Page 73 of Broken Boss

Milo appears at his mother’s side, gaping and then laughing as Frank gives him a huge kiss. Mel laughs and picks him up.

“The boys are supposed to be watching him, but Jenson got that new grill. Between you and me, neither one of them can figure it out.”

We file into the house, Autumn tucking herself in close to me as she looks around.

“Really? I would’ve thought they’d have Gen showing them the ropes by now.”

“Oh, no. She’s kicked back with Roux, watching the bewilderment play out.”

We all chuckle and head through the house to the back patio, lit with string lights and comfortably furnished with lounge chairs and massive cushions. Eva is curled up in one and shouts, “Uncle Chris!” as soon as I walk out.

She darts toward me, wrapping me in a rib-crushing hug. I make an embarrassingly unmanly sound and try to hug her back, picking her up and spinning her.

“There’s my little monster!”

But she quickly latches on to Frank, her eyes wide as she fusses over the happy dog. I introduce the two of them and Autumn watches with a quiet smile as Eva giggles at the sloppy dog kisses.

Nate and Jenson are completely frozen by the grill, eyes glued to Autumn. Gen is watching them suspiciously, as is Melanie, who still has Milo on her hip. I wonder what the chances are they’re thinking their husbands are lovestruck. Probably pretty good; Autumn is a gorgeous woman.

I raise my brows at them and they both seem to snap out of it.

“Nate, Jenson, this is Autumn.”

There’s a tense, heavy moment. One I’ve been dreading the entire drive here.

Both of my brothers warned me away from Autumn. Especially when we discovered she was lying about her identity.

But now that they’re faced with her, they wouldn’t make a scene, right?

“Welcome,” Jenson finally spits out. But the two wives share a look—they know something’s up. I wouldn’t want to be either of my brothers later tonight…

“Hello,” Nate throws in, rounding the grill to greet her properly. He holds out a hand and Autumn grips it, giving it a good shake. I grin, proud of her—she’s all lawyer right now, standing tall and serious in the face of an otherwise intimidating man.

Nate notices, eyes narrow, and seems to approve. He reaches out to clap me on the back.

“Brother.”

I nod and head over to the grill, the trio of us staring down at it.

“It’s for barbecuing,” Jenson explains. He sounds just a little perplexed, and my grin widens.

“You know that usually takes hours, right?” It’s just after four now, close to when we’d normally eat around five.

From her place at the patio table, Gen rolls her eyes and sighs. She, Mel, and Autumn were chatting politely after friendly introductions. Now, she hands baby Roux over to Autumn, who takes the infant with a surprised look.

“Alright, you three, get out of my way. You’re lucky Mel had the sense to marinate the chicken ahead of time.”

We scatter good-naturedly, and I take a beer from Jenson, heading over to Autumn’s side to sit next to her on the loveseat. She has Roux on one thigh and is looking down tenderly at the blonde baby.

“You okay?” I whisper as Frank nudges the baby’s toes, making her giggle.

Autumn’s smile is so wide that I’m worried her face might split right in two. She looks over at me with shining eyes, looking for all the world like she belongs right here, and nods.

“I’m perfect. Thank you for this.”

Chapter 25

Autumn

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