There was nothing more relaxing to Ajay than working out in his home gym. Although he lived on his own and had never allowed a woman to stay in his house for an extended period of time, his gym was his man cave. It was decked out with everything he needed, and people often asked if they could come to his house just to use his gym.
Even though he’d been working out for the past hour to try to clear his mind, he couldn’t help but think about Autumn and the conversation they’d had last week. Their relationship was so different from how it was when they had first met. When Ajay thought of the people in his life he actually wanted to talk to on a daily basis, he couldn’t believe that Autumn had risen so high on the list.
He recalled their conversations last year when they had initially started interacting with one another because of their siblings’ relationship, but never did he imagine he’d be having these feelings now.
His phone rang, interrupting his thoughts. He sat up on the bench press before glancing at the caller ID and answering.
“Hey, Dad, how are you?”
“Hey, son, I’m doing well. Listen, I wanted to let you know that I’m taking your mom on a weekend vacation. I’m thinking we will leave tomorrow and return on Sunday.”
“That’s a great idea. She’ll love it.” His parents owned a chain of soul food restaurants in the Midwest. However, one of his dad’s friends had passed away two years ago, so their newest venture was managing three steak houses that his friend had asked them to look after when his health had failed. Since one of the steak houses was in Chicago, another in Indianapolis and the third in St. Louis, his dad had spent the past year traveling between the three until he could make sure they ran as smoothly as the soul food restaurants they owned.
“I’m hoping she will, but I have a dilemma.”
“What is it?”
“Friday evening, your mother was scheduled to speak to the women’s support group that she talks to every other month.” Ajay instantly tensed.
“Mom works with so many different organizations. Which one is she scheduled to speak to Friday?”
“The justice department’s Chicago program that aids women released from prison.”
Damn, I knew that had to be the one. “Dad, if you’re asking me to speak with them, I can’t.”
“Son, when are you going to understand that you can’t let things that happened to you in the past affect you in the present?”
“I understand that, but I don’t want to participate if you’re asking that I step in for Mom.”
“That’s exactly what I called for.”
“Well, sorry, Dad, but calling me was a waste of time.”
His dad sighed heavily on the phone. Ajay knew his mom was probably right there listening to their conversation.
“We won’t cancel just yet. It’s only Tuesday, so you still have a day or two to decide. Let me know if you change your mind.”
“Okay, I will.” After he hung up the phone, he knew the rest of his workout was shot. His mind was too busy thinking about the past. Decisions that had altered his life in more ways than he’d ever imagined.
His phone vibrated and dinged, indicating that he had an email. Noticing it was from his friend about the venue, he promptly read the message. Originally the September date that they’d wanted had a wedding taking place earlier that would have overlapped by a couple of hours. His friend had promised he would do everything he could to convince the couple to agree to another location since the pavilion wasn’t their only choice. Luckily, the couple had seen the other space and fell in love with it even more than the pavilion.
Ajay quickly began composing a group message to Jaleen, Autumn and Danni, stating that the venue was now available for the day they wanted. He also mentioned that the owner had agreed to let them look at the property this afternoon if they could make it.
Jaleen immediately declined since he had a prior work engagement he couldn’t get out of. Autumn had originally declined, too, stating that it was her night to close the store. But Danni had quickly interjected by saying that she could close the store so that Autumn could go. He was sure that the ladies had begun texting separately because Ajay didn’t get any messages for a couple of minutes before Autumn finally messaged that she would go with him to check it out.
He messaged her the time he’d pick her up from her store, then tried his best to resume his workout regimen.
* * *
A couple of hours later, Ajay had picked up Autumn and they were on the road to Woodland Creek Estate. They had already been on the road for forty-five minutes, and although they sat in a comfortable silence, Ajay was sure that Autumn could pick up on his change of mood. She was intuitive and it seemed she often picked up on things people wished she wouldn’t.
“You’re rather quiet today,” she said as if hearing his thoughts. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, everything is fine. Just a lot on my mind. How was the boutique today?”
“Hmm, deflecting from my question, I see. People often do that to avoid talking about what really matters.”
“Or people deflect because they are genuinely interested in learning more about that other person than talking about themselves.”
He stayed facing the open road, but he could feel her eyes on him. “You know what I was thinking about all day today?” she asked.
“What?”
“I was thinking about the easiest way to reinvent the menus at your venues.”
His eyes flew from the road to glare at her. “Seriously, we’re still talking about this menu stuff? Why on earth is it such a big deal to you?”
“How is the health of your patrons not a big deal to you?”
“Because people come to my venues to dance, grab a beer or cocktail, catch up with friends and eat a few appetizers. They rarely come to one of my places with the notion of getting a healthy meal.”
“Doesn’t your family own a chain of soul food restaurants and now a few steak houses?”
“Yes, what’s your point?”
“I checked out their menus online and even they offer healthy options. In the past few years, sales for numerous restaurants and lounges have increased anywhere from three and a half to ten percent on average once they incorporated more healthy options.”
“Good for them.”
“Did you think about the fact that you offer burger and chicken options, but no turkey burger options? You offer Southwest salad, but no fruit-and-seed salad options.”
“I also offer a house salad and fruit salad. I have healthy alternatives.”
“Which further proves my point that you should have a section of the menu that displays the low-calorie options. I guarantee you’ll increase sales.”
He was so tired of talking about this topic with Autumn. One thing he’d give her was that she was damn sure persistent. “Okay, okay. I will revisit my menu choices at the end of the year before we get the menus together for next year. Satisfied?”
“Most definitely,” she said as they pulled into the estate. “Especially since the only reason I brought up your menu was to try to get your mind off whatever it is you’ve been thinking about this entire car ride.”
He parked the car and glanced over at her. She was wearing a smile that was a mix of slyness and satisfaction. Still sexy as hell. And that long pink sundress she was wearing wasn’t doing anything to discourage his thoughts about what she had on underneath the cotton material.
As they got out of the car and walked into the main building, his friend Brayden greeted them.
“Hey, Brayden,” Ajay said as they dapped fists. “It’s good to see you, man.”
“Likewise,” he said before turning his attention to Autumn. “And who might this be?”
Ajay was unprepared for the look of attraction present in Brayden’s face. “Brayden, this is Autumn Dupree. She’s maid of honor for Taheim and Winter’s wedding. Autumn, this is my good friend Brayden Kenward.”
“Nice to meet you,” Brayden said, holding on to Autumn’s hand a little longer than Ajay would have liked. What is wrong with me? She’s not my woman. No time to get jealous.
“Nice to meet you, too,” Autumn replied. She didn’t seem to be as interested in him as he was her. But she wasn’t removing her hand from his, either.
“Okay, Brayden, how about you show us the property?”
“Right.” Brayden finally dropped Autumn’s hand. “Autumn, Ajay shared the idea you guys had for the masquerade affair and I think the theme really fits our property. First, I’ll take you both around the main house, the inn and to the apple orchards. We have twenty bedrooms in the inn, and the other party that will be there earlier that day will be staying at another nearby hotel. If you’re interested, I can block all twenty rooms for your party. We can give you a very reasonable rate.” Brayden clasped his hands together and started walking. “After that, I will take you down the path leading to the pavilion in the wooded area to my left. It’s definitely a show-stopping venue.”
Thirty minutes into the tour, Ajay realized that the venue was even more beautiful than he’d remembered. He made a mental note to tell Jaleen what a great job he had done flipping the property.
“This is so beautiful,” Autumn whispered to him as they followed Brayden down a stone path through the woods.
“Brayden, are these torchlights on the sides of the path?” He didn’t remember those.
“Yes, it was an idea Jaleen suggested and I’m so glad I agreed. At night, the torchlights through the woods offer a sense of mystery and excitement that our guests love. But wait until we get to the end of the path. You won’t be disappointed.”
As the path opened and expanded into a massive patio decked out with modern outdoor furniture, three fire pits and an array of wildflowers surrounding the beige brick property, Ajay knew Brayden was right.
“It’s breathtaking,” Autumn said.
“My sentiments exactly,” Ajay added. “This is definitely the type of venue that Winter and Taheim would love for their event. There is no doubt they will be blown away.”
“Wait until you see inside.” Brayden opened the double wood doors into a large foyer, coat closet and a long hallway with additional torchlights at the top of the wall and wooden benches adjacent to each other. When they got to the end of the hallway, they walked into the main room.
“These windows are gorgeous,” Autumn replied as she immediately walked over to the floor-to-ceiling windows. When she turned her back to him, Brayden leaned closer to Ajay so that Autumn couldn’t overhear.
“Y’all aren’t dating, right?”
Instead of responding, Ajay slipped both hands into the pockets of his pants and shot him a stern look that wasn’t hard to read.
“Is that scowl on your face your way of telling me to back off?”
“If you want to keep that face of yours clean of my fists, then yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying.”
“Damn, man. I’m glad that I asked before I made a move. Now that you’ve let me know what the deal is, I’ll back off.”
“Glad we have an understanding.”
Brayden shook his head in disbelief. “Wow, I never thought I’d see the day when a woman had your nose wide-open.”
“It’s not wide-open.” As the comment left his mouth, his eyes found Autumn’s as she continued to observe the room. The moment was brief, but long enough for Brayden to notice.
“Man, who the hell are you kidding? You can’t keep your eyes off her.”
He shrugged instead of responding. No matter what he said, Brayden had already drawn his own conclusions, and if those assumptions meant he would be staying away from Autumn, that was fine with him.
There was a massive stone fireplace located in the center of the room that caught her attention next. The brick went all the way to the ceiling. Ajay had never seen anything like it. “I think it’s safe to say we’re definitely signing the contract before we leave today.” He said the comment loud enough for Autumn to hear.
“Absolutely,” Autumn replied.
“Great. I’ll go work on the paperwork. There is another path just through the back doors that leads through the woods to another part of the property. I think you both will like it. How about you check it out and I’ll meet you back in this room in about twenty to thirty minutes with the contract.”
“Sounds good,” Ajay replied, already leading Autumn through the double back doors and down the path.