lines thanks to the sandboni that rumbled across the shore every morning, picking up the trash and sifting the grains.
The tide was slowly retreating, leaving a pink sheen on the wet sand behind it. Their bare feet sunk down as they reached the water’s edge.
“It wasn’t a date.”
“Of course it was. You were alone with a girl on the trail. That’s the definition of a date.” Jackson rolled his eyes as he lay his board down in the foamy shore.
“Are we gonna gossip all day, or are we planning on surfing?” Lucas asked, glancing at Griff from the corner of his eye. “I have to be at work by nine, and I promised Ember I’d bring her coffee back before I go.”