Page 24 of Runaway Bride for the Boss

She’s not yours to protect, Alexander. The sooner you accept that the better.

CHAPTER 15

AUTUMN

“Where have you been? Are you okay? Were you able to avoid the rain?” Andrea shoots off rapidly as soon as I enter the bar.

“Autumn! We’ve been worried you got caught in the rain and got lost,” Jake adds. running his gaze over my body. He’s a kind man in his late forties, and one of the locals. Ever since I started working at the bar, he always sits in my section and makes easy conversation with me. He’s lonely because his wife of twenty years suddenly asked for a divorce. Apparently, she wants to explore life outside of Brattleboro.

“Sorry I worried you,” I say, my gaze jumping from Andrea to Jake. “I did get lost, but I ran into Alex and he drove me home where I changed out of my wet clothes. Then he was kind enough to have his driver bring me here.”

“Alex? As in Alexander Beaufort? As in Andrea’s brother?” Jake looks surprised and Andrea narrows her eyes on me.

My heart starts racing as I remember the kiss and Andrea warning me off her brothers. Shit, does she suspect something? I lick my lips nervously and casually –I hope –glance around the bar. The wall clock reads fifteen minutes past six so I’m not thatlate, and Jake is the only patron in the bar at the moment, so I let out a quiet breath of relief.

“What’s that in your hand?” Andrea suddenly asks, and I glance at my hands frowning at the mug. Shit. After finishing the delicious drink, I couldn’t exactly leave the dirty mug in Alex’s car, so I took it with me. I planned to wash it here and take it back home—no, take it back to Alex’s place – when the bar closes.

“A mug?” I don’t mean for it to come out as a question, but it does.

“A mug? I can see it’s a mug, Autumn. Why do you have it with you?”

“Um–I—it—” I stop abruptly. Why am I stuttering, damn it? “Alex gave it to me. After changing out of my clothes, he gave me the mug…with hot chocolate in it. I drank it in the car on the way here.” Which is mostly true.

I hold my breath as Andrea frowns. “Mrs. Staten was still at the house?”

“What? No, she wasn’t.”

“So, Alex made it himself?” she asks. I toss a helpless glance at Jake, but he’s staring at me with interest, also waiting for my response.

“Um, I guess so. I guess he felt sorry for me.” I give her a small smile. What’s with the million questions? “He did catch me in the rain, completely drenched.”

“Hmmm,” she draws out the word, but, thankfully, the bar’s door swings open and Keith rushes in.

“I’m so sorry I’m late! I had to wait the rain out and what’s going on here?” He glances from me to Andrea to Jake and back again.

“Nothing,” Andrea answers and turns away. “What are you waiting for? Come on behind the bar, warm up.”

I blow out a relieved breath. That felt like an interrogation. If I wasn’t already convinced, now I know, I need to stay the hell away from Alexander Beaufort. Andrea doesn’t say anything to me the rest of the night, and we work together quietly in tandem. As predicted, the night ends up being really cold, and by quarter to midnight the bar is filled to the brim with people, searching for company and a bit of warmth.

“You’re really starting to get the hang of this,” Betty, another one of the locals and a regular, tells me with a smile as I place her drink in front of her. She’s seventy-two years old and orders watered-down alcohol every night.

She lives alone in a small house on Bradford Lane and always comes in around eleven when she’s done with her nightly bingo game with friends. We bonded over the fact that she’s my car’s namesake. She took it in stride, claiming it’s an honor to see someone so young give their car a name she’s convinced is going extinct with time.

“You think so? Thanks.” I return her smile.

“You know, my grandson, Matthew; he’s around your age. Single too,” she starts and I chuckle. I know all about Matthew. He works in finance in Burlington. He lives in a penthouse apartment and owns a sweet sports car. He’s six feet even and easy on the eyes.

“Betty, I told you. I’m not looking for a relationship right now. I just got out of a terrible one.”

She harrumphs as if she doesn’t believe me. “It’s too bad I didn’t meet you last week when my Matthew came for Thanksgiving, I could have introduced you two. I know you would have hit it off.”

I chuckle as I move to tend to another customer. The locals here are so nice and friendly. Earlier when I was walking around, before the rain started, they waved cheerfully and offered warmsmiles. They’ve been so welcoming and understanding that I really feel like one of them.

Someone smiling at me without trying to steal from me? That might have been my first culture shock. I’ve lived in New York all my life, and let me tell you, if a stranger smiles at you in the middle of the streets, run. More often than not, the smile is to get your guard down while they casually steal your wallet.

“My Matthew might not be as fine as that one, but you two would make beautiful babies for me. Of course, I’ve not seen anyone nearly as handsome as them Beaufort boys.”

My heart skips, and I go still as I wonder which of the Beaufort brothers has caught Betty’s attention. I casually move my gaze to the booth reserved for them when she releases a long suffering sigh. Gorgeous blue-green eyes although I can’t exactly see their color from here—snag mine immediately.

---