Page 14 of Falling for Autumn Again

“Whoa.” Meg blinks. She looks like one of those funny catvideos where the cat can’t stop its excessive blinking until it sneezes.

I wait for Meg to sneeze, but she doesn’t. She sinks deeper into her chair a little, forgetting that Ezra is outside waiting for us. Meg does not like to keep people waiting. She is Punctual Patty, always ready to go. But with this story, Ezra is waiting, as are the teachers she’s supposed to be meeting with.

“What happened?” she asks and to her credit, she slumps into the chair across from me, not rushing me.

“My dad got sick. Dad was already in stage three of his diagnosis.” Nope, I don’t talk about this part either. “Stage three, lung cancer.”Crack,crack. Soon my clay heart will be a pile of powder.

I stand up like this next part is no big deal, like it didn’t break me. Because that’s what I tell myself every day.

"I couldn't leave anymore. So, I told Ezra to go without me. He did." I swallow. I broke my own heart. My throat aches with the admission. But I ignore it. I set my hands on my hips. "You know Dessie hired him as our architect because he knew me well and she thought he'd be able to give me what I want." I roll my eyes like this is naïve and Ezra Bennett doesn't know me at all. "Whatever. It's fine. She says he's good at what he does, and that's all I need."

"So, you're okay with this?" Meg stands too but like a zookeeper cornered by the tigress. One quick movement and it's all over.

“Yeah. I was surprised. I may have been taken aback. But whatever. It’s fine.” No woman ever, in the history of ever, used the word fine and meant it.I AM SO NOT FINE.

Meg looks at me like she knows this, but she’s still the helpless zookeeper and I’m still the unpredictable tigress. She isn’t sure that disagreeing with me is a smart idea at the moment.

“You need to get to class,” I tell her.

Her brows cinch just a touch. She does. She knows it. But she’s afraid to leave me alone too.

I ignore all her trepidation, call up all the energy and strength of Harry Styles on a month-long tour—thirty nights, thirty shows—and slap on the biggest, fakest grin I can before pushing out the office door and meeting Ezra head-on.

“Just a little misunderstanding,” I say, looking past him, not quite at him. His beautiful face may burn a hole in my retina. “You were wrong. I was right.” I shrug. “No biggie. We’ll have our chat, I’ll show you around, and then I’ll let you know if you’ve got the job—or not,” I say in one big breath without ever making eye contact with him.

I don’t look at his shoulders either. I always loved Ezra’s shoulders, but they are no longer the shoulders of a teenage boy. He is suddenly all man. And he apparently spends time in the gym. Again, I mentally send a curse on all his household, the curse of male-patterned baldness.He gets our dreams. So, he should get baldness too. Just to even things out.

“But I thought—” Meg starts, coming up beside me. But I cut Miss Allergic To Lying off with an elbow to the ribs.

“No big deal, Meg! People mess things up all the time. I assure you, Ezra’s brighter than he appears.”

I can't help the jab. It seems to come without thought or planning. A jab to Ezra is like salve to my wounds. My brain knows that Ezra did nothing wrong. Not one thing… He left. Because I told him to. But it still hurt. A lot.

Still, I can work with Ezra. What choice do I have? I’m sure Harry didn’t want to make that music video with Lil’ Pop. But he did it anyway. I read he had a contract he couldn’t get out of. Worst video ever. But I watch it. Harry is still in it.

I can put on a smile and allow him to work up the design for my place.

But I can’t control my tongue. Not always. I can fake everything except for that. My voice has an entire mind of its own. One that isn’t attached to my actual brain. I cannot be held accountable.

Meg’s eyes are still giving me away, so I shove her backside until she’s walking toward the car lot. “This one has a meeting. She’s always running behind. Go on, girl.Get.”

Meg slaps at my wrist and I pause my slightly aggressive shoving. “Are you sure you can handle this?” she whispers. “You’re being weird.”

“You’re weird!” I murmur. “I’ve got this. Now go away.”

I watch for only a second to make certain that Meg is on her way before I turn back around to a hovering Ezra.

Why is he so darn close?

And why does he smell like that? I’m tempted to spit on his suit jacket, solidifying the curse of a bald head for his very near future.

“So, I was wrong?” he says, peering down at me. “Huh,Autumn Pie?”

My brows lower. “You aren’t allowed to call me that. Only Dessie calls me that. You don’t know me anymore. And yes,youwere wrong. So, let’s get on with the interview, okay?”

My words are harsh. I’m rash and rude.

He doesn’t deserve any of it. Not even early pattern baldness.

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