Page 28 of All Autumn
As efficiently as a team of SEALs on a mission, Adam and Dylan flanked Brian and had him out of here before most of Autumn’s guests knew he’d crashed her party. Enough had seen and heard, though, and the story would spread. But no one would blame Autumn for Brian’s idiocy. Honestly I got why he’d shown up in that condition. He was now officially divorced from an amazing woman. Losing Autumn would definitely have a man thinking it was a good idea to drown his sorrows in drink.
“You okay?” I asked her.
She scoffed. “Other than embarrassed, yeah, I’m fine. I just want him to leave me alone. Is that too much to ask?”
“Nope.” This was the closest I’d been to her since the night we’d kissed, the first time I’d caught her cinnamon-and-apples scent in a little over a year. I’d missed everything about her, from her scent to the way her blue eyes lit up when she was happy. I wanted to be the one to put that light back in her eyes.
“Wow, what a jerk,” Jenn said, coming up to Autumn and giving her a hug. “You okay, hon?”
“Yeah, but I’m ready for everyone to go home.”
“I’ll take care of it. Why don’t you go inside?” Jenn glanced at me.
Getting the message, I nodded. “I’ll stay with her.” I picked up her hand and slipped her arm around mine.
I leaned over, breathing her in. She smelled tongue-licking delicious. What was it about her that had me even dreaming about her? I’d never dreamed about a woman before. It was disturbing.
“Hey, babe. Not cool of your ex showing up like that,” Gary said, blocking our path to the French doors. He held up a beer. “Brought you a brew.”
Autumn shook her head. “No thanks.”
“Come on, party’s just getting started.”
I pushed his bottle-holding hand away from her face. “She said no.”Jackass. “Party’s over. Go home.”
“But—”
I bumped him out of the way with my shoulder. We entered her house, and I pulled her to a stop. “Tell me you don’t have the hots for him.”
15
~ Autumn ~
“So what if I do?” Connor hadn’t come within twenty feet of me since the night he’d kissed me. Even a year later I could still feel his lips on mine if I closed my eyes. It made me angry that I’d done that a lot since then, mostly late at night when I couldn’t sleep.
Brian had been a total pain the first month, and then he’d miraculously disappeared. Strange that. I did suspect that the late-night breathing-in-my-ears phone calls were from him, so I blocked his number. The only reason he’d finally agreed to sign the divorce papers was because I’d threatened to have my attorney subpoena the women he’d slept with after we’d gotten engaged and after we’d married.
On the nights when I needed to forget about Brian and his betrayal, I’d hug a pillow, close my eyes, and remember a kiss that had shaken me to my core.
After rocking my world, Connor had acted as if it had never happened. Had, in fact, hardly been around. That had hurt. So his asking me now if I had the hots for Gary Smith infuriated me. Gary was an okay guy, but he wasn’t the man I wanted to kiss.
Connor narrowed his eyes. “So what if you do? He’s a player, Autumn.”
“You mean like you?”
He didn’t respond. We’d been friends forever, and I knew Connor didn’t do serious. Women came and went in his life, and the thing that fascinated me was that they all still liked him when their time with him was up. Ever since the night he’d kissed me, I’d wanted my turn. A fling that would lead nowhere. I was done with love, especially since I no longer trusted my judgment in men. You couldn’t depend on them to stay faithful. Brian and my father were proof of that. No,you scratch my itch, I’ll scratch yourswas my new thing going forward.
“Why’d you ignore me?”
His eyebrows furrowed as he peered down at me. “Does it look like I’m ignoring you?”
“I meant all of last year. You avoided me. I want to know why.” I hadn’t intended to ask him that question, but now that it was out, I was glad.
He pulled us to a stop and then faced me. “I knew if I got near you that I’d kiss you again. And more. Much more.”
“Oh.”
“Until yesterday you were still married. Now you’re not.”
