“What, baby?”
“Nothing.”
“Are you sure? It’s going to be fine. I promise.”
I inhaled and nodded. “Okay.”
Just as my foot hit the threshold, I was swept off my feet and spun around. I held in a scream. The familiar laughter of Griff calmed me.
“Autumn, goddamn, I missed you, woman!”
“Watch your tongue, Griff.” Mona’s prim voice pierced my ears. Not because she was angry—there was amusement in her tone—but because this was the moment I was dreading. Seeing my former relatives.
“Put me down, Griff,” I whispered. Eli was off to the side, hugging his aunt.
“Look at you.” Griff kissed my cheek. “Lovely as always.”
“The charmer as always.”
“It runs in the blood.”
“Don’t I know it.”
“Autumn, oh, my dear. I’ve missed you, sweet girl.”
“Mona, thank you for inviting me.”
“Nonsense. You’re family.” She embraced me just as always. I nearly cried on the spot. She pulled back, beaming with delight. “Let me look at you.”
“She’s perfect, Aunt Mona.” Eli tugged me into his arms just as a commotion broke out from upstairs. “Sounds like the rest of the boys know you’re here.”
I grabbed onto Eli like a frightened mouse. Not that I needed to be once I saw each of his cousins grinning like it was Christmas morning and Santa had come bearing a gazillion gifts. One by one, they hugged me. Marc, Owen, Dylan. But Cai lifted me off my feet and spun me around, squeezing me tight, and kissed my cheek. Well, Dylan nearly caught my lips, but Eli shoved him off in the nick of time. Dylan had always pushed the line when it came to any woman.
Eli held me close as I stared at his beyond gorgeous, equally cocky cousins. They were five of the most handsome, eligible bachelors in New York. And not one of them cared to get “tied down” like their cousin Eli had. Of course, that had been a few years ago. Perhaps they’d changed their mind.
“Damn, Autumn, you’re more beautiful than the last time we saw you. Is he treating you right?” Griff jerked his chin toward Eli. “If not, we’ll take care of him. Right, bros?” He crossed his hulking arms across his chest like the badass weightlifter he was. Griff owned a dozen or so gyms up and down the East Coast. He was also into MMA fighting and was the least refined of the Morgans.
“I’m treating her like the queen she is.” Eli kissed my temple. “Now that I’ve got her back, I’m not letting go.”
“You shouldn’t have let her go to begin with, asshole,” Cai hissed.
Mona clicked her tongue. “Language.”
Cai rolled his eyes. “It’s true. We all know it. We’re glad you’re back, doll.” He was the youngest Morgan and quite possibly the smartest and most financially prosperous of his brothers. At only twenty-one, his YouTube channel made more money annually than their father earned at Morgan Investments. I wasn’t sure why anyone cared to watch a college guy doing nothing exciting, but he’d made a name for himself vlogging. His fans were likely all women drooling over him. Cai was pretty to look at, and in the videos I’d seen, he was often shirtless and toed the line at full-on naked. I stopped watching when the camera slipped once, showing his junk. I didn’t believe it was anoopsas he’d said.
I smiled at all the men. “Thanks. Admittedly, I was nervous about coming. Was afraid it would be weird.” I grimaced the second the words left my lips. I should’ve known they’d welcome me back with open arms. The Morgans were caring and kind. Once you were one of them, you’d always be.
The guys all frowned and put their hands on their hips at the same time. These brothers were alike in appearance with dark-brown hair, chiseled jaws, and million-dollar smiles, yet their personalities were nothing alike. Since day one of meeting them, they’d treated me like a sister. Damn, I’d missed them.
“That’s crap, Autumn,” Marc said. Of course he would call me out. He was the unofficial speaker for his brothers. Whatever came out of Marc’s mouth, they stood behind, like now. The guys were all nodding their heads in agreement. “You’re family. Always and forever. Even if our bastard of a cousin fucks up again. Understand?”
Grunts andyeahsechoed in the formal entry.
“That’ll be enough.” Mona piped up. “Your father will be home soon. Let’s go up and have a drink. You’re overwhelming Autumn.” She wasn’t wrong. I was flustered.
Owen snorted. “Nah, she can handle us. Ain’t that right, sweetheart?” He tugged me out of Eli’s arms and led me up the stairs. “Manhattan, straight up with two cherries, still your favorite cocktail?” He was the family’s mixologist, which made sense since he owned the largest, A-list restaurant and bar in Manhattan, simply namedMorgans.
“No alcohol for her!”