Page 94 of All Autumn
Ms. Marvel tugged on my sleeve. “I need you to go down to the basement and get the cake.”
“And the cake is down there because…?”
She rolled her eyes. “So no one ate it before it’s time.”
“I think you’ve confused cake with wine.” At her blank stare I rolled my eyes right back at her. “Don’t drink the wine before it’s time. Get it? It was a joke, Ms. Marvel. Granted, a poor one. Where do you want me to bring the cake to?”
“The kitchen. You’ll need the basement key.” She handed me an oversize key dangling from a shoestring tied together at the ends.
“Must be a cake of the ages if you had to lock it up.”
“You have no idea,” she said.
As I headed for the hallway, I had the unnerving feeling that people were watching me. Glancing around, it seemed that as soon as my gaze met someone’s, theirs shifted away. I looked over my shoulder to see Mary, Adam, Dylan, and Jenn in a huddle, and were they sneaking peeks at me? I subtly reached down to make sure the zipper on my jeans was closed. It was, so that wasn’t the cause of the weird attention. Hamburger Harry and Granny sat in chairs next to the entry to the hall. Hamburger winked and Granny cackled as I passed. What was up with these people?
At the door to the basement I slipped the key into the lock, then hooked the opened lock on the hasp. The lights were already on, I guess from when Mary had brought the cake down. I’d reached the bottom of the stairs when I heard the door close behind me. A breeze must have blown it shut.
City Hall’s basement was used for storage, and I made my way past filing cabinets, broken office chairs, and stacks of boxes. In the middle of the room, on a card table, was Mary’s cake. I frowned when I reached it. A large slice was missing. Mary was going to kill someone, probably me.
A trail of crumbs caught my eye, and I followed them as they led me across the floor, around the back of a framed whiteboard on wheels, and to a tattered couch where I found a sleeping Goldilocks.
“Autumn,” I whispered, the breath leaving my lungs. I knew I’d missed her, but until seeing her now, I hadn’t really understood how deep that hole in my heart ran. Dried tears stained her cheeks. How long had she been down here?
Now I understood why Mary had Autumn’s dog. I glanced at the door at the top of the stairs. A quick jog up confirmed my suspicion. We were locked in, and based on all the sneaky looks earlier, every damn resident of Blue Ridge Valley was in on it. Which meant that banging on the door would fall on deaf ears. At first I was furious, especially at Mary. Then it hit me that this was my chance to make things right with Autumn.
I returned to my girl. At least I hoped that would be the outcome of Mary’s little trick. A wheeled stool sat off to the side, and I rolled it over, then sat. My gaze hungrily roamed over her. She wasn’t wearing a costume either. Instead she had on a jean jacket over a white camisole, a short jean skirt, and blue cowgirl boots. Totally sexy.
“Hey, beautiful.” I brushed my fingers over her cheeks. Still asleep, she smiled. And damn if that soft curve of her lips didn’t make my heart turn over. Did she know it was me, even asleep? And did that make her happy?
“Autumn, honey, wake up.”
Her eyelids fluttered, and then blue eyes looked up at me. “Connor?”
“No, I’m Adam,” I said, teasing her.
“Good. I’d rather talk to Adam anyway.”
Although I knew very well that she could tell us apart, her words hurt. “So what would you say to Adam?”
She pushed up, slid to the end of the sofa, curled her legs under her, and crossed her arms over her chest. “I’d tell him I shouldn’t have fallen in love with his brother.”
47
~ Autumn ~
I’d shocked him. Good. I probably shouldn’t have said that, but I hadn’t been able to hold in the words. Plus, pretending I was talking to Adam made them easier to say. And I wanted Connor to know that I was hurting, even though it wasn’t his fault I’d fallen in love with him. Not really. That was all on me.
“Stop staring at me like I have two heads,” I grumbled. “I know that’s not what you wanted to hear, and don’t worry, I’m not going to turn into some kind of crazy stalker woman, you know, calling you at all hours, spying on you, beating up your girlfriends, or—”
“Autumn, shut up.”
I snapped my mouth closed.
In the blink of an eye I was somehow draped across his lap, both of us sitting on an ancient, musty-smelling couch. He spread his fingers over my cheek and turned my face, forcing me to look at him.
“Make no mistake. This is Connor holding you.”
“I know.” I would always know him.
