“A few close friends.” Autumn grinned at Griff as they walked into Deenie and Wallace Russell’s beautiful back yard. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. “Isn’t that what you said?”
Round tables were clustered together on the freshly cut grass, laid with crisp white cloths and stunning pink-and-white floral displays. White paper lanterns hung from the trees, ready to be lit when the sun went down, and pink balloons swayed with the breeze. Soft music vibrated from the speakers fixed in the boughs, mingling with the chatter and laughter of at least fifty people who were standing on the lawn.
“They have a lot of close friends.” Griff’s eyes crinkled as he grinned back at her. “Most of these guys you either know or know of. There’s Ember and Lucas and all our friends over there,” he said, pointing at a crowd of twenty and thirty-somethings. She spotted Ember holding Arthur, who was wriggling like crazy trying to grab a balloon. Next to her was Harper, holding baby Alyssa. Mother and baby were wearing matching dresses in a bright yellow polka dot fabric that would be difficult to pull off if you weren’t as gorgeous as Harper.
“Okay.” It was impossible not to smile back at him. “But don’t leave me standing on my own. Unless you’re grabbing me a large glass of wine.”
He laughed, inclining his head. “Come on. Let’s go say hi to Deenie and Wallace.” He offered her his arm, and she slid her hand through it. Her fingers curled around his bicep and he felt a jolt of electricity flash through his skin.
Inviting her to the party had seemed like a good idea when they were talking on the pier. He liked Autumn, he really did, and when she’d asked to be friends he’d breathed a sigh of relief. For a couple of days he’d thought he really messed things up between them when he’d kissed her.
Yeah, it had felt good. Better than good. But he knew better than to do things just because they made his skin heat up.
Deenie and Wallace were standing by the door to the kitchen, having a heated discussion over a bottle of champagne. Deenie was the first to look up, her warm face breaking into a big grin when she saw Griff approaching. One of her eyebrows rose when she saw Autumn holding his arm.
“Happy Anniversary,” Griff said, leaning forward to kiss Deenie’s cheek. She was wearing her silver hair in an intricate updo, coiled at the nape of her neck, with braids curling through it. “This is Autumn Paxton. The new owner of the pier.”
“It’s a real pleasure to meet you,” Deenie said to Autumn, leaning forward to hug her. Autumn hesitated for a moment, before hugging her back. “I would have come and introduced myself before, but we were on a cruise to celebrate our anniversary. This is my husband Wallace. He’s a man of few words, so I talk double on his behalf.”
Autumn laughed. “It’s so nice to meet you both. Happy anniversary.” She gave them the pink gift bag she’d been carrying since they left Griff’s truck. “What is it, five years?”
“More like forty,” Deenie told her as she opened the bag.
“You must have been a child bride,” Autumn said.
“Oh I like her,” Deenie said to Griff. “She can stay.” She pulled a silver box from the bag and opened it up. “These are beautiful,” she said, pulling out two crystal glasses. They were a vibrant red, with gold painted details around the base and stem. “And you knew it was forty years. Our ruby anniversary.”
“Griff told me.” Autumn smiled. “I have a friend in New York who hand paints crystal. She couriered these over to me.”
Deenie’s eyes watered. “I love them,” she whispered. “Thank you. Now what can I get you to drink?” She slid her arm through Autumn’s, pulling her away from Griff. “We have cocktails and wine coolers, and if Wallace can figure out how to use his fingers we’ll have some more champagne as well.”
“These things are complicated,” Wallace said, shaking his head. “You need an advanced degree to open them. What’s wrong with screw tops?”
“You want me to do it?” Griff asked.
“Would you?” Wallace glanced over to where Deenie and Autumn had walked. They were standing by the drinks table, deep in conversation. Autumn said something and Deenie laughed out loud, her eyes warm as she touched the top of Autumn’s bare arm.
“Sure.” He took the bottle from Wallace and unscrewed the cage, then held the cork as he twisted the bottle. It came out with a muted pop, and he passed the bottle back to Wallace who gave him a wink.
“Okay if I tell Deenie I did this?”
“It’ll be our secret.”
“Excellent.” Wallace nodded. “By the way, your girlfriend’s very pretty. And Deenie likes her, I can tell.”
“She’s not my girlfriend,” Griff told him, glancing over at Autumn again.
“So you’re just dating?”
“Nope.”
Wallace’s eyes widened. “Is it a booty call? Isn’t that what they call it?”
Griff tried not to laugh. “We’re just friends. That’s all.”
“That’s a shame.” Wallace shrugged. “Well, I best take this over. I don’t suppose you can open a couple more, could you? There’s a box in the kitchen. Leave the open ones on the island.”
“No problem.” He’d do anything for Deenie and Wallace.
After opening the bottles, Griff looked around for Autumn. She was still in deep conversation with Deenie, the two of them smiling and talking fast. So he headed for the crowd of his friends on the far side of the yard.
Lucas was the first to see him, shouting out a greeting as he grabbed a beer from a nearby cooler. “Where have you been?”
“I had to make sure everything was okay with the cruise,” Griff told him. “It’s the second time this week Mike’s done me a favor. Then I went to pick up Autumn.”
“Lucas told me you were bringing her,” Ember said, catching Griff’s gaze. “That was really sweet of you.”
He shrugged. “She’s new in town. It’s polite.”
“Sure.” Was she biting down a smile?
Arthur suddenly noticed him, and clapped his hands together. Then he leaned out of Ember’s hold, his arms reaching for Griff. “I think he wants you,” Ember told him. “As usual.”
“What can I say?” Griff shrugged. “I’m a baby charmer.” He scooped Arthur from Ember’s hold and lifted him up, blowing a raspberry on his downy cheek. “Hey buddy, what’s going on?”
“Ba ba blue.”
“Is that right?” Griff asked him, grinning at Arthur’s serious expression. “I agree. Forty years is something to celebrate. Though I hope you play the field first before you settle down.”
Ember slapped his arm. “Stop it.” She grinned playfully. “You’re supposed to be his godfather, not his wingman.”
“We all know he’s gonna be a heartbreaker,” Griff pointed out, laughing as Arthur nodded before he let out a huge burp. “That’s it, buddy. Start practicing now.”
Arthur reached out for Griff’s face with his pudgy hands, cupping his broad jaw with tiny fingers. “Giss,” he said, then blew a raspberry himself, covering Griff with baby spit.
“Ha!” Ember said, grabbing a cloth and passing it to Griff. “He got you back.”
“Careful, bud,” Griff told Arthur as he wiped his lips before wiping his own face. “Any more of that and I won’t be singing ‘Baby Shark’ anymore.” He looked over Arthur’s head toward where Deenie and Autumn were still in deep conversation. She looked so at ease, as though she’d lived here all her life rather than for a few short weeks.
She looked beautiful, too, in a short blue dress and matching shoes that made her legs look a mile long. She leaned forward to whisper something in Deenie’s ear and then they both laughed, Autumn’s head tipping backward as Deenie patted her arm.
Friends. That’s all they were. He could live with that.
“Na no,” Arthur said, then he raspberried again.
“Yeah, bud. My thoughts exactly.”
“Are you missing New York?” Deenie asked, as she poured Autumn a glass of champagne.
“Not really,” Autumn admitted, taking the glass and lifting it to her lips. “My sister says it hasn’t stopped raining for days. And if I was there right now, I’d be cooped up in an office with a view of other offices. I think I prefer the sun and beach.”
Deenie smiled. “Do you think you’ll go back?”
“I guess so. That’s where my family is.” The thought of it made her feel claustrophobic. It hadn’t taken long for her to get used to wearing shorts or sundresses every day. Her skin had already taken on a darker hue, in spite of the sunscreen she lathered herself with constantly. Even the air here felt different. Fresher.
“Well, for as long as you’re here, you’re always welcome at our house. I’m so glad you came.”
“So am I.” Autumn smiled into her eyes. “Thank you for being so welcoming.”
“It’s what we do in Angel Sands. Once you move here, you’re part of the community. And even if you do go back to New York, you’ll still own the pier. That means something here.” Her eyes crinkled at the corners. “I’m glad Griff brought you.”
“He’s a good guy.” Autumn took another sip of champagne.
“He really is.” Deenie nodded. “He’s like another son for me. All of Lucas’s friends are, of course. But Griff’s the one who had a horrible childhood. It broke my heart to always see him so alone.”
Autumn blinked. “He had a hard childhood?” She glanced at Griff from the corner of her eyes. The man-mountain was holding little Arthur, his expression soft as he stared down at the baby’s laughing face. Autumn swallowed hard, feeling her stomach twist at how gentle he looked. He was so at ease holding a baby. As though he was born to do it.
“He didn’t have the best upbringing,” Deenie said softly, her lips curling into a sad smile. “But that’s history now.” She looked at him holding Arthur. “He’ll make a good father, though he’d never admit to that. Sometimes having bad experiences make us more determined to do things differently in our own lives. Griff’s parents were always too busy with each other to pay him much attention.”
Autumn thought of her own parents. She could hardly remember her mom, but she knew from photos that she’d loved her and Lydia very much. Then, when her mom died, her dad stepped into the hole she’d left behind.
As a teenager, his helicopter parenting drove her crazy. But it was better than the alternative.
“Am I being a nosey old lady if I ask you whether you and Griff are dating?” Deenie asked.
Autumn pulled her eyes away from Griff. He hadn’t noticed her staring, thank god. “No,” she said. “We’re just friends.”
“Oh. That’s a shame.”
It was on the tip of Autumn’s tongue to agree. She swallowed the idea down with a mouthful of champagne. “I’m recently divorced.”
Deenie gave her a half-smile. “That doesn’t sound insurmountable.”
Maybe it wasn’t. Autumn frowned, trying to work through the confusion in her mind.
“Don’t listen to me,” Deenie said, topping up Autumn’s glass. “I’m an old romantic at heart. Blame it on all the books I read at work.”
It wasn’t books that were the problem. It was the way Autumn’s stomach did a loop-de-loop every time Griff looked this way. She liked him, but it was crazy. Too soon after her divorce and way too close to her business.
“Ember told me you own a book store,” Autumn said, thankful for the change in subject. “Tell me all about it. I can’t wait to come and visit.”