Total pages in book: 156
Estimated words: 145676 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 728(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145676 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 728(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
“You’re frustrating me, Robert.”
“No, I’m thinking.”
“No, you’re making me angry.”
Yeah, okay, he was doing that too. On purpose. He grinned as he said, “I would like the honor of standing in and walking you down whatever aisle Nonnie has created. I truly like that idea. We aren’t as alone as it sometimes feels. We have each other, and I’d like to be there by your side when you take this next step in life.”
“That’s all you had to say.” Autumn nodded once and turned back to the French fries.
“So, let’s negotiate this with Nonnie. What else are you two butting heads over?” Robert asked, tucking his trash inside the bag before crossing one leg over the other. He tilted his face toward the warm sun and closed his eyes.
“If the weather holds, I would like to have the wedding along the back edge of the property, not on the terrace. You know the spot where the ocean meets the corner of the property? She’s very against it, says the winds are too unpredictable there, but I don’t care. I think the problem is more that the land is harder for her to navigate. I wouldn’t be opposed to having everyone watch from decorated golf carts. She’d never have to get out of her cart. She’s the one making this an elegant affair. She’s hired a quartet, Robert. Me? A quartet…seriously?” Yep, he’d unwittingly opened a flood gate. Autumn had worked herself up so much that the food she claimed to crave was left untouched. “We should have just eloped.”
“How many people are invited?”
“You, Landon, Sophia, Tom, and Cam’s mom and dad, his two brothers, one has a wife,” she said, counting off with her fingers.
“Christine and Nicole?” Robert asked. Both were Sophia’s daughters and technically their half-sisters.
“Christine’s in India teaching English. She’s met a man and getting married there, I think. Nicole is touring Europe with her band.”
He nodded at that one. Nicole was an anthropologist who’d dropped everything to sing in a techno-folk band. “How’s that going?”
“Apparently they’re all the rage in Europe. I like the music,” she said with a nod.
“Have I heard it?” he asked, trying to remember.
“How would I know that except you were in a really bad place, so I doubt it. I was thinking about you being an extra on the Walking Dead with how zombie-like you were.” The immediate silly grin, and the way she let that sit between them for maybe as long fifteen seconds, showed how proud she was of her joke. “Too soon?”
“No, but you aren’t funny,” Robert added dryly, knowing her words were too close to the truth.
“How’s Landon?” she asked in that same happy tone.
“I’m not sure I’ve ever truly confronted you about your matchmaking,” he said, though he’d called her out from the beginning, but all by text.
“Now, hang on. I did that for you. I just didn’t want to lose him before you opened your eyes to what you were missing. So, I technically wasn’t matchmaking. I was keeping him close. I don’t think he would have stayed in your house and been there like he was if I hadn’t built that relationship with him. He seems resistant to taking anything from anyone.”
Robert gave an almost silent grunt at that one. “That’s an understatement.”
“Is he going to fit, Robert? You’re very complicated and run in high circles,” she asked seriously, and it was a valid question. He’d walked away from his world, done everything he could think of, and Landon was still so uncomfortable at times.
“He’s already struggling with it all, and we’ve barely left my house. We’ll both have to compromise when we need to.” That thought gave him a bit of worry and anxiety, so he left that right there and thought about the positives between them. “He fits me very well—the real me or maybe the me I’m just getting to know. I feel different when I’m around him, and I like that person. He makes me happy. I’m crazy about him.”
“I can tell. I knew you would be.” She looked very proud of herself, and just like that, the food was back to being the main focus.
“Autumn, if things work out like I hope they do, he’s going to be with us for a long time,” Robert confessed as she continued eating.
“I know. I knew after the first time he and I spoke. You have such passion in you. I’m surprised you haven’t pulled a Dad move and tied him down yet.” She took a bite and chewed while eyeing him. When he stayed silent, her eyes grew big. She put the napkin to her lips, covering her full mouth as she spoke. “Have you considered putting a ring on it?”
Robert dug inside his pocket, pulling out a small ring box he’d been hiding. He opened the lid and showed her the ring he planned on giving Landon. “I picked it up on the way here.” He’d seen it in a window some time ago and known it would be perfect. He had called the jeweler and had them hold it for him.