Page 52 of Beau & Autumn

It’s Eden’s car. Oh, thank God. She jumps out a second later and hurries over to me.

“Hun, are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I sigh. Running a hand through my hair. “I hit something back there, I think it was a plank of wood. It must have had a nail sticking out of it. And my car was making weird noises.”

“Can you call roadside assistance?”

“Yeah, I was just about to give them a call. I’m meant to be meeting Beau in town.”

“I can give you a ride if you like?”

“Thanks, that’d be great.”

I press the lock on my fob as I walk with Eden to her car, quickly typing a text to Beau that I’m running a few minutes late. I’ll tell him the story when I get to the cafe.

“Thank God you came along when you did.”

“Tell me about it.” She smiles as we both jump in. Noodle is sitting on the passenger seat in her fluffy bed. Eden scoops her up as I slide in, lifting her little bed and sitting it on my lap after I’ve got my seatbelt in place. “You don’t mind if she sits on your knee?”

“Not at all.” I laugh, giving her Maltese a little tickle. She sits up, nudges into me with her head, circles, and flops back down as Eden pulls the car out again. “Aren’t you a beautiful girl, little Noodle. Yes you are! Yes you are!”

“If you keep crooning to her like that, she’ll expect it for the rest of the day.” Eden looks toward her dog with an affectionate smile.

“I’ll take her any day,” I sigh.

“Sucks about your car.”

“If only they were the half of it,” I say. I don’t know how much to divulge to Eden before I speak to Beau. She’s also one of my best friends, so maybe I should just delve into the feelings part first, not mention our crazy marriage thing Beau and I are about to discuss in five minutes.

“You’re not stressing about all the work you have coming up, are you?”

I smile as I look at my friend, the afternoon rays bouncing off the auburn tinge in her hair. “No, it’s not that…” She’s a Bassett after all, given that she’s married to one, maybe she’ll have some insight for me. “I like someone,” I say. “That’s the complicated bit.”

“Oh, really? You make that sound like it’s a bad thing.”

I’m sure my friends will be pleased since I’ve been wallowing in the wake of cheating Michael, and haven't thought much about getting on the dating bandwagon since splitting up with him.

“When I tell you who it is, you might not be saying that.”

Her quick glance tells me she’s trying to gauge a tell-tale sign in my face, like the answer is just going to appear there. “Aut?”

I sigh, never one for being able to draw things out. “Just lately I’ve been having some deeper feelings for Beau,” I whisper. I know I’ve talked to Carrie about it just the other day, but Eden deserves to know too.

Her eyes widen slightly. “Beau?”

I rest back in my seat, one hand still brushing little Noodle’s back as she snooze’s happily all the way to town. “Yes, Beau.”

“Wait! I thought the auction thing was… I knew it!” She bangs a hand on the steering wheel.

“You knew what?”

“Brook was saying something about it not long ago. He thought Beau had a thing for you and I waved it off. I told him just because you both get on really well and have for years, doesn't mean you have to be romantic or can’t just be friends. Then at the auction, I could see something between you.”

“Wait, what?”

“He kept staring at you, A.”

Brook thought Beau had a thing for me?

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