Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Zane

A utumn leans against me like I’ll keep her safe, and in this moment, I absolutely will.

“Can we talk soon?” Sebastian lowers his voice and asks her, keeping his gaze on her.

“Fuck no,” I say, not giving her the chance to answer. “She doesn’t want to speak to you.”

“Autumn can speak for herself,” he seethes, glancing back at her.

“No thank you,” she states. “I have nothing to discuss with you. We wanted to see other people, right? I’ve moved on. Clearly.”

“With Zane Alexander?” He pretends like I’m not here. “You haven’t. Trust me.”

“You know what I just realized?” Autumn laughs at him. “Had you not broken up with me, Zane and I would’ve never met. Wow. Appreciate that so much.”

The sarcasm is fucking harsh, but I don’t blame her acting this way toward an ex, especially him. But I also realize exactly what she said, and damn, I want to hear my first name come from her lips again.

“I’ve tried texting you since the beginning of the month,” Sebastian’s voice softens. “Did you change your number?”

“I blocked you,” she snaps. “The day you ended it.”

“That’s what I’d like to discuss with you,” he says with sad eyes, nearly pleading.

“Holmes,” I bark out his last name in the same way I used to when we were on the slopes together. Autumn tenses, realizing I know her ex. The thought of her ever being with him makes me sick to my goddamn stomach. “I don’t like the way you’re speaking to my fucking girlfriend .”

His jaw clenches tight and I glare at him.

She interlocks her fingers with mine and I kiss her knuckles, smelling her sweet perfume that smells like the flowers I picked. “You let me go, Bastian. You didn’t expect me to wait for you, did you? That's ridiculous.”

I have to admit, it was harsh as fuck.

His mouth opens and closes, then he narrows his eyes at me before walking away.

“Do you two know each other?” She's pissed.

“Yes,” I say, picking up my water and taking a sip. Fuck him for ruining my perfect night with her.

“ Zane Alexander ?”

“Shh. Not too loud,” I whisper.

“I’m confused.”

“That’s my name.” I hold out my hand toward her and she takes it. “Most call me Alexander. You call me Alex.”

“Nice to officially meet you, Zane fucking Alexander .” She lets me go. “Why did you lie to me?”

“To protect myself.”

“From who?”

“The public,” I say. “Do you know who I am?”

“No,” she says, and she tries to scoot out of the booth, but I wrap my arm around her hip, keeping her next to me. “I have no reason to lie to you. I planned to tell you tonight so you could fully understand who you’re hanging out with. You deserve the truth.”

Relief washes over me when she relaxes.

“My name is highly recognizable if you’re into celebrity gossip.”

“I’m not.” She shrugs, still completely unimpressed by me, and I fucking love it.

“My family owns the resort on the mountain and many others across the world.”

“Oh,” she says, and makes a face.

“Tell me why you had that reaction.”

“I just don’t agree with everything they do.”

I pick up my water and take a sip. “Something we can agree on. I’m here on vacation, but I’m willing to listen to any of your suggestions.”

That makes her smile.

“I didn’t want our friendship to be built on a lie or for you to be blindsided. I can see I failed and I’m sorry about that.”

“I get it.”

“No excuse. I can't stand liars, almost as much as I can’t stand Sebastian Holmes.”

Her lips slightly part when I say his name. “How do you know him?”

“We used to snowboard together.”

The server walks over and sees the water and ice everywhere.

“Oh no, did you spill any on you?” She glances over us.

“No, no, we’re fine. But, I think I’d like a double shot of tequila with salt and a lime,” Autumn says.

“Make it two,” I add.

“Sure, I’ll have someone clean up this mess and get those drinks.”

When we’re alone again, she turns back to me. “I dated him for six years of my life. Often, I think I gave him my best years.”

My nostrils flare as I study her, because he’s a known fuckboy and always has been. Autumn deserves better.

She shakes her head like she can read my mind. “He broke me. I haven–”

We’re interrupted by a few people mopping the spill and wiping the table with dry cloths. I’m tempted to ask everyone to leave us, but they make quick work of it. Both of us wait patiently to be left alone and I regret coming here. I should’ve cooked her a nice meal, but I wanted her to be comfortable. Bookers is safe and public, and doesn't give off the wrong impression.

Our tequila is set in front of us.

“You told him we were dating,” I say as her eyes sparkle.

“I shouldn’t have done that, but it slipped. Thank you for rescuing me. I didn’t want it to seem like I’ve not moved on.”

“Have you?” I ask.

“I’m trying,” she says, picking up her shot.

I grab mine. “We should toast to us.”

For a second, she hesitates, then smiles. “To us.”

We clink the edges of our glasses together and salt falls onto the table. We shoot it back, lick the rim, then bite the juicy lime. Autumn does a little wiggle and I can tell she’s lost in her head.

“I haven’t been with anyone since him,” she blurts out. “You’re actually the first man I’ve even been to dinner with.”

“I’m sorry you had an awful experience.” I want to apologize for everything that stupid fuck did to her, but I don’t say that out loud.

I remember when Sebastian broke up with his girlfriend and moved to our Canadian location to teach.

The silence lingers.

“Do you still love him?” I shake my head. “Apologies. You don’t have to answer that.”

“No, it’s fine,” she says, tracing the rim of the glass with her finger. “Love and hate, two powerful emotions and I’ve felt both for him over the years. When I saw him again, I thought I’d have a different reaction.”

I nod, listening. “Was it a good one?”

“No.” Autumn moves to the other side of the booth so we can chat with one another more easily. I miss her closeness but prefer being able to look into her eyes.

The server returns to take our order.

“Want to share a platter of nachos?” Autumn asks.

“Sure,” I say. “Two more shots.”

When we have our second round, we toast to us again and slide our glasses to the edge of the table.

“How long are you here?”

“Until the first week of January. I’ll be gone for a week in October, maybe. I haven’t decided yet,” I say. “My father is getting remarried.”

She tilts her head at me. “Oh.”

“It’s complicated.”

She doesn’t push me to say anything else, which I appreciate. I’ll eventually tell her, I want to.

Twenty minutes later, a gigantic platter of loaded tortilla chips is set in front of us with two small plates.

“What happens after January?”

“I don’t know,” I say truthfully. “I’m undecided about a lot of things in my life.”

“Does it scare you not knowing what the future holds?”

“Somewhat,” I admit. “I’m used to having my life scheduled. Right now, my publicist and father believe I’m off-script.”

She moves some food onto her plate. “Interesting choice of words.”

“I thought so too.”

“Is your life scripted?”

When I glance up, I see Sebastian heading toward us again carrying a bag of food. “Give me your hand.”

“Huh?”

I reach forward, interlocking our fingers, and rub my thumb against hers. Immediately, she leans forward and smiles, understanding. Sebastian walks past us and meets Autumn’s eyes then keeps going. I don’t pull away and neither does she.

“I’m sorry for putting you in this position,” she says as I keep her hand in mine.

“You say it like you’re a burden,” I mutter, letting her go. “You’re not.”

A blush hits her cheeks.

“I’ve never seen him so jealous,” she mutters. “It’s almost like he cared.”

“If the roles were reversed, I’d have realized how much I fucked up when I saw you with me. He should’ve never let you go. Now he understands that.”

“I wasn’t perfect in our relationship,” she admits.

“No one is. Sometimes we date people who bring out the best in us, sometimes they bring out the worst.” I pick up a chip with beef and sour cream and pop it into my mouth. “The goal is to avoid the latter.”

“Are you dating someone?” she asks.

“Other than you?” I shoot her a wink. “No. My ex broke me too.”

“Seems like we have a lot in common,” she says.

“Maybe too much.”

After we finish eating, I pay the bill and Autumn and I leave. As we walk down the street, I grab her hand and smile.

“Good call. He could be watching us right now,” she says, then holds my hand a little tighter. “You know, my life would be easier if people thought I was dating someone.”

“Is that the tequila talking?”

She shakes her head. “My parents, my friends, the fairy godmothers, everyone in my life wants me to move on from Sebastian and I haven’t. Having you close would clear me from putting myself out there, at least until the new year.”

I’ll do whatever I have to in order to stop that from happening.

“Do you want to negotiate?” I ask with a brow popped.

“That word again.” The warm glow of the streetlamp gives me the perfect view of her.

“If I go to my father’s wedding in two weeks, I’ll need a date for the ten days I’m there,” I breathe out. “My ex will be there and I’d love to give her a taste of the same medicine we delivered Sebastian. She’s made my life hell for six months and everyone is also convinced I’ll never move on. Be my girlfriend, let me propose, and have them eating out of our palms. In exchange, I’ll play boyfriend until you say stop.”

“Okay, and what happens when we don’t get married?”

I shrug. “We’ll just say it didn’t work out, like the others.”

“Others? How many times have you been engaged?”

“Twice. Both mistakes.”

“Oh,” she says. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m not,” I state, because I would’ve never met her.

“So, I have two weeks to get to know you well enough that the idea of us being together is at least believable?”

“Yep, and I have nothing to hide from you, so ask me anything, anytime.”

“You might regret saying that.” She chuckles then grows quiet. “This deal is unfair. I’m spending a week with you, and you have to hang out with me for months.”

“Trust me, it’s more than equal. You haven’t been around my family and acquaintances. Do you want time to think about it?”

She tilts her head at me, like she’s thinking about it. “No. I need a little adventure in my life and I’m curious what yours is like. Are you sure you won’t regret wasting your third engagement on me?”

This makes me laugh. “Nah. No one really expects me to get married, anyway. I’m hard to please, apparently.”

She smiles. “Same.”

“Oh, I forgot to mention that it’s being held at our private island resort in the Caribbean. We’ll have a villa close to the water and there will be plenty of beach time between events.”

Her mouth falls open. “I’m getting a much better deal.”

“Do you have your passport?”

“Of course I do.”

“Perfect. So, what do you say?” I ask.

She holds out her hand and we shake on it.

“No backing out,” she warns.

“Never.” A grin fills my face as I lift her knuckles to my lips and kiss them. “I finally met my equal.”

“Funny, because I was thinking the same thing.”

“With that being said.” Autumn pulls her hand away. “We should probably make some sort of rules to protect ourselves.”

“We can discuss it tomorrow night.”

People pass us on the sidewalk as we stand outside of her place. I overhear their chatter about the pumpkin patch and having apple cider.

“I’m glad I found you,” I say to her, looking forward to the day when we’re no longer strangers. It’s easy to imagine a whole life with her.

“You say it like I was lost.”

“You were.” The mood grows slightly serious and I have the urge to kiss her when she looks up at me like that. The same look she gave me the first time we met and back in her apartment. I want to know what she sees when she wears that expression. I have to know.

“I should go,” I whisper, placing my hand on her shoulder, stopping whatever could happen.

“Yeah,” she says, and we both instinctively take a step away from one another, then laugh.

The connection is deeper than I’d imagined it could be. “Good night,” I say.

“Good night,” she tells me, then walks up the stairs to her loft. Before walking in, she smiles.

The black cloud that’s been hanging over me temporarily disappears.

Roxie was wrong. I’m not off-script, I’m currently writing it.

Finally, I’m in control.