Page 47 of His Christmas Gift

Autumn then pressed her hand to her stomach with a grimace.

“I feel kind of sick,” she confessed. “I think I ate too much sugar.”

“You need something savory to balance it out,” I said, knowing that feeling. I took her hand and led her away from the boardwalk toward the streets lined with restaurants, bars, and shops. There were so many restaurants that it was hard to choose which one to go into. We eventually decided on one where the aroma was too enticing to ignore.

Once we got on the patio, we were seated at one of the glass and iron tables surrounded by other patrons who drank and laughed, having a good time. Jazz music sounded from inside the main part of the restaurant, slightly pouring out into the patio. Autumn and I sat across from each other, smiling at each other as we soaked up the lively atmosphere.

“Thanks for bringing me out here. It means a lot to me,” Autumn told me sincerely.

I shook my head, not wanting her to thank me. So far, this had been a great day for me too. I didn’t want to be here with anyone else.

“I just wanted us to do something fun together,” I replied just as honestly. Things were still tense at home, so I figured a short getaway was good for us.

“You’re a good man, Dean Everard,” Autumn murmured warmly.

I felt something flutter inside of me. The feeling caught me off guard, but I didn’t have much time to process it before a waitress came by to take our drink orders. We both ordered sweet tea, needing something refreshing after all of the walking around we had done.

“We should go out to dinner when we get back to New York. There’s no food like there is here, but I can think of a few good places we can go,” I told her.

“That sounds nice,” Autumn replied with an enthusiastic nod. “After work?”

I chuckled and nodded, remembering that we also had work to do together. She made me look forward to working even more than usual.

“Of course,” I said. “If you ever need time off or anything, just let me know.”

Autumn lifted an eyebrow at me in a teasing manner.

“Oh, personal favors from the boss?” she asked.

I wasn’t sure how to navigate this territory. I probably shouldn’t do personal favors for anyone who worked for me, no matter how much I liked them, but I wanted her to have the time off that she wanted. No one’s life needed to be consumed by work, and that was ironic coming from me.

“Just don’t tell anyone,” I smirked, putting my finger against my lips.

“Who am I going to tell? You’re the boss of everyone,” Autumn laughed.

“Still. You’re special,” I told her. I meant that. She stuck out more than anyone else, but I had a feeling that she already knew that. I was pretty sure that I had made that clear quite a few times already.

Autumn’s face softened, seeming thankful for my kind words.

When the waitress came by with our drinks, Autumn ordered a bowl of gumbo, and I had to have an oyster po'boy before we left here. We talked about our old trips to New Orleans while we ate. As I expected, our trips were different. Mine was fun family trips, while her trips were her parents taking her to the city when they had a social event. They didn’t have anyone to watch her, so she had to sit through a boring dinner.

I was glad that I could give her a better memory of being in New Orleans. During her last trip, she got a glimpse of the magic of the city, but she hadn’t been able to explore it back then. Today would blow that last visit out of the water, and we weren’t even done yet. I had a few more things planned for us before we had to go back to St. Francisville.

After we ate, we did a little shopping, admiring local artwork and products that we couldn’t find anywhere else. With her hand in mine, I couldn’t help but feel like an air of romance surrounded us. Her smile ignited mine. Her laughter made my heart stop.

There was no doubt about it and no hiding from it. I was falling in love with this woman. What I felt was too strong and too different to ignore. No one else had made me feel this way, but I felt frozen. What did I do now?

Our trip was about to end, and I feared that things would change when we got back to New York City. I was afraid that the spark between us would fade once we fell back into our usual routines. Maybe she didn’t even like me in a romantic way. Maybe she just kept up her performance in private so that she didn’t slip up in public.

My worries lingered in the back of my mind, but she was at the forefront of them.

I had a feeling that wouldn’t change for the foreseeable future.

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