Page 97 of Beau & Autumn

She nods triumphantly. “So hearing this, I’m thrilled to know you feel the same way.”

“I’m sorry.” A silent tear slips from my eye. “It’s not an excuse, but after Michael, I was scared to put myself out there again, especially with my best friend.”

“You can thank me now.” Carrie smiles smugly, folding her arms across her chest. “Since I came up with the idea and all.”

I reach over and squeeze her hand. “You’re right. It was the craziest suggestion I’ve ever heard, but if I hadn't blurted it out to Beau that night after the roast, maybe we wouldn’t be here now.”

“My God, you are actually in love, Aut. It’s written all over your face.” Eden smiles.

I hold my face in my hands, I know I’m glowing, and it has nothing to do with the red wine. “I am,” I say as my friends crowd me and we share a group hug. “We both are.”

“Now tell me he’s packing south of the border!” Carrie rubs her hands together excitedly.

“Carrie!”

“Come on! E spilled and said Brook was hung like a horse, is Beau too? Please dear God tell me he is. Then we can all say we have husbands with big dicks!”

Eden lifts her hands and pretends to block her ears.

I sigh, resigning to the fact I won’t get Carrie off my back until I spill.

“Fine. He’s almost too well endowed,” I say. “And yes, hung like a horse is a complete understatement.”

Carrie bangs her fist down on the table. “I knew it!”

Eden laughs and raises her glass. “Aside from TMI about my brother-in-law, I’m happy for you. Both of you.”

I lift up my glass too and we hold them in the middle once more.

“To Autumn, and to the gorgeous men we’re married to. The big dicks thing is just a bonus,” Carrie hoots through a cupped hand.

“Here, here!” I sing-song.

“I’ll drink to that,” Eden laughs.

We clink in the center and tuck into our pizza while Eden puts another into the oven and I fill them in on everything that happened during the week, including the details of my spat with my mom and the way my dad interjected. That leads into how well things went with Anton and my grandmother. Everything is out on the table now with no more secrets and no more cover ups.

It feels so good spilling everything to my friends. I can finally be an open book with them and not have to hide anything.

Something resembling excitement also pools in my belly thinking about getting back to Beau tonight and sharing our bed. I can’t wait to get back to him. I never thought I’d be the kind of woman to miss my guy even after a couple of hours being apart, but I do. I miss him so damned much.

??

I park just outside Beau’s garage just after ten-thirty. I can see his casita is dark, but that he left a little lamp on for me, knowing I’d walk through the garage into the house; just another cute thing I adore about Beau. The soft golden glow lights up the area around the shelves lined with his art supplies, along with a dozen easels spread around the small space. Some of the easels are empty, some have blank canvases and some are half finished. I always knew Beau had a talent for drawing, but in all the time I’ve known him, he’s never shown me his work. I edge a little closer; an enormous canvas propped up on a long wooden bench piques my interest. It’s covered up with an old sheet.

There’s two finished sketches on easels; one a beautiful sunset by the creek with every color of orange and gold that I could imagine, another is a sketch over the distillery with the little barn in the distance with the roving hills and valleys of the farm. The blue and orange sky melt amongst the lush green grass and a forest of trees that expand over the landscape. I never knew he could do this so well. He’s really, really good.

I glance down to several other canvases on his long art table, all smaller in size compared to the one covered and propped up against the wall.

I stare at the first one for a second. Is that… my cat?

It’s manga style, something I know Beau loves. And it’s obvious now that it’s Bruiser because his light gray fur sticks out every which way, his white paws clawing animatedly like he’s leaping ferociously. He has a crown on his head set with a sparkly jewel in the center which looks like a sapphire. It sets off the little cape around his neck which is colored in a sapphire blue, the same color as the jewel.

I glance to the canvas next to it and see a female dressed in warrior clothes. Her long dark hair whipping around her shoulders. Large, dark almond eyes. Full lips. Long dark lashes.

Holy shit… It’s me… I stare at the picture; the colors he’s chosen are bold and vibrant. But then there’s another next to it just in black and white, showing the same girl from another angle. And as I keep moving down the table, I see another sketch of similar variety, followed by another and another. Holy shit. It’s me as a superhero.

I glimpse up to the huge canvas covered by the sheet and reach for the corner, gently lifting it up to take a peek. I gasp when I see the same warrior type woman, with long flowing brown hair and dark eyes, only this time she’s holding a sword behind her shoulder like she’s about to strike. Bruiser is right there next to… um… me, with his cape flying in the wind and his claws stretched out like he’s launching through the air about to pounce.

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