Falling for Autumn (2 page)

Chapter 1

Eight months later...

I
need you to be by my side. I need you to be my maid of honor.
Autumn Dupree couldn't seem to forget her sister's words no matter how hard she tried.

“You must be so excited for your sister.”

Autumn downed the rest of the champagne in her glass before facing the enthusiastic voice. “Of course I am,” she replied through gritted teeth. “All this love, happiness and months of planning ahead for a single twenty-four-hour day. Who wouldn't be happy, right?” The perky woman blinked her eyes a few times before abruptly walking away.

“Maybe you can work on a stiff smile and refrain from the sarcasm until after the engagement party.”

Autumn rolled her eyes at her friend and store manager of Bare Sophistication lingerie boutique, Danni Allison. “I refuse to pretend to believe in weddings when I don't.”

“But you agreed to be the maid of honor, and in doing so, Winter expects you to at least pretend to be happy for her.”

“I am happy for her.” Autumn shifted from one leg to the other in frustration as she glanced around the crowded Reed family home. “But this is too much fuss for one freaking day. I mean, what's in the Chicago water we've been drinking, because since I moved here a few years ago, there have been more engagement parties than I can count. And we already had an engagement party for Winter and Taheim right after they were engaged months ago, so I don't even know what this is.”

“Taheim's mom had a bunch of old college friends in town and she wanted to do something special for her soon-to-be daughter-in-law. Especially since a lot of people won't be going to Bora Bora for the wedding. Didn't you read the email I sent you?”

She turned up her eyebrows at Danni. “You know, studies show you only have thirty seconds to intrigue a reader, and that booklet of wedding stuff you sent me lost my interest within the first five seconds.”

“You should have been the person putting that so-called booklet together. I'm just a bridesmaid.”

“You're already aware that I've been hosting a lot of our Bare Sophistication masquerade lingerie parties while Taheim and Winter have been on tour showcasing all their designs from their own clothing and lingerie lines. You told me it wouldn't be a problem.”

“It isn't a big deal, but at the very least, I expect you to read what I email you.”

“Last I checked, fifteen percent of engagements are called off anyway, so I figured it would be a waste reading something that may not even be relevant in a few months.”

“You're lucky I appreciate your snarky attitude,” Mya Winters-Madden said as she approached the women with Lex Turner-Madden walking beside her. “Otherwise, I'd have some real issues with that statement.”

Mya had married Autumn's cousin Malik Madden just last month—only three months after giving birth to a beautiful set of boy and girl fraternal twins, believing for months that they were only pregnant with one child. Lex had married Malik's brother, Micah, a year and a half ago. Growing up, she remembered conversations she'd had with Malik, Micah and Winter about how none of them were ever getting married. Boy, had the tables turned.

“Although I'm glad my cousins found such amazing women like the two of you, I still stand firm in my beliefs regarding weddings.”

Lex laughed as she shook her head. “We wouldn't expect you to be anyone but yourself. Even so, Mya and I have both been in Winter's shoes, and it helps when you know that those close to you support your marriage.”

“I'll support their marriage wholeheartedly. It's weddings that...”

“We know, we know,” Danni interrupted. “It's weddings that you dislike, not the idea of marriage.”

“Exactly.” There wasn't anything she wouldn't do for Winter, but she still couldn't believe she'd actually agreed to be a pivotal part of this shindig. Weddings were superficial. If one did decide to take the plunge, she never understood why they didn't just go to a courthouse and save themselves the hassle of planning. However, she knew people were tired of hearing her talk about her view on weddings, so she had to do a better job of keeping her mouth shut.

“I'll try my best to show my support.” Her voice didn't sound as believable as she hoped it would, but she really meant what she said. After a few more skeptical looks, they finally turned their focus to another topic. Out of all the people Autumn had met since moving to Chicago, Danni and the ladies of Elite Events Incorporated probably knew her better than most of the friends she had back in New York. Autumn wasn't an easy nut to crack. Oftentimes, it took people a while to understand her quirky personality. However, she'd decided long ago that it didn't matter if people didn't appreciate the type of person she was. As long as she knew who she was, that suited her just fine.

“Malik is the worst when it comes to changing diapers,” Mya said. “He'll spend all day playing with the twins, but when it's time to change a diaper, he makes himself scarce.”

Autumn laughed. “We weren't around babies much growing up, so maybe you need to teach him how.”

“Oh, he knows how,” Mya replied. “He just refuses to do so. Next time I get a whiff of a smelly diaper, I'm forcing him to change it.”

All the women shared a laugh as they joined others in the bridal party. Glancing over at Winter, Autumn couldn't help but be proud of her sister. Their childhood had been anything but easy, and she couldn't recall ever seeing her sister so happy. The opening of their Chicago lingerie boutique, Bare Sophistication, came a close second. But even so, Winter had been sporting the biggest smile since accepting Taheim's marriage proposal.

As if she knew Autumn was thinking about her, Winter glanced over at her and smiled. Since they were only eleven months apart, they often knew what the other was thinking. Irish twins in more ways than one. It often drove their younger sister, Summer, crazy, but they couldn't help it. They shared a connection that was unexplainable.

“When is Summer flying in?”

“She should be here in a few weeks and will stay until the wedding.”

“Great. Are we still meeting next week to discuss the other wedding events?” Danni asked.

“Yes, we're still on.”

What Autumn didn't mention was that she needed Danni to be there. She'd managed to avoid planning any wedding duties alone with Ajay, but with the wedding eight weeks away, she would have to face the inevitable. It was crunch time, and she would be seeing more of Ajay whether she liked it or not.

A couple of months ago, Winter and Taheim had decided to plan a coed combined bridal, bachelorette and bachelor party in Chicago for their extended friends who wouldn't be able to attend the wedding. It was definitely a plan unlike any Autumn had heard before, but different worked for Winter and Taheim.

She was pulled from her thoughts when she heard the group share a laugh at something Mrs. Reed had been saying about Taheim as she called him and Winter to the front of the room. Autumn really liked Mrs. Reed. She was so unlike her own mom, and she was glad to see her and Winter's relationship blossom. Her sister needed a motherly figure after all their mom had put her through growing up.

When Taheim's sister, Kaya, took the stage, Autumn felt the hairs on her arms stick up. Even at thirty, almost thirty-one, she still got nervous about public speaking when she didn't know what to say.

“I'm going to step out for a bit,” she whispered into Danni's ear when she caught Mrs. Reed looking her way. She knew what was coming next. It was the same thing that had happened during every prewedding event she'd attended for Winter and Taheim. Whoever started talking first to the attendees would make eye contact with the maid of honor, best man or any member of the bridal party so that others could share a few words, as well.

When she found a door leading to the beautiful outdoor garden that Taheim's mom had shown her months ago, she breathed a sigh of relief. Autumn excelled at discussing things such as her lingerie boutique or a good political debate. But when it came to discussing love, merriment and all that jazz, she always felt socially awkward. As if her forehead had the words
fish out of water
stamped across it. Since she had such a sour view on weddings, all wedding-related activities made her feel uncomfortable.

She glanced around in the darkness, looking for a nice spot to relax. The concrete bench next to a large oak tree and a dim light that illuminated part of the pond was perfect.

“Much better,” she said when she sat down, kicked off her heels and lay on her back. Usually, she would worry about wrinkling her cute black dress or messing up the updo that had taken her a half hour to create. But in this case, lying on her back with her head tilted slightly more downward than her body was the only thing that helped her headache go away. It was something her dad had always done growing up to get rid of his headaches, and strangely enough, it worked for Autumn every time.

“Well, the view out here definitely just got better.” The deep baritone voice caused her to sit upright on the bench as she glanced toward the tree. She thought about asking who was out there, but it was pointless. She knew that voice anywhere. It often appeared in her dreams, although she really wished it didn't.

She waited for Ajay to come from out of the darkness, and when he did, she was tempted to tell him to go back behind the tree. He was wearing a blazer, jeans and Timberland boots—the same attire he usually wore. As usual, he looked as sexy as ever.

She instantly squeezed her thighs tighter to try to ease the warmth. Every time she saw him, it was either his voice or his eyes that did the trick.
Thank goodness he's too far away for me to see his eyes.
He had one of those rare eye combinations that often changed colors depending on the weather. Normally, his eyes were light brown, but on more than one occasion when they'd gotten into a heated debate, the color deepened to a dark gray with a hint of a brown around them. That was something they had in common. Her eyes often changed between hazel and light brown depending on her mood.

“What are you doing out here?” he asked, walking closer to her.

She shrugged. “I assume the same thing as you. Escaping the party.”

When he got closer to her, she moved her feet in case he wanted to sit down. His eyes lingered on her legs before he took a seat on the bench.

“Why are you out here?” she asked him in return. “To escape the party, right?”

He gave her a crooked smile. One that she hadn't seen before. “Yeah, you're right. Taheim and Winter have had so many prewedding events, I'm running out of things to say.”

“You never seem tongue-tied when you speak at these things.”

“Well, maybe that's only half the truth. Lately, my mind is preoccupied with other thoughts.”

She wanted to know what else was on his mind, but that was so unlike her. She usually didn't push people for more information. She chanced a glance at him and noticed the faraway look in his eyes.
Don't ask him about his thoughts. Don't ask him about his thoughts.

“What other thoughts are preoccupying your mind?”
Crap. Big fail.

Instead of responding to her, he looked her way, and she could have sworn that his eyes briefly dropped to her lips. He seemed as if he was going to answer, when Autumn heard someone yelling for them. She glanced toward the house, where the voice had come from.

“It's Taheim,” Ajay supplied. “We better get back in there. Duty calls.”

She nodded her head in agreement, still wondering what other thoughts were occupying his mind tonight.
Were his thoughts about a woman?
If so, why should she even care? They weren't exactly friends and they talked to one another only because they sort of had to. There were a million reasons why she shouldn't care, but at the moment, she couldn't think of even one.

They fell into step beside one another, and it wasn't until they were almost at the house that she realized this was one of the first times they hadn't argued about anything.

* * *

Ajay had no idea what Taheim's friend Jaleen Walker was saying, but he knew it didn't matter. Knowing Jaleen, it was probably just some random comment about a woman he'd hooked up with the night before.

Nope, Ajay didn't care at all. Not when he had more important things to think about. Such as why, when he had so much on his mind, he couldn't stop admiring the way Autumn was sipping her wine.

When she'd stepped outside to escape the party, he'd watched her until she made it to the bench. He couldn't take his eyes off her legs when she'd raised them to lie down. They were long and beautiful. He'd bet they'd look even better wrapped around his waist. In that moment, she'd seemed so approachable, unlike the woman who always got on him about the food he chose to place on the menu of his venues.

Lurking behind the tree without saying anything would have been creepy, so he'd decided the best thing to do was to make his presence known, even though he would have rather admired her in the darkness.

“Hey, man, did you hear anything I just said?”

He forced himself to stop looking at Autumn. “I'm sorry, what did you say?”

“I asked if I can meet with you over at Autumn's to discuss that bachelor-and-bachelorette-party combo event you all are planning. I was talking to Danni about it and she mentioned that she was meeting up to discuss it with Autumn, and I remember you had spoken about it, as well.”

Hmm, I didn't know Autumn had told Danni.
It was probably for the best because he didn't want to be left alone with her anyway. Whenever he was around Autumn lately, he seemed to want to do things so out of character, such as ask questions to learn more about her. He guessed they wouldn't agree on much anyway, so if Danni and Jaleen joined, more would get accomplished.