As a teenager, his helicopter parenting drove her crazy. But it was better than the alternative.
“Am I being a nosey old lady if I ask you whether you and Griff are dating?” Deenie asked.
Autumn pulled her eyes away from Griff. He hadn’t noticed her staring, thank god. “No,” she said. “We’re just friends.”
“Oh. That’s a shame.”
It was on the tip of Autumn’s tongue to agree. She swallowed the idea down with a mouthful of champagne. “I’m recently divorced.”
Deenie gave her a half-smile. “That doesn’t sound insurmountable.”
Maybe it wasn’t. Autumn frowned, trying to work through the confusion in her mind.
“Don’t listen to me,” Deenie said, topping up Autumn’s glass. “I’m an old romantic at heart. Blame it on all the books I read at work.”
It wasn’t books that were the problem. It was the way Autumn’s stomach did a loop-de-loop every time Griff looked this way. She liked him, but it was crazy. Too soon after her divorce and way too close to her business.
“Ember told me you own a book store,” Autumn said, thankful for the change in subject. “Tell me all about it. I can’t wait to come and visit.”
10
“Are you enjoying yourself?” Griff whispered in Autumn’s ear. They’d been at the party for a couple of hours. The evening sun was disappearing behind the rooftops, and the paper lanterns were glowing, along with pillar candles whose flames flickered on every table. Somebody had turned the music up, the deep beats pulsing through the warm twilight air. Ember and Harper had taken their babies inside to sleep, the tots’ eyes drooping as everybody blew them a kiss good night.
“I am.” She tried not to shiver at the way his warm breath tickled her skin. Turning her head, she looked up at him. He was standing behind her, his eyes fixed on hers, the setting sun making his skin glow.
He was so damn masculine. If she could bottle it, she’d be a millionaire in weeks. It wasn’t only the strong lines of his face, or the way he towered over everybody here. It was more than skin and muscles, no matter how glorious they were.
It was in everything he did. He had this way about him that made you feel safe. As though nothing could hurt him. She had no doubt that he’d throw himself in front of a car to save a stranger.
There were good people in New York, she knew that. But most of the people she met on a daily basis cared more about themselves than anybody else. They were drawn to Manhattan because they wanted to make money, or make something of themselves. And she’d bought into that, too.
Now she wasn’t so sure.
The music slowed down, and Deenie and Wallace began to dance on the grass in the space they’d cleared by moving some tables. Ember and Harper walked out of the kitchen door, whispering softly to each other, then grinned as they saw the happy couple dancing in front of them. The next moment, Lucas held his hand out to his wife, and Ember took it, allowing him to spin her across the grass. Pulling her against him, he held her tenderly, leaning down to kiss her hair.
Guests joined them on the grass, until there were more people dancing than not.
“You want to dance?” Griff asked her.
“Yeah, I do.” Warmth spread across her skin. “Let me take my shoes off, though. These heels will sink into the dirt.” She slid them off her feet, then took Griff’s hand and let him lead her across the grass. She felt shorter than ever in her barefeet. The top of her head met his chest as he pulled her close, slipping his arm around her waist, and pressing his palm into the small of her back as he slid the fingers of his other hand into hers.
The music was slow and smooth, as the haunting melody filled the evening air. Autumn leaned her head against Griff’s warm pecs, feeling the buttons of his shirt press against her cheek, and the warmth of his smooth skin through the cotton. She took a deep breath, smelling his woody cologne, and let him move her around the grass.
He was a surprisingly good dancer. So sure of himself. She glanced up to see him staring down at her, his eyes dark, his neck undulating as he swallowed. Autumn’s mouth felt suddenly dry, as though she hadn’t drunk anything for weeks.
“Thank you for inviting me,” she murmured. “I’m having a good time.”
The corner of his lip quirked up. “I’m glad you came.”
So was she. So glad. Only a few weeks ago she’d felt as if life as she knew it was over. But now, there was something new. Something interesting.
Something that made her stomach do tiny flip flops.
The music suddenly turned off. Griff stopped moving but kept her hand in his as he glanced over his shoulder to see what had happened.
“Um, there’s a baby crying,” Jackson said, looking sheepish as he stood in the kitchen doorway. “Not sure whose though.”
“Are you ready to go?” Griff asked her later that evening as the final guests began to say their farewells.
“Yeah. Let me go and thank Deenie and Wallace first,” Autumn said, pulling her jacket on. It was almost midnight and the air had turned distinctly cool, causing goose bumps to break out on her bare shoulders.
He slid his palm along the small of her back and steered her over to Lucas’s parents. Strange how natural it felt to have him touching her.
Lucas was in the corner, dousing the fire pit that most of them had huddled around for the past couple of hours. Ember and Harper were inside again, along with Harper’s fiancé, James, getting their babies ready to take home. Autumn was getting used to everybody’s names, thanks to being able to sit around the fire pit and listening to them all talk. She knew that Nate and Ally were engaged, worked together at Déjà Brew and had a daughter, who was out with her friends tonight.
And that Brooke and Aiden were here with Brooke’s son Nick, who Aiden had adopted recently. Jackson was here with a girl he’d introduced as Maura, but they’d left early because she’d gotten a headache.
Then there were Caitie and Breck, Harper and James who had baby Alyssa, and of course, her landlords, Ember and Lucas.
And Griff. Her skin tingled at the memory of dancing with him. If she’d been another girl, or this had been another time, maybe something might have happened between them.
Her body certainly seemed to think so. Every time he smiled at her she could feel her heart battering her ribcage.
Most of the glasses had been stacked in the kitchen, and Deenie had waved off everybody’s offers of help to clean up, telling them she’d leave them until morning.
She looked up with a smile as they approached.
“We’re leaving,” Griff told her, leaning forward to give her a hug. “Thanks for letting us come.”
“It was a wonderful party,” Autumn added when Deenie turned to embrace her. “Congratulations again. Forty years together is something to be proud of.”
Griff glanced at her from the corner of his eye. She didn’t look upset, but he couldn’t help but wonder if she was. Anniversaries must be a reminder of her divorce.
“Are you leaving?” Frank Megassey asked them, hurrying over to where they were standing. His face was bright red, the way it always was when he drank more than one beer. “I was hoping to have a word with Autumn.”