Autumn’s stomach dropped. “It depends on what you’ve been hearing.”
“Are you dating?” Carla’s brow furrowed as she asked. For a moment, Autumn felt bad for her.
“We are,” she said softly. “But it’s a fairly new thing.”
“You remember what I said about him, right?”
“I do.” Autumn nodded. “But you don’t have to worry about me. I’m a big girl.”
“That’s what I thought.” Carla smiled sadly. “But I still ended up with a broken heart.”
God, this was awkward. And a good reminder of why it was so stupid to date where you worked, even if it was way too late for her and Griff. He pulled her in every time she looked at him. Made her heart skip like a kid whenever he was close.
No wonder Carla was upset. If Autumn were in her position, she would be, too.
“I’m sorry,” Autumn said softly.
“It’s okay. And I should go. Dad will be wondering where I am.” Carla’s smile was tight. “I guess I’ll see you around.”
“Sure.”
Autumn watched as Carla walked out of her office, then stared at the closed wooden door, her eyes tracing the knots and lines in the grain.
Her relationship – or whatever it was – with Griff was starting to feel like a bubble. One she had to carefully guard from the people wanting to burst it.
Her father. Carla. Maybe even Josh. Everyone seemed to want to break her fragile happiness.
She was determined not to let them.
* * *
Mike was finishing sweeping the deck when Griff’s phone rang. He pulled his cell from his jeans pocket and blinked when he saw the caller.
“Dad?” he said, lifting the phone to his ear. “Is everything okay?”
For a minute, just one small minute, he thought his dad might be calling to wish him a belated happy birthday.
“Yeah, I’m good,” his dad said gruffly. “We’re
having some work done on the bathroom, and your mom’s sent me to the hardware store. Just trying to work out what kind of damn cabinet she won’t hate.”
Griff swallowed down a laugh. He could only imagine her response if his dad got the wrong one.
“Anyway,” his dad continued. “I only have a couple of minutes, but I wanted to ask a favor.”
“What kind of favor?”
“It’s Sam. His boat’s a mess and he needs to take it over to the marina. I’m hoping you can help him.”
Sam was one of his dad’s old friends. The same one they visited in Silver Sands not long ago.
“Ah, yeah, sure. When does he want to go?”
“Tonight. It’ll only take a couple of hours. You can do it, can’t you?”
Griff glanced at his watch. The marina was about three hours up the coast, add into that the time it’ll take them to drive back again and that was his evening gone.
“Yeah, sure, I can help. I’ll give him a call.”