Not Quite Over You
Page 53

“What we want to do. If we’re going to rent out the space, we need better ground rules and larger deposits. If this is going to happen, we have to figure out if it’s worth it or if we should rent out the space to someone else. That’s still an income stream.”
His words surprised her for a second, then she sighed. “You’re right. We have to talk about it but not tonight.”
“You going to be okay?” he asked. “Want me to stay? I can sleep on the floor.”
“I’ll be fine,” she told him. “I was shaken up, but I’m all right now. Thanks for looking after Autumn. Did you have a good time?”
“We did. We’ve graduated to chess. She’s just learning but she’s going to be really good. Dinner was fun and we didn’t hear anything from downstairs.” He kissed her. “Come on. I’ll walk you to your door.”
She smiled. “That’s so romantic.”
“I know. Face it, Silver. I’m irresistible.”
As promised, he walked her upstairs, kissed her again and left. She went inside and collapsed on the sofa. She told herself she had to get up and wash her face and brush her teeth. In a minute, she thought, her eyes closing. For right now, she wanted to think about Drew because he was a much-nicer topic than remembering her horrible night. As for him being irresistible, she happened to know he was right.
* * *
DREW SAT WITH Autumn on the back patio of his house. They watched as Millie and her friends walked around the animal preserve.
“You have the best view ever,” his daughter told him. “I know everyone always wants to look at the ocean or a lake, but this is way cooler. Don’t you dare move. I want to come back and sit right here next time I visit.”
“I want that, too,” he told her.
Autumn’s time in Happily Inc was over. In a couple of hours, Leigh and Denton would arrive to take her back to Los Angeles. He couldn’t believe how quickly the week had sped by.
Less than two weeks ago, Autumn had been little more than a theory. Now he knew her laugh, her smile, how she rolled her eyes when she thought an adult was being stupid. He knew she was smart and irreverent and caring and funny. He knew her and he was going to miss her more than he’d ever thought possible.
“Are you and Silver going to get married?” Autumn asked, glancing at him. “And don’t tell me you aren’t dating because you totally are. I’ve seen how you look at her.”
“When did you grow up?”
“That’s not an answer.”
He was mentally scrambling for what to say. He and Silver were together, but neither of them had defined their relationship, probably because neither of them wanted to. A definition would box them in. They were in business together and sleeping together and he liked her a lot. For now that was enough.
“She’s great,” he began.
She sighed. “Boys are so lame.”
“What’s wrong with thinking she’s great?”
Autumn looked at him. “I’m only eleven and even I get it. If you’re not going to marry her, you need to find someone. Men don’t do well alone. You need a life partner. I had to read a bunch of articles for my health class and one of the ones talked about that.”
She was a constant surprise, he thought with a smile. As for getting married, while he was perfectly fine single, he’d always assumed he would find someone and settle down. Ashley Lauren had put him off commitments for a while, but he’d recovered and now... And now...
He realized he honestly had no idea why he wasn’t involved with someone and falling in love. He enjoyed women. He liked being in a relationship. Look how well he and Silver got along. It had been great when they’d been kids, but in some ways, it was even better now. They were older and they could appreciate what they had.
“You could start with a dog,” Autumn told him. “You took care of Mr. Whiskers, so a dog would be good. Once you can manage that, you can look for a wife.”
“I’m not feeble,” he grumbled.
Autumn smiled. “Mom and Denton said we could get a dog when we get settled in the new house. Not a puppy, though. I want a rescue dog. One that’s older. I want to make a difference, which is really hard when you’re eleven.” She sighed. “I’m sorry about the real estate signs. The more I think about it, the worse I feel. I need to be more mature.”
“You’re pretty mature now.”
“I’m trying.”
“I’m going to miss you.”
“I’ll miss you, too, but we can text and talk on FaceTime and stuff. Plus, you can come visit me whenever you want.”
“I’d like that.” He was hoping that Leigh and Denton would want to leave her here more often and go off on vacation. Or maybe he and Silver could have her for a couple of weeks in the summer.
He wasn’t sure how that was going to work, but he wanted to give it a try. He’d just found Autumn—he didn’t want to let her go now. He would, of course, but he didn’t want to.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
SILVER DID HER best to rally. Walter had texted to say the smaller trailer remodel was going more quickly than he’d anticipated, which meant their labor costs would be reduced. The cleaning company had been able to come out the morning after the party and had worked a miracle. The damage was less than Silver had first thought. The bride had blown through the security deposit, but not by much. The weddings over the weekend had been low-key events with no drama at all, so why was she feeling so incredibly sad?
The answer was simple—she missed Autumn. Three days after Leigh had picked her up and taken her home, Silver’s apartment was empty and her days seemed long. She usually felt unsettled when she returned home from visiting Autumn, but this time was worse. Probably because getting back into her routine didn’t help. Autumn had been here, in her life, and that made it harder to stop missing her.
On the bright side, she and Drew had done well together with their daughter. Autumn had had a good time, they’d all gotten along. The only problem had been with the real estate signs, but even that had turned out okay. Autumn had admitted that she felt awful several days later and promised to think the next time she wanted to pull a prank.
As Silver stocked the trailer for the upcoming weekend, she told herself to be grateful for the week and move on. That playing the “what if” game didn’t help anyone, especially not her. She couldn’t go back in time and even if she could, she knew she wouldn’t change anything.
She had a feeling Drew would disagree with that. He’d taken Autumn’s leaving much harder than she would have thought. Of course, hanging out with Autumn was new for him, and so was the pain of letting her go.
He’d been restless the past couple of days. Almost on edge. She wondered if he was thinking about the past or wondering about the future. She’d found herself doing a lot of the latter since Autumn had left. The future with and without Drew.
The problem was she couldn’t figure out what was going to happen. Was he really going to take over the bank and stay here in Happily Inc?
She finished loading mixers and liquor. She wanted to get the trailer ready before she had to leave for a meeting about Bethany and Cade’s big event. That was coming up fast. The cute Bride’s Posse T-shirts had been delivered. They’d all decided to wear them with blue denim skirts that were similar to Bethany’s white denim skirt. Pallas had been nervous that she was too pregnant to buy one that fit, but had found the cutest skirt with a tiny stretch panel for her growing tummy. Carol was several weeks less pregnant, so her shopping hadn’t been so challenging. Silver had dug a denim skirt out of her closet.