Page 11 of Runaway Bride for the Boss

“The relationship was a mistake that should’ve ended before an engagement. He was controlling. He wanted me to go by a different name and maintain a certain image. Basically, he wanted to mold me into something I’m not. It was suffocating,” she tells Dad, her gaze not wavering from his impassive one. Impressive.

“My, you poor thing. I’m glad you took the initiative to leave. Good for you!” Mom leans forward to squeeze her hand. “What about your parents? Did you get in touch with them? They must be pretty worried.”

“I–um–not yet.”

“Autumn left without her stuff. No phone. No clothes. Just her car and the wedding dress she was wearing. Oh, and a necklace. I took her to Mr. James on Main Street, and he was kind enough to buy it,” Andrea jumps in. “The money was barelyenough for her to get the essentials she needs, though, so for now she doesn’t have a phone. I’m guessing that’s why she hasn’t contacted anyone back home.”

“Still, she can use your phone to call her parents. Did your father know about your ex?” Dad asks. I can see he’s already softening toward her. These days, the old man is all bark and no bite.

“It’s just my mom.” Autumn’s eyes finally drop to the table. She stirs her spoon around her plate, a sign that she’s getting uncomfortable. “She adopted me when I was about seven. She knows everything about my ex, but she’s always been positive that he’d change after we got married. She’s probably disappointed and angry with me.” Her voice trails off.

“I strongly doubt that, Autumn.” Mom offers her a small smile. “I’m a mother myself, and while I want my daughter to be happily married, at the same time I’ll support any decision she makes in pursuit of her happiness and wellbeing. I’m sure she’s going out of her mind with worry, Autumn.”

Autumn nods shortly, her tongue darting over her lips. “I’ll call her tomorrow.”

“Speaking of, when are you going to fix my roof, Alex?” Andrea says, taking the attention off Autumn.

I shrug carelessly. Now that I have my mystery woman under my roof, I’m not exactly in a rush to let her leave.I had been searching for her for a whole year after all.

“You know the office is closed for the rest of the week because of the holidays, Andrea. There’s nothing to be done until next week,” I say to hold her off. I’m not planning to fix shit next week, either. But there’s no sense in me telling her that.

She narrows her eyes on me suspiciously. She knows I don’t actually give a shit about the holidays. I could easily call in a crew to go fix her place. But like I said, I’m not in a rush.

“What’s wrong with your roof?” Dad wants to know.

“The storm from a few days ago damaged it and my apartment flooded.”

“What? Where are you staying? Don’t tell me you checked into a hotel, Andrea.” Mom frowns. “There’s more than enough space here for you and Autumn.”

“As if.” Ezra snorts. “She probably ran off to Alex’s five minutes after walking through her front door. You really think Andie would slum it in a hotel? The little princess needs to have her privacy so she can—”

“Don’t even start with me right now, Ezra,” Andrea growls. “And stop calling me that!”

“What, Andie? Andie. Andie. Andie.”

“How are you twenty-eight years old? You behave like a juvenile.”

“Now,Andie, is that any way to talk to your big brother?” Ezra tuts, shaking his head slightly.

A soft giggle fills the room. If I wasn’t already watching Autumn, I’d miss her face light up, and what that sound does to me. It destroys me. I need to hear it again, but she immediately raises her hand up to cover her mouth once the sound escapes.

Her eyes go wide when she sees we’re all staring at her now. “Something funny?” I raise a brow as I wait for her response.

“Oh no. I’m sorry. I just—it’s nice is all.” She drops her gaze to the table, face turning red as if she’s mortified. Fascinating.

“I get that a lot, beautiful. Some even go as far as saying I’m the nicest Beaufort. Alex is the grumpy and cold-hearted one. Andie takes no bullshit. The ladies come to me with all their concerns.”

Autumn throws a quick glance at him, her lips curving up in a tempting smile. “I’ll bet.”

“You ever get tired of staying with Alex and Andrea, I have plenty of space in my apartment.” He winks and she gigglesagain. I clench my fists, but before I can say anything Andrea cuts in.

“That’s enough, Ezra. She’s not interested.” Andrea draws attention back to herself, telling us she’s hired Autumn to work at her bar until she gets on her feet and decides what she’d like to do. The rest of the dinner goes by with Andrea and our parents making useless small talk.

“You’ve been extra quiet today, Alexander,” Mom observes as the servers clear the table. I shrug. She knows I prefer to observe more than engage in conversations at these shenanigans she and Dad force us to attend.

Who the hell cares about Thanksgiving? It’s just another Thursday. Except instead of actually being productive, I have to endure a family dinner. The reason I keep showing up is because the food is impeccable, and they don’t expect me to join in the conversation.

“Are town hall and the inspection office still trying to block our permit?” Dad asks, folding his arms as one of the servers tops up his wine glass. Except for Dad. He always tries to sneak in work conversations.

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