Falling For Autumn

Ajay turned to see Taheim and Winter enter the room looking as if they didn’t have a care in the world. There was also no mistaking that huge rock on her finger.

“So, baby bro, I guess you really didn’t waste any time getting a ring.”

“Are you kidding me?” Taheim said, never disconnecting his hand with Winter’s. “I couldn’t wait to put this ring on her finger and let everyone know that she is mine. The sooner men know she’s off the market, the better.”

As the newly engaged couple shared an intimate kiss, Ajay glanced over at Autumn just in time to see her mouth Told you. She was mouthing something else after that, but he didn’t catch the rest of her words. He was too busy admiring the way her lips moved. Pouty. Sensual. She must have noticed him staring, because she stopped moving her mouth and gave him an inquisitive look. He gave her a look right back as if to say, “Yes, I was looking. What are you going to do about it?”

“Did you hear what I just said?” Taheim asked, gaining back his attention.

“Sorry, what did you say?”

Taheim looked at Winter with a huge smile on his face. “We decided to get married next October.”

“Wow, congrats, bro,” Ajay said, leaning in for a hug. “That’s great.”

“Even better,” Winter said with a squeal, “we’ve chosen to have a destination wedding in Bora Bora.”

Ajay glanced over just in time to see Autumn slightly cringe at her statement. After what she’d just told him, he assumed she was probably thinking about all the unnecessary money the couple would spend on a destination wedding.

* * *

Autumn lightly squeezed the bridge of her nose, hoping that she was hearing her sister wrong. “That’s less than a year away. Isn’t that a bit soon for a wedding out of the country?”

Winter smiled. “What about saying congrats before you lecture me?”

“I’m sorry, sis.” The last thing Autumn wanted Winter to think was that she wasn’t happy about her engagement to Taheim. She walked over to give Winter a hug. “I’m so happy for you both and I think you’re perfect for each other.” Winter returned her hug while Taheim offered her a smile.

“So what made you both choose Bora Bora?”

Winter held Taheim’s eyes the entire time she spoke. “Well, I really wanted a destination wedding.”

“And I really wanted to get married someplace hot,” Taheim added.

“I wanted only our closest friends and family in attendance.”

“And I reminded her that even that number is larger than she may think.”

Oh, great, they’re already finishing each other’s sentences. On one hand, Autumn found it adorable, and on the other, she was surprised their relationship had escalated so fast.

“Neither one of us likes things to just be ordinary, so we knew we wanted to have a different type of wedding.”

“You mean different besides the fact that you want to have the wedding in Bora Bora?” Ajay asked.

“Oh, yeah,” Winter responded. “We’re talking different as in beach chic and sexy elegance complete with a masquerade beach theme and reception.”

Autumn was sure her mouth dropped, although she honestly shouldn’t be surprised. Winter was a free spirit who loved to make a statement, and judging by what she knew of Taheim, making a statement were his middle names.

“Can I ask how exactly you two came up with this wedding theme?”

“You could, sis, but I already know that any validation won’t change the fact that although you’re happy for us, you hate weddings.”

“Hate is a strong word. I think strongly dislike is more accurate.”

She heard Ajay huff, but refused to look in his direction. Being around him threw her off her game. Instead of sounding like an intelligent realist around Ajay, she came across as a babbling chatterbox.

“Autumn, despite how you feel, I want you by my side for my wedding.” Oh, no, here it goes. “It wouldn’t be the same if I didn’t have my sister and best friend right beside me on my special day, so I got you this.”

Trembling fingers accepted the teal-and-white box wrapped in a beautiful lace ribbon. She looked from the box to Winter, unable to keep from smiling after noticing the huge grin reflected on her sister’s face. When she opened the box, there was a photo of them when they were teenagers.

“Do you remember when we took that?” Winter asked.

“Of course.” It was the day after a lot of drama had happened with their parents and they had promised each other that if they found true love, they would be there for each other every step of the journey. When she lifted the photo, she noticed a custom wineglass and a small bottle of her favorite red wine with a note attached to it.

“You’ve already done a great job at helping me acknowledge my feelings for Taheim,” Winter said as she watched Autumn read the card. “I need you by my side. I need you to be my maid of honor.”

Autumn couldn’t help the emotion she felt in her heart. “Of course I will, sis.” As they hugged, she glanced over her shoulder in time to see Taheim ask Ajay to be his best man. After he agreed, Ajay caught her eye and for the first time tonight, her dislike for weddings wasn’t her most prominent thought. Instead, she was trying to calculate approximately how much time the best man and maid of honor would have to spend together. Spending any amount of time with a man as handsome as Ajay was enough to make a woman like her lose her ability to think straight.

Chapter 1 (#ulink_d63df629-cc03-5b43-b559-1f50db384b0f)

Eight months later...

I need you to be by my side. I need you to be my maid of honor. Autumn Dupree couldn’t seem to forget her sister’s words no matter how hard she tried.

“You must be so excited for your sister.”

Autumn downed the rest of the champagne in her glass before facing the enthusiastic voice. “Of course I am,” she replied through gritted teeth. “All this love, happiness and months of planning ahead for a single twenty-four-hour day. Who wouldn’t be happy, right?” The perky woman blinked her eyes a few times before abruptly walking away.

“Maybe you can work on a stiff smile and refrain from the sarcasm until after the engagement party.”

Autumn rolled her eyes at her friend and store manager of Bare Sophistication lingerie boutique, Danni Allison. “I refuse to pretend to believe in weddings when I don’t.”

“But you agreed to be the maid of honor, and in doing so, Winter expects you to at least pretend to be happy for her.”

“I am happy for her.” Autumn shifted from one leg to the other in frustration as she glanced around the crowded Reed family home. “But this is too much fuss for one freaking day. I mean, what’s in the Chicago water we’ve been drinking, because since I moved here a few years ago, there have been more engagement parties than I can count. And we already had an engagement party for Winter and Taheim right after they were engaged months ago, so I don’t even know what this is.”

“Taheim’s mom had a bunch of old college friends in town and she wanted to do something special for her soon-to-be daughter-in-law. Especially since a lot of people won’t be going to Bora Bora for the wedding. Didn’t you read the email I sent you?”

She turned up her eyebrows at Danni. “You know, studies show you only have thirty seconds to intrigue a reader, and that booklet of wedding stuff you sent me lost my interest within the first five seconds.”

“You should have been the person putting that so-called booklet together. I’m just a bridesmaid.”

“You’re already aware that I’ve been hosting a lot of our Bare Sophistication masquerade lingerie parties while Taheim and Winter have been on tour showcasing all their designs from their own clothing and lingerie lines. You told me it wouldn’t be a problem.”

“It isn’t a big deal, but at the very least, I expect you to read what I email you.”

“Last I checked, fifteen percent of engagements are called off anyway, so I figured it would be a waste reading something that may not even be relevant in a few months.”

“You’re lucky I appreciate your snarky attitude,” Mya Winters-Madden said as she approached the women with Lex Turner-Madden walking beside her. “Otherwise, I’d have some real issues with that statement.”