Page 85 of Ms Perfectly Fine
Autumn buried her head in her hands. He pulled them away. “You never have to hide anything from me.”
His earnest eyes, so loving, steadied her breathing. She didn’t know how she was ever going to show him how much his support meant to her. “I wanted to be the one to tell you, but…I don’t think I can go over it again,” she said, exhausted by the reality of it all.
“We don’t have to talk about it now. Aiden will be round in the morning. I just need to know if you’re okay.”
“I’m afraid.” She chewed her lips, worried she would burst into tears. He snuggled her close, letting her talk. “What if facing it only makes it worse? You didn’t see how pleading Heather was. I’m beginning to question whether it was her, and…if it isn’t, then I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
“Why don’t we face it together? You don’t have to do it alone,” he said, pulling the blanket tight around them as if it would shield them from what was to come. “I’m right here beside you.”
“Okay. Together,” she agreed, finally accepting that she wouldn’t have to face another hardship alone.
Secure in each other’s embrace, they drifted off.
Chapter Thirty
Autumn
THE FOLLOWING MORNING, Autumn sat on the counter while Elijah made eggs Benedict. They’d barely got any sleep after spending most of the night talking about nothing and eating the cake she’d made. She was already on her second tea but she had never felt better. Waking up beside Elijah was her new favourite ritual.
A part of her worried it would have to come to an end eventually. But she didn’t want to ruin what time they had together and had decided to follow her heart, even if she was terrified he would break it.
Any thoughts of heartbreak were quickly forgotten by her fascination with his bare forearms as he finished making the creamiest hollandaise she had ever tasted.Why is it so sexy when men cook?
“I thought you couldn’t cook?” she asked, watching him put the toast under the grill.
“My roommate in college was studying culinary arts. It’s the one thing I make well,” he told her, slinging a tea towel over his shoulder like the professional he wasn’t. “Plus, I had to thank you for making such a delicious cake.”
He caught her staring, and she couldn’t help but laugh.
“See something you like?” he asked, standing between her legs at the counter. She wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing her lips to his, not minding the scrape of his morning stubble. He groaned as she nipped at his lower lip. “Do you want breakfast or not?” he asked, his voice husky with desire.
Though she thought she would never get enough of his lips, she was hungry for more than him. “I’m starving.”
His eyes ran over her body like she was the meal, and she nudged him away.
“For food,” she clarified.
He winked. “Food—right.”
They were interrupted by the doorbell, and Autumn groaned, annoyed by the interruption as he left her to answer it. Elijah reappeared with Aiden, who, from the dark circles under his eyes, hadn’t slept much.
“Thank you for coming so early,” Elijah said.
“No problem. It’s best if we can get started right away,” Aiden said, and Elijah led him to the couch.
Autumn thought of all that had transpired between them since he’d moved in and hoped Aiden hadn’t heard everything. Stealing Elijah’s credit card might have been a joke, but it was a crime.
“Thank you for handling this personally; I’m sure you have a lot on your plate,” she said. Francis had mentioned to Elijah how he was already dealing with two big cases; she didn’t know how he did it with a toddler in the mix.
“No need to thank me. Elijah is like family. Hopefully, I can help make this less of a daunting experience for you.” From the way he was looking at her, she sensed Elijah had told him about her accident.
She wasn’t sure where to begin. She’d kept everything to herself for so long, it felt weird to talk about it out loud. Elijah put together the eggs Benedict as Aiden talked and gave it to Autumn. Though she didn’t have much of an appetite, thanks to the subject matter.
Aiden opened his laptop and placed it on the glass table. “Who knew about what was happening? About the roses?”
“No one. I kept it to myself. Well, the first time one appeared three years ago, I asked around the theatre, but no one said they’d sent it. I assumed it was just sent to the wrong address, so I didn’t dwell on it. Then, the following year, on the date of my accident, another appeared, so I thought it might have been someone trying to do something nice.” She shrugged, feeling stupid now.
“What about your parents? Did you tell them what was going on?” Aiden asked, typing her responses.
