Falling For Autumn
Autumn laughed. “We weren’t around babies much growing up, so maybe you need to teach him how.”
“Oh, he knows how,” Mya replied. “He just refuses to do so. Next time I get a whiff of a smelly diaper, I’m forcing him to change it.”
All the women shared a laugh as they joined others in the bridal party. Glancing over at Winter, Autumn couldn’t help but be proud of her sister. Their childhood had been anything but easy, and she couldn’t recall ever seeing her sister so happy. The opening of their Chicago lingerie boutique, Bare Sophistication, came a close second. But even so, Winter had been sporting the biggest smile since accepting Taheim’s marriage proposal.
As if she knew Autumn was thinking about her, Winter glanced over at her and smiled. Since they were only eleven months apart, they often knew what the other was thinking. Irish twins in more ways than one. It often drove their younger sister, Summer, crazy, but they couldn’t help it. They shared a connection that was unexplainable.
“When is Summer flying in?”
“She should be here in a few weeks and will stay until the wedding.”
“Great. Are we still meeting next week to discuss the other wedding events?” Danni asked.
“Yes, we’re still on.”
What Autumn didn’t mention was that she needed Danni to be there. She’d managed to avoid planning any wedding duties alone with Ajay, but with the wedding eight weeks away, she would have to face the inevitable. It was crunch time, and she would be seeing more of Ajay whether she liked it or not.
A couple of months ago, Winter and Taheim had decided to plan a coed combined bridal, bachelorette and bachelor party in Chicago for their extended friends who wouldn’t be able to attend the wedding. It was definitely a plan unlike any Autumn had heard before, but different worked for Winter and Taheim.
She was pulled from her thoughts when she heard the group share a laugh at something Mrs. Reed had been saying about Taheim as she called him and Winter to the front of the room. Autumn really liked Mrs. Reed. She was so unlike her own mom, and she was glad to see her and Winter’s relationship blossom. Her sister needed a motherly figure after all their mom had put her through growing up.
When Taheim’s sister, Kaya, took the stage, Autumn felt the hairs on her arms stick up. Even at thirty, almost thirty-one, she still got nervous about public speaking when she didn’t know what to say.
“I’m going to step out for a bit,” she whispered into Danni’s ear when she caught Mrs. Reed looking her way. She knew what was coming next. It was the same thing that had happened during every prewedding event she’d attended for Winter and Taheim. Whoever started talking first to the attendees would make eye contact with the maid of honor, best man or any member of the bridal party so that others could share a few words, as well.
When she found a door leading to the beautiful outdoor garden that Taheim’s mom had shown her months ago, she breathed a sigh of relief. Autumn excelled at discussing things such as her lingerie boutique or a good political debate. But when it came to discussing love, merriment and all that jazz, she always felt socially awkward. As if her forehead had the words fish out of water stamped across it. Since she had such a sour view on weddings, all wedding-related activities made her feel uncomfortable.
She glanced around in the darkness, looking for a nice spot to relax. The concrete bench next to a large oak tree and a dim light that illuminated part of the pond was perfect.
“Much better,” she said when she sat down, kicked off her heels and lay on her back. Usually, she would worry about wrinkling her cute black dress or messing up the updo that had taken her a half hour to create. But in this case, lying on her back with her head tilted slightly more downward than her body was the only thing that helped her headache go away. It was something her dad had always done growing up to get rid of his headaches, and strangely enough, it worked for Autumn every time.
“Well, the view out here definitely just got better.” The deep baritone voice caused her to sit upright on the bench as she glanced toward the tree. She thought about asking who was out there, but it was pointless. She knew that voice anywhere. It often appeared in her dreams, although she really wished it didn’t.
She waited for Ajay to come from out of the darkness, and when he did, she was tempted to tell him to go back behind the tree. He was wearing a blazer, jeans and Timberland boots—the same attire he usually wore. As usual, he looked as sexy as ever.
She instantly squeezed her thighs tighter to try to ease the warmth. Every time she saw him, it was either his voice or his eyes that did the trick. Thank goodness he’s too far away for me to see his eyes. He had one of those rare eye combinations that often changed colors depending on the weather. Normally, his eyes were light brown, but on more than one occasion when they’d gotten into a heated debate, the color deepened to a dark gray with a hint of a brown around them. That was something they had in common. Her eyes often changed between hazel and light brown depending on her mood.
“What are you doing out here?” he asked, walking closer to her.
She shrugged. “I assume the same thing as you. Escaping the party.”
When he got closer to her, she moved her feet in case he wanted to sit down. His eyes lingered on her legs before he took a seat on the bench.
“Why are you out here?” she asked him in return. “To escape the party, right?”
He gave her a crooked smile. One that she hadn’t seen before. “Yeah, you’re right. Taheim and Winter have had so many prewedding events, I’m running out of things to say.”
“You never seem tongue-tied when you speak at these things.”
“Well, maybe that’s only half the truth. Lately, my mind is preoccupied with other thoughts.”
She wanted to know what else was on his mind, but that was so unlike her. She usually didn’t push people for more information. She chanced a glance at him and noticed the faraway look in his eyes. Don’t ask him about his thoughts. Don’t ask him about his thoughts.
“What other thoughts are preoccupying your mind?” Crap. Big fail.
Instead of responding to her, he looked her way, and she could have sworn that his eyes briefly dropped to her lips. He seemed as if he was going to answer, when Autumn heard someone yelling for them. She glanced toward the house, where the voice had come from.
“It’s Taheim,” Ajay supplied. “We better get back in there. Duty calls.”
She nodded her head in agreement, still wondering what other thoughts were occupying his mind tonight. Were his thoughts about a woman? If so, why should she even care? They weren’t exactly friends and they talked to one another only because they sort of had to. There were a million reasons why she shouldn’t care, but at the moment, she couldn’t think of even one.
They fell into step beside one another, and it wasn’t until they were almost at the house that she realized this was one of the first times they hadn’t argued about anything.
* * *
Ajay had no idea what Taheim’s friend Jaleen Walker was saying, but he knew it didn’t matter. Knowing Jaleen, it was probably just some random comment about a woman he’d hooked up with the night before.
Nope, Ajay didn’t care at all. Not when he had more important things to think about. Such as why, when he had so much on his mind, he couldn’t stop admiring the way Autumn was sipping her wine.
When she’d stepped outside to escape the party, he’d watched her until she made it to the bench. He couldn’t take his eyes off her legs when she’d raised them to lie down. They were long and beautiful. He’d bet they’d look even better wrapped around his waist. In that moment, she’d seemed so approachable, unlike the woman who always got on him about the food he chose to place on the menu of his venues.
Lurking behind the tree without saying anything would have been creepy, so he’d decided the best thing to do was to make his presence known, even though he would have rather admired her in the darkness.
“Hey, man, did you hear anything I just said?”
He forced himself to stop looking at Autumn. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”
“I asked if I can meet with you over at Autumn’s to discuss that bachelor-and-bachelorette-party combo event you all are planning. I was talking to Danni about it and she mentioned that she was meeting up to discuss it with Autumn, and I remember you had spoken about it, as well.”
Hmm, I didn’t know Autumn had told Danni. It was probably for the best because he didn’t want to be left alone with her anyway. Whenever he was around Autumn lately, he seemed to want to do things so out of character, such as ask questions to learn more about her. He guessed they wouldn’t agree on much anyway, so if Danni and Jaleen joined, more would get accomplished.
“Yeah, that’s fine. We could use the help.”
“Good,” Jaleen said, taking a swig of his beer. “From the way you were just staring at Autumn, I thought you may tell me no to eliminate the competition.”
“You aren’t competition.”
“Yeah, okay.”
He took a sip of his bourbon on the rocks and resumed his original task of observing Autumn. “If you’re thinking about hitting on Autumn, don’t bother.”
He could feel Jaleen smiling, but he kept his eyes focused on her. He knew even if they were attracted to one another, they would never cross that line. But Jaleen liked to screw anything in a skirt, so Ajay had no problem staking a claim on Autumn if that meant Jaleen wouldn’t flirt with her.
Chapter 2
Ajay glanced at his watch, wondering if maybe he’d gotten his days mixed up. He reached in his pocket and pulled out his iPhone to call Taheim. When he didn’t answer, he decided to call Jaleen.
“Hey, man, are we still meeting at Taheim’s tonight?” he asked when Jaleen answered.
“Yeah, as far as I know.”
“The doorman let me up because I assume Taheim told him he was expecting me. But I rang the doorbell and knocked. He’s not answering.”
“Probably because Winter hasn’t left for her sister’s place yet. You know they’ve been inseparable lately. I’m surprised Taheim even offered to have poker night at his place now that Winter has moved in.”
Ever since Ajay had walked in on Taheim and Winter in a compromising position, he’d locked the spare key he had for his brother’s place in his safe so he would need to use it only for emergencies.
“Come down to my place and I’ll text Taheim so he can let us know when he’s ready for poker night. I’ll text the other guys, too, so they can just come to my place and chill out.”
Jaleen lived in the same building as Taheim in a penthouse suite located in the separate wing of the luxury complex.
“Sounds good,” he replied, already making his way to Jaleen’s penthouse. When Jaleen and Taheim had both decided to stay in the same 244-unit building a few years ago, they’d tried to convince Ajay that he should stay there, as well. However, Ajay was more of a house man, not a condo person. His five-bedroom, three-bathroom home might be too much space for a bachelor, but he enjoyed having room to breathe and do whatever he wanted in the comfort of his home.
“Hey, man,” Jaleen said as he opened the door and stepped aside for Ajay to walk in. “I already texted the other guys. We may just move poker night here instead.”
“Works for me.”
“Cool. Have you talked to Autumn today?”
He looked at Jaleen questioningly, not understanding why he randomly brought up Autumn.
“No. Why?”
“No reason,” Jaleen replied with a smirk on his face. “I just need to make sure you don’t try to hit on my future woman.”
He’d known Jaleen long enough to know when he was up to something. Jaleen was always scheming and getting into other people’s business. “Yo’ woman? I thought I made myself clear the other day at the party.”
“But I thought you weren’t attracted to her?”
“I never said I wasn’t attracted to her. I just told you not to hit on her.”
“So you are attracted to her?”
“Why does it matter if I am or not?”
“Is that a yes?”
He laughed, trying to change the subject. “When did the other guys say they would get here?”
“I’ll tell you right after you answer my question. I know you’ve been out of the game for a while...”
It was true that Ajay hadn’t seriously dated anyone in a while, but in his line of work, women were constantly throwing themselves at him. Years ago, he was known for bedding one woman after the next, but he had always made it clear to them that he wasn’t a relationship type of guy. It had only taken him getting burned a couple times to change his perspective on the opposite sex. He still enjoyed a woman’s company every now and then, but at thirty-five, he needed more than a pretty face to make him stay around.
“It hasn’t been that long.” As the words left his mouth, he thought about the fact that he hadn’t had sex in over four months. For an insatiable man like him, that was forever ago. When Jaleen continued to ride him about his lack of dating women lately, he decided to give in and answer the question Jaleen really wanted to know.
“Well, yeah, Autumn is an attractive woman, so naturally I’m drawn to her. But the reason I told you to back off is for her own good, not mine. If I wanted to pursue Autumn, she’d know it and so would you and any other guy interested in her.”
Jaleen was smiling from ear to ear by the time they entered the entertainment room. Ajay stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of Autumn sitting on a bar stool sipping a cocktail. One look at her face and he’d known that she had overheard part of the conversation. He cut his eyes at Jaleen, who simply turned his shoulders in a shrug.
“Hello, Autumn,” he said as he approached her. “Surprised to see you here.”
She gave him a soft smile. “Winter asked me to pick her up so that she wouldn’t have to find a place to park her car when she came over. When I got here, she texted me that she needed another hour.”
He nodded his head in understanding, but wished he could wipe that smirk off Jaleen’s face. Jaleen was trying to work in casual conversation by asking Ajay about the nightclubs and bars that he owned in the Chicagoland area and asking Autumn about her lingerie boutique and the masquerade lingerie events that were quickly gaining more exposure. They both supplied simple two-or three-word answers, and a quick study of Autumn’s demeanor proved that his earlier assumption was right. She’d definitely heard part of their conversation. They’d been in the same room for over five minutes and she hadn’t even gotten mouthy with him yet. Even stranger, he actually missed her sassiness.
“Autumn, can I get you anything else?” Jaleen asked as he slid beside her on an adjacent stool.
“No, I’m fine.”
“Yes, you are.” The double meaning of Jaleen’s words didn’t go unnoticed by Ajay.
“Are you always this flirty?” she asked, taking a sip of her drink. The way her mouth curled around the glass was distracting. He’d been thinking about her lips way too much lately.
“Only around attractive women.” Ajay snorted at Jaleen’s lame attempt at flirting. Jaleen used every line in the book, and to this day, he never understood why it actually worked on most women. Fortunately, it didn’t seem to be working on Autumn.
When a buzzer sounded indicating that someone wanted to be let up to Jaleen’s condo, Ajay was left alone with her. When seconds ticked into minutes and Jaleen still hadn’t returned, the awkwardness grew. Ajay racked his brain to try to think of something to talk about but came up short. This is a shame. Thirty-five years old and I’m acting as if I don’t have game. Not that he wanted to spit game at Autumn. Nor did he want to notice that the woman made jeans and a T-shirt look as sexy as if she were wearing a short, tight dress.
Even though they were both trying to focus on random things around the room, their eyes found each other. He couldn’t quite read the look in her eyes, but there was no mistaking the change of energy in the space.
“Interesting,” she said, her eyes still locked to his.
“What’s interesting?”
“I think I’d rather keep it to myself.”
Now he really wanted to know. “Whatever you tell me, I won’t say a word.”
“If I don’t tell you, it guarantees you won’t say a word because you won’t know anything. It’s common knowledge that people typically can’t hold secrets.”
“I’ve always been great at keeping secrets.” He didn’t even notice that he was walking closer to her until he was only a couple of feet away. Being this near to her, he was able to see things that he hadn’t from a distance. He wished he could free her hair of that neat ponytail. It fit her personality. Organized. Uptight at times. With the exception of a few stray hairs, nothing was out of place. But he had a feeling that deep down, there was a side of Autumn that she rarely released. A side that wasn’t tame or disciplined.
“What are you thinking about?”
His lips curled to the side in a smirk. “I’ll tell you exactly what I’m thinking if you tell me your secret.” When she remained quiet, he continued, “Or are you too scared of what I may think if you tell me your secret?”
She didn’t answer at first and he felt as if he was holding his breath for her answer. Squinting her eyes together, she leaned a little closer to him. “Your pupils are changing colors,” she said softly.
“That happens on occasion.”
“I know. And that’s part of the reason why I won’t tell you my secret.”
He scrunched his forehead in confusion. “I don’t understand.”
“When I don’t understand something, I study it to try to figure it out.”
“Am I to assume I’m your latest study?”
“That’s not what I’m saying.”
“Are you saying I should be studying you, then?”
“Certain things about you do pique my curiosity,” she responded. “So to answer your first question, I’m not too scared of what you may think.”
“Then, why can’t you tell me your secret?”
At the sound of footsteps, she lowered her voice. “I can’t tell you my secret because I’m worried of what you may do.”
As Jaleen entered followed by a couple of the guys, Ajay was still contemplating Autumn’s words. She may not have wanted to tell him the secret, but she’d revealed what type of secret it was without indulging the information completely. What she didn’t understand about him was that her statement wasn’t going to make him stop asking. If anything, he wanted to know what she was hiding even more.
* * *
A bunch of arrogant males vying for her attention she could handle, but there was one hot-blooded male in the room who was occupying all of her thoughts. She could kill Winter for pushing back their meeting time. At least she felt a little more like her normal self. Now all she needed to do was convince Luke, one of Taheim’s groomsmen, to take a few steps out of her personal space.
“Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?”
She sighed. Just like Jaleen, Luke was attractive. Both men could have their pick of women in Chicago. The main reason Autumn didn’t entertain their flirtatious ways was the muscular man observing her in the corner of the room sporting tattoos so sexy she wished she could trace them with her tongue.
Since it was mid-August, the fall season was right around the corner and she had gotten a chance to see Ajay’s bare, muscular arms only a few times. He was always wearing some type of blazer or long-sleeved shirt despite the heat. His urban style wasn’t something she usually found attractive, but Ajay was giving a whole new meaning to the term fashionable street wear.
He was rough around the edges, but smooth on the corners. A definite charmer from what she could tell, but he wasn’t the type of man who had to try to get attention. Women were just drawn to him. Unlike Jaleen and Luke, he wasn’t in your face, but rather the silent assassin who struck when you least expected it. He seemed like a simple guy, but he had layers, and damn her curiosity for wanting to see what other coatings he had.
“So tell me, Autumn, is there someone special in your life?”
“No, there isn’t. What about you?”
“No one as mesmerizing as you.”
Oh, Lord, I don’t know how much more of this I can take. Strike one. She was all for a little harmless flirting, but this was becoming a little too much.
“So tell me, Luke, what is so mesmerizing about me?”
“That’s easy,” he said with his eyes smiling. “I’m mesmerized by your beauty.”
“Okay, what else?”
He leaned a little closer to her and she was tempted to tell him to lay off the cologne next time. “And your eyes are beautiful.”
“Anything not related to my looks?”
“I’m blinded by your beauty, but mesmerized by your entire package.”
Strike two. She wondered why men thought complimenting a woman’s entire package was a good thing. He could think it. But to say it?
“My package? All physical, or is there something about my personality that’s included in that?”
“Of course there is, sweetheart.” He flicked her chin with his finger and she barely heard whatever answer he gave. Strike three. Do not touch me unless I give you the signal to do so. She definitely had not given him the signal. She never was the touchy-feely type.
Her phone buzzed and she read the text from Winter saying that she was ready. She glanced back at Luke, wondering if he had any idea that her sister’s text had just saved him from a few of her choice words. Since she still had to see Luke for all the wedding stuff, she was glad she’d gotten the message.
“I have to go,” she said, standing up from the stool.
“We should go out sometime.”
“No, thanks.”
“Maybe you want to reconsider.” He gave her what she assumed was his sexy face. She wasn’t feeling it.
“Hmm, no need. My answer will still be no. You, on the other hand, will find some other poor soul to spit lines to.” She laughed to mask the jab.
“You’ll be sorry,” he yelled after her playfully.
“Doubt it.” She was glad he didn’t seem bitter about it. Probably the only thing about him that she actually liked was that he didn’t get bent out of shape too easily.
She said her goodbyes to the entire room, trying to flee Jaleen’s condo before any of the guys decided they wanted to flirt some more. Right before she was out of the room, she noticed Ajay glance at his phone and assumed he’d just heard from Taheim. He glanced at her and smiled. She thought about the words she’d heard him say when he was talking to Jaleen. On one hand, she was glad that he found her attractive but wasn’t acting on it. On the other hand, she was dying to know what on earth was making him hold back.
Chapter 3
Of all the workouts her sister had decided to try before the wedding, hot yoga was by far Autumn’s favorite.
“That’s it, ladies and gentleman. Take a deep breath and exhale.”
Autumn maintained her tree pose as she concentrated on her breathing and listened to the instructor. As usual, she had to ignore the grunts from Danni and Winter, who didn’t enjoy hot yoga nearly as much as she did. She wasn’t sure if it was the fact that the temperature in the room was currently set to ninety degrees, or if it was because both the women liked to chat when they worked out, and yoga definitely did not allow that. Regardless, Autumn knew they continued to go only because she had fallen in love with it.
As they moved into another pose and she heard another groan from the ladies, she inwardly laughed as she reflected on the time she’d convinced them to try Bikram yoga. Bikram yoga was slightly different from hot yoga because the poses were more complex and the room had to be at 105 degrees at all times. After one class, Danni and Winter hadn’t been able to walk without wobbling for a few days.
“Now let’s move into our cooldown.”