“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 t
o 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.”