Czytaj książkę: «Falling For Autumn»

Prologue

In order to win the love of a strong-minded man, he must feel challenged, and desire that woman so bad that it hurts. Ajay Reed reflected a little more. He’d overheard an older man telling a group of twentysomething-year-old guys that statement one day. Even though it had been years since he’d heard it, the comment still stuck with him. He considered himself a determined man, but he’d come across enough women to know that he no longer enjoyed the thrill of the chase. He was simple. Easy to understand, if you knew what you were looking for.

When anyone asked, he always claimed that he liked his women as he liked his everyday life...uncomplicated. So he couldn’t understand why he seemed to be mesmerized by the mouthy woman standing before him giving him a lecture on the menu for Inferno, his newest lounge. Autumn Dupree didn’t know the definition of uncomplicated. She was the type of woman who always had an opinion about everything.

“I’m sorry, but can we back up this conversation?” Ajay said, motioning for her to slow down. “How did Taheim and Winter asking us to meet result in you questioning my menu?”

She tilted her head to the side as one of her hands went to her hip. “Since we’re standing in your office in Inferno right now, this conversation hardly constitutes as irrelevant.”

“Maybe according to you. But to me it seems very irrelevant, since I didn’t ask for your opinion on the menu.”

“Well, maybe you should have,” she said with a snarky smile. “I just don’t understand why your menu doesn’t offer any healthy options. You don’t even list the calories of your dishes in the menu.”

“That’s because this is a lounge. Not a health club.”

“What does that have to do with offering healthier options?”

He glanced at his watch, wondering what in the world was taking his brother, Taheim, and Autumn’s sister Winter so long to arrive. He hadn’t heard from Taheim in days, and before Autumn started arguing with him over the menu, she’d stated that she hadn’t heard from Winter lately, either.

“Can we just talk about something else?” he offered. Anything that would get her to stop her rant about his choices in food.

“Like what?” she asked with a shrug.

“Like why my brother and your sister asked to meet with us after being MIA for almost a week.”

“I have a theory...” She slightly worried her bottom lip and crossed her arms over her chest.

“And what might that be?” he asked when he realized she wasn’t going to continue. Her eyes searched his face. He wished he knew why every time she observed him, he felt a slight kick in his gut. That was the main thing that irritated him about Autumn. He couldn’t figure her out, and Ajay prided himself on being a good judge of character. After being burned by people one too many times, he’d spent years perfecting that trait. However, Autumn made him doubt his ability to read people. One minute she’d be giving her opinion on something he wished she wouldn’t, and the next he’d catch her staring at him...trying to read his thoughts.

As much as she annoyed him at times, there was no denying her beauty. Her hazel almond-shaped eyes, full seductive lips and smooth milk-chocolate skin tone were definitely features that had instantly attracted him to her. No matter how much she tried to ignore their chemistry, sometimes he caught that look of interest in her eyes, too.

“Well, let’s look at the facts,” she said, uncrossing her arms. “Almost a week ago, Taheim made a declaration of love and proposed to Winter in front of everyone in attendance for the Inferno grand opening. Then, both Taheim and Winter disappeared, only sending us both texts to say they were fine. So we can assume they were in their own love cocoon.”

“Okay, and those facts tell us what exactly?”

“If I had to bet money on it, I’d say they called us here to discuss the wedding. They probably set a date and I’m guessing this is their official ‘will you be my best man and maid of honor’ speech.”

He was already shaking his head before she finished her statement. “There’s no way they chose a date already. I know my brother. He’s a careful thinker, and even though the proposal was a bit spontaneous for him, I’d bet he wants a long engagement. When he proposed, he hadn’t even picked out a ring yet.”

“I disagree,” she replied, lifting an eyebrow.

“Big shocker.”

“No, seriously, I’ve been paying close attention to them lately, and I figured if they did decide to tie the knot, I couldn’t see Taheim wanting a long engagement. He’s been waiting for weeks to tell anyone who would listen how much he loves Winter.”

He took a moment to think about how Taheim had been lately. Autumn was right. He had been acting real territorial with Winter. But there was no way he was telling her that she was right.

“Well, if they did call us here for that, good for them. I haven’t been a best man yet, so I’m ready to take on that honor.” A quick observation proved that Autumn didn’t share the same feelings as he did.

“What about you? Ever been a maid of honor before?”

“Um, no, and I don’t really want to start now.”

What? Maybe I heard her wrong. “Are you saying you don’t want to be Winter’s maid of honor?”

She waved him off. “Winter is already well aware I disagree with the whole wedding thing.”

“I thought all women imagined their wedding day and being in their friends’ or sisters’ wedding party.”

“Ha! That may be true for some women, but not for me. While I believe in marriage, I don’t believe in the so-called wedding enterprise.”

“Wedding enterprise?”

“Yeah, those suckers in the industry who convince you that in order to marry the person you love, you have to be willing to spend money unnecessarily. When in reality, they reap all the benefits. You know, like the venue, the florists, the cake designer. All those people get paid, but not the couple. Unless by some miracle they get back a ton of money in the form of a wedding gift.”

He studied her eyes, detecting her seriousness about the matter. She talked with a lot of passion, he’d give her that. He remembered his brother telling him a few weeks ago that Autumn was one of those people who spoke only when she felt as if there was something she needed to say. He was sure Taheim was just repeating how Winter had described her, but since he’d met Autumn, he couldn’t recall there ever being a time when she didn’t have something to say.

And he had no idea why he wanted to hear more about her point of view on weddings, but he did. She wasn’t like any woman he’d met before, and the old Ajay would have wanted to accept the unspoken dare to try to figure her out. Unfortunately, he’d changed a lot since then, so he’d have to pass on accepting the challenge.

“Aren’t you friends with the founders of Elite Events Incorporated?” he asked. Ajay and Taheim had grown up with Imani, Cydney and Lexus, since their families were from the same neighborhood, and had quickly developed a friendship with Mya, as well. He was proud of the corporation the four women had built from the ground.

“Yes, but what do they have to do with anything?”

“Since they’re event planners, they often plan weddings. And Lex is your cousin-in-law while Mya is your soon-to-be cousin-in-law.”

She squinted her eyes in confusion. “Once again, not seeing the correlation here.”

He wondered if she was being difficult on purpose or if she genuinely didn’t see where he was going with his thoughts. “Doesn’t that make them part of those groups of suckers you’re referring to?”

“Ah, now I see what you’re getting at,” she said, nodding her head. “Simply put, the answer is yes. However, I’m not that biased to believe that all people in the industry are out to get your money. I happen to really respect Elite Events Incorporated and what the women have accomplished. Besides,” she said with a shrug, “they are well aware of my views on the matter, just like my sister is.”

“Unfortunately, anyone who knows you is well aware of your views,” said a female voice coming from the office doorway.

Ajay turned to see Taheim and Winter enter the room looking as if they didn’t have a care in the world. There was also no mistaking that huge rock on her finger.

“So, baby bro, I guess you really didn’t waste any time getting a ring.”

“Are you kidding me?” Taheim said, never disconnecting his hand with Winter’s. “I couldn’t wait to put this ring on her finger and let everyone know that she is mine. The sooner men know she’s off the market, the better.”

As the newly engaged couple shared an intimate kiss, Ajay glanced over at Autumn just in time to see her mouth Told you. She was mouthing something else after that, but he didn’t catch the rest of her words. He was too busy admiring the way her lips moved. Pouty. Sensual. She must have noticed him staring, because she stopped moving her mouth and gave him an inquisitive look. He gave her a look right back as if to say, “Yes, I was looking. What are you going to do about it?”

“Did you hear what I just said?” Taheim asked, gaining back his attention.

“Sorry, what did you say?”

Taheim looked at Winter with a huge smile on his face. “We decided to get married next October.”

“Wow, congrats, bro,” Ajay said, leaning in for a hug. “That’s great.”

“Even better,” Winter said with a squeal, “we’ve chosen to have a destination wedding in Bora Bora.”

Ajay glanced over just in time to see Autumn slightly cringe at her statement. After what she’d just told him, he assumed she was probably thinking about all the unnecessary money the couple would spend on a destination wedding.

* * *

Autumn lightly squeezed the bridge of her nose, hoping that she was hearing her sister wrong. “That’s less than a year away. Isn’t that a bit soon for a wedding out of the country?”

Winter smiled. “What about saying congrats before you lecture me?”

“I’m sorry, sis.” The last thing Autumn wanted Winter to think was that she wasn’t happy about her engagement to Taheim. She walked over to give Winter a hug. “I’m so happy for you both and I think you’re perfect for each other.” Winter returned her hug while Taheim offered her a smile.

“So what made you both choose Bora Bora?”

Winter held Taheim’s eyes the entire time she spoke. “Well, I really wanted a destination wedding.”

“And I really wanted to get married someplace hot,” Taheim added.

“I wanted only our closest friends and family in attendance.”

“And I reminded her that even that number is larger than she may think.”

Oh, great, they’re already finishing each other’s sentences. On one hand, Autumn found it adorable, and on the other, she was surprised their relationship had escalated so fast.

“Neither one of us likes things to just be ordinary, so we knew we wanted to have a different type of wedding.”

“You mean different besides the fact that you want to have the wedding in Bora Bora?” Ajay asked.

“Oh, yeah,” Winter responded. “We’re talking different as in beach chic and sexy elegance complete with a masquerade beach theme and reception.”

Autumn was sure her mouth dropped, although she honestly shouldn’t be surprised. Winter was a free spirit who loved to make a statement, and judging by what she knew of Taheim, making a statement were his middle names.

“Can I ask how exactly you two came up with this wedding theme?”

“You could, sis, but I already know that any validation won’t change the fact that although you’re happy for us, you hate weddings.”

“Hate is a strong word. I think strongly dislike is more accurate.”

She heard Ajay huff, but refused to look in his direction. Being around him threw her off her game. Instead of sounding like an intelligent realist around Ajay, she came across as a babbling chatterbox.

“Autumn, despite how you feel, I want you by my side for my wedding.” Oh, no, here it goes. “It wouldn’t be the same if I didn’t have my sister and best friend right beside me on my special day, so I got you this.”

Trembling fingers accepted the teal-and-white box wrapped in a beautiful lace ribbon. She looked from the box to Winter, unable to keep from smiling after noticing the huge grin reflected on her sister’s face. When she opened the box, there was a photo of them when they were teenagers.

“Do you remember when we took that?” Winter asked.

“Of course.” It was the day after a lot of drama had happened with their parents and they had promised each other that if they found true love, they would be there for each other every step of the journey. When she lifted the photo, she noticed a custom wineglass and a small bottle of her favorite red wine with a note attached to it.

“You’ve already done a great job at helping me acknowledge my feelings for Taheim,” Winter said as she watched Autumn read the card. “I need you by my side. I need you to be my maid of honor.”

Autumn couldn’t help the emotion she felt in her heart. “Of course I will, sis.” As they hugged, she glanced over her shoulder in time to see Taheim ask Ajay to be his best man. After he agreed, Ajay caught her eye and for the first time tonight, her dislike for weddings wasn’t her most prominent thought. Instead, she was trying to calculate approximately how much time the best man and maid of honor would have to spend together. Spending any amount of time with a man as handsome as Ajay was enough to make a woman like her lose her ability to think straight.