couldn’t overlook the aggrieved expression on her face any longer. He stared down at her feet, held prisoners by the pointiest shoes he had ever seen, and said, “You look like you’re about to pass out, Autumn. If your feet are hurting, I could carry you, you know. I don’t mind.”
The sparkle in his eyes and the smile he shared with Yvette wasn’t missed on Autumn. He was teasing her. She could barely put one aching foot in front of the other, but she wasn’t about to be the brunt of anyone’s jokes. Forgetting the sting, she wiped all traces of pain from her face, and fixed her mouth in a wide smile. “I’m just fine, thank you very much. Don’t worry ’bout me, L.J. I can make it.”
Her brusque reply made L.J. wonder if he’d done something wrong. She’d been acting strange ever since her run-in with her ex-boyfriend. It was as if she had gone through a drastic personality change in the space of an hour. She wasn’t nearly as amiable as she had been when they were chatting by the pool.
He could tell by the look on her face that she had a lot on her mind. No doubt, she was thinking about her ex. L.J. and Kellianne were as close as a brother and sister could be and he’d seen this predicament play out in her life many times before. Autumn’s ex had messed up and now she was in what he liked to call the I-hate-all-men-and-I’m-better-off-without-any-of-them phase. Because she loathed the opposite sex, including nice guys like him, she would rather suffer than accept his help. But L.J. didn’t blame her. From what he’d seen, her ex was the king of all jerks.
L.J. resumed his conversation with Yvette, not giving Autumn another thought. But when he heard her stumble, his head whipped around. Her mouth was set in the most unflattering of expressions and she was breathing as though she’d just finished running up a flight of stairs. He offered his hand, but she waved it away. “Okay. Suit yourself.” Then to Yvette, “How many children do you have?”
Yvette pulled out her wallet. Like a typical mom, she proudly showed off her daughters. She pointed at each picture and shared cute anecdotes about each child. “What about you, L.J.? Any rug rats?”
“Shoot!”
Yvette and L.J. turned around just in time to see Autumn stumble again. But before they could help her, she was back on her feet and dusting off her the hem of her dress.
“You okay?” Yvette asked.
Autumn could only nod. Averting her gaze, she spotted Yvette’s rusted, sky-blue minivan parked halfway down the block. It was hard to miss. It had a plethora of child-friendly bumper stickers, yellow Baby-on-Board signs and the silhouette of a safety seat in the back. “Do you want me to give you a ride to your van, Yvette?” Autumn asked, standing up tall and squaring her shoulders.
“No, no, that’s all right. I need to walk off the four slices of cheesecake I had. I’ll call you tomorrow, girl.” With a quick hug to her best friend, and a small wave to L.J., Yvette continued down the driveway and strolled through the open gates.
“Thanks for walking me to my car. It was really thoughtful of you,” Autumn said when they reached her car a half-minute later.
“I should be thanking you.” When her face clouded over, he said, “For saving me from Shante. I’d been trying to shake that woman all night!” They shared a laugh. “Why don’t I show you my deep gratitude by taking you out for a dinner? Say tomorrow night, around eight o’clock?”
Autumn couldn’t hold back her smile. “Very smooth.”
He shrugged his shoulders. “What? You have to eat and I have to eat. So, why can’t we do it together?” Hoping to persuade her, he offered, “You can choose the restaurant. Chinese. Mexican. Italian. Anywhere you want.”
More laughter passed between them. Autumn didn’t know much about L.J., but she liked that he could make her laugh. He seemed like a nice enough guy, but she couldn’t go out with him. It just didn’t seem right. She was fresh out of a relationship and he was, well…visiting. He didn’t call Washington home and before she knew it L.J. would be returning to Atlanta. Why bother? Autumn was set to decline his offer graciously when she saw Shante hustling and bustling down the driveway like an out-of-control wheelbarrow. The woman was dangerously close to toppling over, and Autumn was secretly praying for the fall.
L.J. held open the door for her. “So, what do you say?”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
Autumn kicked off her sandals and hurled them into the backseat. She gestured with her finger behind him. “Here comes reason number one.”
L.J. didn’t need to turn around to know who was coming. Shante. His chin dropped so low it was sitting on his chest. The woman reminded him of his pet rottweiler, Keys. She was frisky, loved chasing things and was hard to cuddle with. Shante wasn’t his type. In fact, she was the complete opposite of the women he normally dated. He needed to find a polite way to let Shante know he wasn’t interested. As L.J. watched Autumn’s car pull out of the driveway, he wished she was the one hanging all over him instead of Shante.
Chapter 5
“The quickest way to get over a man is to find a new one,” Melissa explained, marching in beat to music blaring from the television, “and I know just the man to cure you of the funk that you’ve been in.”
Autumn shot Melissa a leave-me-alone look. She retightened the elastic band in her hair and guzzled down some water. It was Saturday afternoon and the two friends were working out in the Grisbeys’ fitness room. Autumn reset the stationary bike for another thirty minutes, balanced the latest issue of Essence magazine on her lap and started peddling.
“All I’m saying is, get out of your damn apartment. You’ve been holed up in your place like you’re under house arrest and you’ve turned down all my invitations to get together. Shutting yourself away and moping around the house isn’t going to make you feel better, Autumn.”
Autumn continued reading. If she gave Melissa a chance, she knew her best friend would slip into Oprah mode and Autumn wasn’t in the mood for any more advice. Since breaking up with Tyrell, she had been getting plenty of unwanted counsel, and she had finally reached her breaking point. “I’m fine. I just don’t feel like hanging out, that’s all.”
Mimicking Tae Bo instructor Billy Blanks, Melissa set her feet in a defensive stance and raised her balled hands to chin level. Alternating between waist-high kicks and throwing punches that would make Lennox Lewis proud, Melissa grunted along with the ten on-screen participants and the fitness guru. Without breaking her kicking rhythm, Melissa tossed Autumn a look over her left shoulder. “Well, do you at least find him attractive?”
“Who?” she asked, knowing full well who Melissa was referring to.
“Who else?” Melissa replied with a snort. “L.J. Do you think he’s good looking?”
Do I ever, Autumn confessed, but not out loud so Melissa could hear. Autumn hadn’t seen him since the dinner party, more than two weeks ago, but she could remember every detail of his ruggedly handsome face. Wide eyebrows set above deep, slanted eyes with copper specks; a broad, slightly uneven nose and thick, kissable lips. His clean-shaved head appealed to her inner bad girl and his well-sculpted body testified to all the hours he must spend at the gym. The man had some really thick muscles on him.
Autumn wiped her towel across her
