Autumn laughed as Ally handed them back to her, carefully placing them into the dust bag and back into the box. She was sitting with Brooke, Caitie, and Ally around a table at Pancho’s Taqueria, sipping at ice-cold margaritas and nibbling on tortilla chips while they decided what food to order.
“I have no idea where I’ll wear them,” she said, lifting her glass and taking a sip. “But they were too pretty to pass up.”
They’d shopped at the mall for almost three hours, and though the time had passed quickly, Autumn’s feet were aching from walking on the tiled floors. She’d slipped her sensible two-inch heels off and was circling her bare feet under the table. Maybe Griff could give them a rub tonight.
“You don’t need to wear them anywhere. Just put them on for Griff and he’ll fall at your feet. You ever notice what a thing most guys have for high heels?”
“Aiden loves them,” Brooke admitted, lifting a tortilla chip between her lips. “He’s always asking me to wear them, but they’re so damn uncomfortable.”
“I like the extra height they give me,” Autumn told her. “And I’ve been wearing them since I was a teenager. It’s second nature now. It’s different here, but in New York power dressing is still a thing. Your clothes are the first thing everybody notices.”
She glanced down at the pile of shopping bags beside her chair. Two pairs of shoes, some cosmetics she was desperately in need of, and a black, white, and pink striped bag that contained the skimpiest lingerie she’d ever seen. It was pretty, though. Silky black lace, weaved with pink ribbon across the hem of the panties and the center of the plunging bra. She was planning to greet Griff wearing that and the shoes tonight.
It was fun to go shopping. For the months after her separation she’d felt too low to indulge. She didn’t really want to do anything, apart from work, and that was taken away from her pretty early in the process.
Trying on clothes and shoes had made her feel pretty. Alive. She couldn’t wait for Griff to see them.
“When are you planning on going back to New York?” Caitie asked her. She was sitting across the table from Autumn, next to Brooke. Harper and Ember couldn’t make it – Alyssa had a cold so Harper was staying home with her, and Lucas was working the night shift, leaving Ember without anybody to look after Arthur on short notice.
“I don’t know,” Autumn admitted. “At first I thought I’d only be here a little while. Long enough to get the pier up to speed. But I like it here, even if you guys don’t wear high heels.” She grinned at them all.
“I’d wear high heels if you agreed to stay,” Brooke offered. “It’s nice to see Griff happy.”
“It really is.” Caitie nodded. “He’s like a different guy. Have you noticed he’s always smiling now?”
“Let’s make a toast.” Ally lifted her glass. “To new friends who make our old friends happy.”
“I’ll drink to that.” Brooke grinned. They clinked their glasses together, and Autumn swallowed another mouthful of her margarita, looking over the rim of her glass at her newfound friends.
It felt as though she finally belonged somewhere, after years of searching for a place to call home. Maybe she’d been looking in all the wrong places.
And trying to please all the wrong people.
Her life in New York had felt like a constant battle. To be the best at work, to make her father happy, to be a better wife for Josh whenever he criticized her. Sometimes it felt as though she had so many plates spinning, if she took a moment to breathe they would crash to the ground. It was exhausting. She hadn’t realized how much, until she’d walked off the airplane and driven into Angel Sands.
Yeah, she still had challenges to face. The pier was still losing money, and it would take a hell of a lot of work to make it profitable. And then there was her relationship with Griff. It brought her so much pleasure – in more ways than one – but the scars from her divorce were still raw. She didn’t want to be hurt again.
But those things all felt surmountable. They were little foothills compared to the mountains of problems she’d left behind in New York.
She loved being here. It really was beginning to feel like home.
And a lot of that was thanks to the big guy who’d be in her bed right after midnight.
19
A loud bang on the front door jolted Autumn out of her dream. She blinked her eyes open, looking around the darkened room. She was wearing the lingerie she’d bought and nothing else, having put the pretty bra and panties on after the shower she took when she got home from her night out with the girls. She planned to give Griff a sexy surprise.
Another bang on the door knocked some sense into her brain. That had to be Griff. Had she really fallen asleep while she was waiting for him? Those margaritas were stronger than she thought.
She grabbed her robe and wrapped it around herself, then slid her feet into those gorgeous shoes she knew were going to make Griff’s eyes pop out. But before she made it to the living room, she heard a shout.
“Griff, are you in there?”
Why the hell would Griff be talking to himself? She shook her head to try and clear away the muddiness of her sleep. Thank god she had enough sense to tie her robe up tightly and kick off those shoes, because when she opened the door, Lucas was standing on the top step, wearing an Angel Sands Fire Department t-shirt and dark blue utility pants.
“Hi. What’s going on?” Autumn asked, her voice croaky and deep.
“Is Griff with you?” Lucas looked over her shoulder. She noticed a tic in his jaw.