Pieces of Us - Carrie Elks Page 0,55
to date where you worked, even if it was way too late for her and Griff. He pulled her in every time she looked at him. Made her heart skip like a kid whenever he was close.
No wonder Carla was upset. If Autumn were in her position, she would be, too.
“I’m sorry,” Autumn said softly.
“It’s okay. And I should go. Dad will be wondering where I am.” Carla’s smile was tight. “I guess I’ll see you around.”
“Sure.”
Autumn watched as Carla walked out of her office, then stared at the closed wooden door, her eyes tracing the knots and lines in the grain.
Her relationship – or whatever it was – with Griff was starting to feel like a bubble. One she had to carefully guard from the people wanting to burst it.
Her father. Carla. Maybe even Josh. Everyone seemed to want to break her fragile happiness.
She was determined not to let them.
Mike was finishing sweeping the deck when Griff’s phone rang. He pulled his cell from his jeans pocket and blinked when he saw the caller.
“Dad?” he said, lifting the phone to his ear. “Is everything okay?”
For a minute, just one small minute, he thought his dad might be calling to wish him a belated happy birthday.
“Yeah, I’m good,” his dad said gruffly. “We’re having some work done on the bathroom, and your mom’s sent me to the hardware store. Just trying to work out what kind of damn cabinet she won’t hate.”
Griff swallowed down a laugh. He could only imagine her response if his dad got the wrong one.
“Anyway,” his dad continued. “I only have a couple of minutes, but I wanted to ask a favor.”
“What kind of favor?”
“It’s Sam. His boat’s a mess and he needs to take it over to the marina. I’m hoping you can help him.”
Sam was one of his dad’s old friends. The same one they visited in Silver Sands not long ago.
“Ah, yeah, sure. When does he want to go?”
“Tonight. It’ll only take a couple of hours. You can do it, can’t you?”
Griff glanced at his watch. The marina was about three hours up the coast, add into that the time it’ll take them to drive back again and that was his evening gone.
“Yeah, sure, I can help. I’ll give him a call.”
“That’s great. I gotta go. Your mom sends her love.”
Griff opened his mouth to say goodbye, but his dad had already hung up. It was the first time they’d spoken in months and he hadn’t even bothered to say it.
After all this time, Griff was used to that.
“What’s with the long face?” Ally asked as Autumn leaned on the Déjà Brew counter and watched her expertly work the coffee machine.
“Ah nothing. Just feeling overworked.”
Ally passed her the steaming mug, and Autumn took it gratefully.
“I know how that feels. I’ve been working since five. Two of our staff are off with that bug going around. And Nate’s in Seattle for some meetings, which means I’m pretty much working for four.” She tipped her head to the side. “I know! We should have a girl’s night to decompress. Maybe we can head to the mall first for a little bit of retail therapy, then go to the Mexican restaurant nearby.” She grinned. “I’ll call Ember and the girls. What do you say?”
Autumn grinned. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been on a girls’ night out. “That sounds good. I need some new shoes.”
“I heard you had a shoe thing.” Ally leaned on the counter. “How many do you have?”
“Here or in New York?”
Ally’s smile widened. “I need a total.”
Autumn took a sip of coffee as she made the mental calculation. “Um, maybe a hundred?”
“Seriously?” Ally’s mouth dropped open. “I have about twenty and Nate already complains about them taking up too much space in the closet.”
“I guess that’s the beauty of being divorced.” Autumn shrugged, her eyes dancing. “Or maybe the reason for it.”
Ally chuckled. “In that case, we definitely have to go shoe shopping. I know a couple of great places. The mall’s open until nine, and the restaurant is open until midnight. It’s meant to be.”
“You had me at shoe shopping,” Autumn told her as her phone beeped with a message. A glance at the screen told her it was from Griff.
“Great. I’ll pick you up once I close up at seven. Don’t wear anything too glamorous. It’ll put me to shame.” Ally beamed.
“See you later.” Autumn lifted her free hand, carrying her coffee with the other.
When she got outside, she