Her smile widened.
“Speaking of which, there’s a party for Lucas’s parents on Sunday. Why don’t you come as my plus one? As a friend,” Griff said, emphasizing the final word. She ignored the little tug in her chest at the word friend. It was what she wanted, after all.
“Won’t they mind me tagging along?” She really wanted to go, but old habits died hard. She couldn’t imagine dropping in uninvited to a party in Manhattan.
He laughed. “You need to live in Angel Sands for a while longer. Of course it’s okay. Everyone will be pleased to see you.”
“Then I’d be delighted to go.”
“I’ll pick you up at one. It’s Deenie and Wallace’s ruby wedding anniversary, in case you want to bring them a card.”
“Deenie and Wallace?”
“The Russells. Lucas’s parents. Caitie’s, too.” He grinned. “And Ember’s in-laws.”
“I’ll never remember everybody’s names.”
“Don’t sweat it. Just call everybody ‘man’ like I do. It saves a lot of time.”
Her eyes met his once more, and those stupid fireworks went off in her chest.
They were friends again, and that was good. The fireworks could go take a hike.
“Okay, I’m heading off,” Autumn said to the younger Delmonico’s. “Thank you for being such gracious hosts today. And you know where I am if you need anything.”
“Thanks for loving my food,” Vincent said, grinning. “You’re welcome back here at any time.”
“Can I have a quick word?” Carla asked her, as Autumn reached for the handle of the kitchen door, the box of cannolis in her other hand. “In private.”
“Sure.” Autumn followed her to a little office at the back of the kitchen. Carla ushered her inside and closed the door behind them. She sat on the edge of the desk – pushing away some papers that were strewn across the surface, and sighed.
“I saw you talking to Griff earlier.”
The back of Autumn’s neck tingled. “Uh, yeah…” She trailed off, wary of where this was going.
“The two of you looked close. So I wanted to give you a warning, woman to woman. He’s bad news, you should avoid him.”
Autumn waited for Carla to laugh, but she looked deadly serious. “Griff’s bad news?” she clarified, wondering if she was talking about someone else.
“Yeah. He can be charming as hell, but he’s a player. An asshole.” Carla spat the words out. “He leads people on, then breaks their hearts. And I could see the way he was looking at you while you were talking.”
“You were watching us?” Autumn’s eyes were wide.
Carla carried on, ignoring Autumn’s question. “I know he seems like a nice guy. He takes people in. Hell, he took me in. Then he spat me out as soon as I asked for a commitment. He’s happy as hell to get into your panties, but he’ll drop you like a hot tamale if you want more.”
“I don’t want more,” Autumn said, trying not to grimace at Carla’s description. “And I certainly don’t want him in my panties.” She wrinkled her nose. The thought of Griff and Carla together made her stomach turn. “I’m just here to work. Nothing more. And I don’t want any drama.” God knew, she had enough back in New York.
“Okay. Good.” Carla smiled at her, baring a perfect set of white teeth. “Enjoy the cannolis.” She lifted a finger to her lips. “Oh, and if you’re interested, Vincent is single.”
Autumn pressed her lips together to stop herself from laughing. “I’m not. But thank you. And good evening.”
She couldn’t get out of the restaurant fast enough. This town was crazy.
And yet, there was something about it that drew her in.
9
“A few close friends.” Autumn grinned at Griff as they walked into Deenie and Wallace Russell’s beautiful back yard. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. “Isn’t that what you said?”
Round tables were clustered together on the freshly cut grass, laid with crisp white cloths and stunning pink-and-white floral displays. White paper lanterns hung from the trees, ready to be lit when the sun went down, and pink balloons swayed with the breeze. Soft music vibrated from the speakers fixed in the boughs, mingling with the chatter and laughter of at least fifty people who were standing on the lawn.
“They have a lot of close friends.” Griff’s eyes crinkled as he grinned back at her. “Most of these guys you either know or know of. There’s Ember and Lucas and all our friends over there,” he said, pointing at a crowd of twenty and thirty-somethings. She spotted Ember holding Arthur, who was wriggling like crazy trying to grab a balloon. Next to her was Harper, holding baby Alyssa. Mother and baby were wearing matching dresses in a bright yellow polka dot fabric that would be difficult to pull off if you weren’t as gorgeous as Harper.
“Okay.” It was impossible not to smile back at him. “But don’t leave me standing on my own. Unless you’re grabbing me a large glass of wine.”
He laughed, inclining his head. “Come on. Let’s go say hi to Deenie and Wallace.” He offered her his arm, and she slid her hand through it. Her fingers curled around his bicep and he felt a jolt of electricity flash through his skin.
Inviting her to the party had seemed like a good idea when they were talking on the pier. He liked Autumn, he really did, and when she’d asked to be friends he’d breathed a sigh of relief. For a couple of days he’d thought he really messed things up between them when he’d kissed her.
Yeah, it had felt good. Better than good. But he knew better than to do things just because they made his skin heat up.
Deenie and Wallace were standing by the door to the kitchen, having a heated discussion over a bottle of champagne. Deenie was the first to look up, her warm face breaking into a big grin when she saw Griff approaching. One of her eyebrows rose when she saw Autumn holding his arm.
“Happy Anniversary,” Griff said, leaning forward to kiss Deenie’s cheek. She was wearing her silver hair in an intricate updo, coiled at the nape of her neck, with braids curling through it. “This is Autumn Paxton. The new owner of the pier.”
“It’s a real pleasure to meet you,” Deenie said to Autumn, leaning forward to hug her. Autumn hesitated for a moment, before hugging her back. “I would have come and introduced myself before, but we were on a cruise to celebrate our anniversary. This is my husband Wallace. He’s a man of few words, so I talk double on his behalf.”
Autumn laughed. “It’s so nice to meet you both. Happy anniversary.” She gave them the pink gift bag she’d been carrying since they left Griff’s truck. “What is it, five years?”
“More like forty,” Deenie told her as she opened the bag.
“You must have been a child bride,” Autumn said.
“Oh I like her,” Deenie said to Griff. “She can stay.” She pulled a silver box from the bag and opened it up. “These are beautiful,” she said, pulling out two crystal glasses. They were a vibrant red, with gold painted details around the base and stem. “And you knew it was forty years. Our ruby anniversary.”