“She’s different than you, huh?”
“Yeah. I was the good girl. The one who worked hard and got all top grades and went on to grad school. She was the force of nature.”
“Sounds exhausting.”
Autumn laughed again. “You’ll be able to see for yourself next week. She’s coming to visit. She’s staying until the charity day. I figure she’ll be able to persuade everybody to donate big amounts. She has that way about her.” She put her plate on the coffee table, her sandwich only half eaten.
“Can I have that?” He nodded at her sandwich.
“Help yourself.” Autumn watched as he bit into the sandwich. “Oh, and by the way, Lydia wants to meet you.”
He swallowed the chunk down. “She does?”
“Yeah. I’m sorry, I should have kept my mouth shut about you.”
It touched him that she hadn’t. “I want to meet her, too. Maybe we can take her out.” He looked around her tiny cottage. “Where’s she going to stay?”
“I guess she’ll take the sofa. Or she can bunk up with me. She’s slept in worse places.”
“You should both come stay with me. I have a guest room with it’s own bathroom.”
“Really?” She leaned forward to kiss him. “That would be wonderful. Thank you. Underneath all those muscles you’re kind of sweet.”
“Don’t tell anybody,” he whispered. “It’s our secret.”
She pinched her fingers and drew a zip across her lips.
Shaking his head, he grinned and picked up their plates, carrying them over to the kitchen. Autumn was a tidy chef, so it only took him a couple of minutes to fill the dishwasher and wipe the counter, until it was spotlessly clean.
“Okay. I’d best head home.” He stretched his arms up, his shoulder muscles groaning in relief.
“Yeah. Stop cluttering my cottage with all that bare skin.” She winked. “Some of us have work to do around here.”
He walked over to the sofa and kissed the top of her head, pulling at her ponytail until she squealed.
“I’ll speak to you later.”
“Are you walking home like that?” she asked, her eyes scanning his bare chest, the thin pants and his unshod feet.
“I figure it’s better than going home naked.” He quirked an eyebrow.
“You look like you’re doing the walk of shame,” she pointed out.
“I kind of am,” he said, grinning at her look of horror. “I’ll tell you what, I’ll put the top on. That way nobody will know what you did to me last night.”
“Remember what I said about keeping them for my doctor fantasies,” she told him. “Oh, and Griff?”
“Yeah?”
“What time will you be back?”
“Back where?”
“Back here? You’re staying tonight, right?”
He curled his hand around her neck and brushed his lips against hers. “Yeah, I am,” he said, his mouth curling up. “And I’ll bring dinner with me.”
* * *