Page 7 of Fall I Want
“Got it. And his last name?”
“She’s joking,” I explain, but my cheeks heat at the thought. Mrs. Mooney notices.
Her kind expression doesn’t change. “Do you believe in magic?”
“Not anymore.” I haven’t since my heart was broken.
“I’ll ask you the same question in exactly one month.” She winks, then leaves.
Julie looks at me with a raised brow. “I fucking love this time of year because everyone gets so fucking weird.”
“That was two in one sentence.” I laugh, meeting her eyes as shepulls several dollars from her tips and puts them in the fuck jar that’s on the counter behind us.
“Do you feel that?” I ask Julie as the air sparks around me. An unexplainable electrical current streams through my body, causing my arm hairs to stand on end. I rub my hand over the goosebumps on my skin. Something happened between me and that beautiful bastard. The attraction is undeniable.
She grins. “Maybe love is in the air? Maybe you just captured lightning in a bottle.”
“Pfft. Yeah right.” I pull the tiny notebook from my pocket and write my first haiku.
What’s that in the air?
Love is out of the question.
This feels like a prank.
Julie glances at it. “Good one.”
“Yeah.” I grin. “I thought so.”
She lifts her hand and I give her a high five. “Glad to see you’re writing something.”
Chapter 2
Alexander
Iexit the coffee shop and hold back a grin as I travel down the sidewalk toward my Jeep. This is the first time I’ve felt a tiny spark of anything in six dreadful months. Depression has threatened to take hold, and when I slipped into a darker place, I left the city without regret or apology.
Some may even say I ran from my issues, but they can assume whatever they want. They do regardless of my actions. But for once, I put myself first, something I’ve forgotten how to do until now.
A flyer with the community-scheduled activities for October flaps against one of the black vintage streetlights that line the sidewalk around the town square. I slide my phone from my pocket and snap a photo. Maybe I’ll attend a few, considering my schedule is almost completely clear from now until January.
I swallow down the hint of ristretto that still lingers on my tongue and my mind wanders back to Autumn.
She was too damn pretty with her long lashes, plump lips, and need to please. As soon as my gaze drifted to her, I stopped. That woman captured my breath, leaving me speechless.
At first sight, I knew I was doomed. That’s why I’ll avoid that coffee shop from now on.
When she said my name and her chestnut-brown eyes finally met mine, it was like I’d known her for an eternity.
Our fingers brushed together and something sizzled between us.
I saw it in her expression. Her eyes softened as she focused on me like we were old friends or past lovers. Familiarity danced around us. And here I am, intrigued, almost consumed by her.
My phone buzzes and distracts me from my thoughts about Autumn.
I glance down at the screen and see it’s Roxie, my publicist. I’m tempted to reject her call, but I don’t because I have some business to handle before I fall off the planet.
“Alexander,” I answer, my eyes scanning the flyer again as I commit the upcoming events to memory.
