“See. I knew it. I only had to take one look at him to know he’s good in bed. And after your ex, that’s a good thing. Am I right?”
“We should think about dinner,” Autumn said, ignoring her sister. “Do you want to get take out?”
“No, I want to go out and explore. We should go to that place on the pier.”
“Delmonico’s?” Autumn’s eyes met Griff’s again. “I don’t know…”
“It’s okay.” Griff told her. “We can go there. It’ll be fine.” He knew she was thinking about Carla and her reaction to them. But Carla would have to get used to it. He wasn’t planning on hiding his relationship with Autumn, not anymore. Wasn’t sure he could if he tried.
Not that he wanted to try.
An hour later, the three of them walked through the painted blue glass doors into the Italian restaurant, where most of the red-and-white checked covered tables were occupied, couples, friends and families leaning forward to talk to each other, the hum of their conversation filling the air.
“Griff. And beautiful Autumn.” Pietro held his arms out as he walked to the desk. “Welcome. A table for three?”
“I’m Lydia, Autumn’s sister.” Lydia reached forward to shake Pietro’s hand. “I love this place already. I bet you have the best baked ziti.”
Pietro smiled. “Yes, we do. And it’s a pleasure to meet you. I didn’t realize Autumn had a sister.”
“I’m visiting for a few days, and this is the first place I had to try. I’ve heard so much about your food. Autumn tells me your cannolis are to die for.” She leaned forward. “I don’t suppose you have a table for us on the terrace, do you? I really want to dine overlooking the Pacific. I’ve never seen the ocean before.”
Autumn’s mouth dropped open at her sister’s blatant lie. Griff tried to swallow down a laugh. Pietro didn’t notice, though, he was too busy smiling at Lydia and calling the waiters over to free up a table. Within a couple of minutes, they were seated around a square table with warm, fragrant bread in a wicker basket that was making Griff’s mouth water.
“So this is the pier,” Lydia said, looking around, then smiling at Autumn. “I can’t believe you own this.”
“Some days neither can I,” Autumn admitted.
“So tell me about the charity day this weekend,” Lydia said as the waiter filled their glasses with a cool Sauvignon Blanc.
Autumn tore off a hunk of bread and dipped it in the herby olive oil, closing her eyes as she savored the taste on her tongue. “We’re raising money for the local animal shelter,” she told her sister. “One of my friends, Brooke, volunteers there. It’s for a really good cause. We’ve got old fashioned fair rides and food vendors and a series of bands playing at the end of the pier, but more than anything it’s about the community. I want this pier to be the center of Angel Sands, like it was when it was built. Somewhere people come to sit and look out at the water, or to walk along with a sweetheart when the sun is just about to go down. I want the kids to feel welcome here, because god knows there aren’t enough places around here for them to hang around.” She shook her head. “Maybe I’m reaching too far.”
Griff was smiling at her, his eyes soft and warm.
“I’ve never heard you talk about somewhere like that,” Lydia said, grinning. “Whenever you bought in Manhattan it was all about yields and profitability. You didn’t mention money once when you talked about the pier.”
She hadn’t? Autumn ran a finger along her lip. “Money will help, too,” she said.
Griff leaned over and pressed his lips against Autumn’s. “It sounds fantastic. And exactly what this place needs. Frank Megassey’s gonna have a fit. In the best way.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Let’s hope so.”
He slid his hand around to the back of her head, his fingers tangling in her long hair as he kissed her deeper. God, it felt good. Better than all the bread in Delmonico’s. When he broke away, she felt dazed.
“Hey, who’s that woman looking at you guys like she wants to throw you in the ocean?” Lydia asked, sipping at her wine.
“Which woman?” Autumn turned to look over her shoulder. When she saw Carla standing at the window, she felt her stomach drop. Poor Carla. She’d feel the same if she saw Griff kissing somebody else.
He wasn’t the kind of guy you got over easily.
Before she could tell her sister who it was, Carla was walking out of the restaurant and over toward their table, her face dark and serious.
Dear lord. It looked like things were about to get a whole lot trickier around here.
23
“Griff,” Carla said, standing on the terrace next to their table. “Can I have a word with you, please?”
His skin prickled at her question, and his eyes immediately caught Autumn’s. She gave him a quick a nod, as though she didn’t mind.
“Ah, yeah, sure.” He turned back to Autumn and Lydia. “I’ll be back in a minute, okay?”
“Works for me.” Autumn shot her sister a reassuring smile. “If your food arrives, I’ll ask them to keep it warm.”
Lydia was watching with a rapt expression, as though she was enjoying the drama a little too much. As soon as Griff followed Carla around the back of the restaurant, he heard Lydia whisper loudly to Autumn, “who’s that?”
“I’ll tell you later,” Autumn replied, clearing her throat.
There was nobody at the back of the restaurant. Just him, Carla, and all the trash cans, along with stacks of furniture waiting for repair. With a sigh, he turned to look at her. Her mouth was pressed together tightly, and her eyes shone a little too hard.
“You okay?” he asked, his voice low. She might’ve hated his guts but he wasn’t an asshole. He could tell she was upset.
“Not really, no.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe you brought her here, to my dad’s restaurant, to flaunt it all in front of me. How could you kiss her while I was watching?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t think.” He shot her a sympathetic look. “What happened between us was a while ago, Carla. And you were the one who called an end to it. I kind of assumed we were over this.”
“I was.” She shook her head. “No, I thought I was.” She lifted her gaze to his, her eyes glinting. “But you told me we couldn’t work because you weren’t into commitment. That you only wanted something casual. That it wasn’t about me.”
“It wasn’t.”
“So why is it not casual with her? Why are you ready to commit with her when you said you never would be?” Her bottom lip trembled.
It was the same question he’d been asking himself for the past couple of weeks. What was it about Autumn that made him want to change all his perfectly ordered rules? To open up the armor he’d carefully constructed around his heart and let himself be vulnerable?
“She’s different,” he said softly. “That’s why.”
Carla’s face fell. “You said you couldn’t commit to anybody.”