Chapter 19
nineteen
AUTUMN
Trey: Rise and shine, honey.
Autumn: I’m already at the shop, babe.
Trey: Already?? Damn. You’re up early.
Autumn: Couldn’t sleep
Trey:
God damn it.
What was I thinking? Showing up at Zeke’s doorstep in the middle of a thunderstorm, thinking I’d—what?
Get a nice little hug out of him and then curl up on the opposite side of the bed?
Get a sweet little kiss on the forehead?
Obviously, I wasn’t thinking either of those things.
I know perfectly well what I hoped would happen when I pounded on his door, and I got my wish.
And now I’m freaking out a little. He says he won’t tell anyone, but how should I know?
What if he tells one of his brothers? Or even some other guy in town?
Hawthorne Bay is tiny. I’m already nervous about how Lydia will react if she ever finds out, but if this gets back to Sue…
Holy hell, she’ll be spreading that shit around right and left, making me out to be some kind of cougar whore.
“So Lydia said she’d been to visit The Grove, but I told her their waitstaff is atrocious.
” Trey’s voice cuts into my thoughts and I come jolting back to reality.
We’re at the boutique again, putting together gift bags for the show next weekend.
But my brain is… not present. “Did she not tell you she booked a visit there? You could’ve saved her the trip. ”
“Huh?”
I’m also feeling bad about how I left this morning. But isn’t that how you do it? Isn’t that how he does it? I’m pretty sure if I hadn’t left, Zeke would’ve nudged me out not long after. He would’ve said he had to get going, be somewhere. It’s going to be fine.
Trey reaches for an empty gift bag. He eyes me suspiciously. “Did you even hear a word I just said?”
“Yes.” My mind flashes through the audio of the last thirty seconds, trying to grab onto anything I can. “Lydia. Wedding. Grove.”
“Hmm.” Trey just looks at me, then goes right on stuffing gift bags. “Well, you should’ve clued her in. I told her I recommend the Salt House, but she’s going to chat with Dustin tomorrow at the clambake, let him know what kind of event she’s thinking.”
“That’ll be great,” I agree. I pull my scissors to the end of a piece of curling ribbon and let go with a satisfying flick. My head’s back in this conversation, and I really need to keep it there. “Thank you so much for offering to help. I know she really appreciates it.”
Trey waves a hand, grinning. “What are friends for, love? Dustin may be the most sought-after wedding planner in Boston, but friends always take precedence.”
I cast him a wry smile. “Well, I’m glad to know getting divorced didn’t max out my favor with Dustin. Must kind of suck to know that lavish event he planned for me fell to nothing in the end.”
“Happens all the time, babe,” Trey says, clucking his tongue at me.
“Wow. Cynical.”
“Realistic. Anyway, how’s everything else going?”
“Well, you were right about Zeke being good for business. He tagged the shop in a TikTok the other day, and since then foot traffic’s been up.”
"Right on. You let him film his ghost thing yet?”
My stomach does a flip, my mind flashing back to how wild and undone Zeke looked, lying back on my living room rug as the ghost went to work on him. As we went to work on him.
Goddammit, Trey.
“Yeah,” I say, trying not to let on like the filming of said ghost thing was any big deal. Like there wasn’t, you know, a blow job involved. “The footage wasn’t great, though, so he’s gotta come back this week.”
Trey’s brow furrows. “Wait, really? Like the ghost just didn’t show up? That’s weird. It always looks on TikTok like he sees them everywhere he goes.”
“Yeah, I don’t know. He didn’t really explain it to me.”
“Huh. Well, keep me posted. I am so curious to see how this shit pans out.”
“You can ask him yourself next weekend,” I point out.
“True,” Trey says. “Oh, which reminds me—you got all the pieces altered to fit him, right? I’m assuming so, but just want to cross it off our list.”
“Mmhm,” I hum in reply, not trusting my voice not to crack. Because now I’m thinking about that massive erection Zeke got while I was measuring him for said alterations.
Trey sets down the gift bag he’s working on and turns to face me head-on. I feel the color rising in my cheeks, but Trey’s going to know something’s up if I turn away from him. Hell, he already knows.
“What’s your deal today?” he asks, crossing his arms and surveying me from his seat in my swivel chair. “You’re cagey as hell.”
“What do you mean?” I deadpan. “I’m just tired. Maybe it’s that?”
Trey stares at me for a moment, then a grin of amused disbelief spreads across his face. “You. Did. Not.”
Oh, god. Play it cool, Autumn. “Did not what?”
Trey’s swiveling back and forth in the chair now, shaking his head in amusement. “You slept with Zeke Holloway.”
I scoff, but I can already tell he’s not fooled. “What makes you think that?”
“Well,” Trey says, steepling his fingers and twiddling his thumbs like he’s pretending to think. “For starters, your head’s clearly somewhere else today. Which isn’t like you—especially when you’re working on something for your business.”
“I told you. I’m tired—”
“Okay, but at the first mention of Zeke—or, as I think I referred to him, that kid—you started squirming. So now I wonder… does Zeke Holloway have anything to do with you being tired, Autumn?”
With the way Trey’s fixed his raised eyebrows on me, I honestly can’t tell if he’s judging me or proud of me. But either way, I know the jig is up. I should’ve known better. Nothing gets past Trey Harrington.
“He might,” I concede, my cheeks burning. I know it’s hypocritical of me to be telling Trey when I asked Zeke not to tell anyone, but Trey guessed. It’s not like I came out and volunteered this information.
Trey claps his hands together in triumph, lets out a cackle. “Oh, my god. I knew it! I knew when I saw that little dance video on his TikTok that you were a goner.”
I scowl at him. “Oh, don’t act like you wouldn’t have gone for it, too.”
“Ma’am,” Trey says, bringing a hand to his chest in feigned shock. “I am married.”
“Well,” I say, waggling my ringless left hand at him. “In case you forgot, I am not—and therefore am free to do as I please.”
“And it pleased you to fuck a hot little twerp. I get it.” Trey raises his hands in innocence. “Look, I’m not judging. I just think you’ve gotta be careful. Like, keep that shit under wraps. The situation and his dick.”
“Rude,” I say, making a face. I know Zeke’s probably had a lot of partners, but I still don’t appreciate what Trey’s implying. I feel… protective.
Trey shrugs. “Just saying. Anyway, I need details. Was it as good as he acts like it’d be?”
I suck in a sharp breath, which makes Trey grin. “Good is an understatement.”
“Hell yeah,” Trey says, slapping the desk with his palm. “You know what? Good for you. I still think you could’ve picked someone a little less… feral… but hey. We’ll take it. It’s about time you got a good dicking.”
“God, I know.” I’m feeling a little giddy, now that Trey’s in the know and hasn’t gone too far into lecture mode. “It’s been so fucking long, and Trey, it was so good. Like, easily the best lay of my life.”
Trey raises an eyebrow. “Impressive. Not bad for a twerp.”
“Stop calling him that,” I say, picking a piece of invisible lint off my elbow. “He’s not that young. And really, he’s not that much of a—”
“Oh, no,” Trey cuts me off. “Oh, no, no, no, no. We are not starting with any of that—that—that justification stuff. Autumn. You are an accomplished woman. You have a business. You have a fashion line. You have an adult-ass life. If you want to spend a weekend fucking a hot, young piece of ass, fine. You do you. But you can’t turn this into a thing.
You do not need your heart broken again. ”
Ah. There it is. Lecture mode, activated.
“I knooooow,” I whine. “It won't be a thing. It was one time, Trey. One time.” I hold up a finger. “Just be happy for me!”
“I am over the moon for you!” Trey waves his arms in the air. “I just love you. I don’t want you to get hurt—and I don’t think Zeke Holloway even knows what the word commitment means.”
“Which is perfect,” I say. Because it is. Never once has Zeke led me to believe anything else, nor would I want him to. “I’m not looking for commitment. And anyway, I scratched the itch. I got it out of my system. Promise.”
Trey looks doubtful, but nods. “Okay, that’s good to hear. And don’t worry—my lips are sealed. I’ll pretend I know nothing when I see him next weekend. Even though I am dying to know… um… certain details pertaining to size.”
With a snort, I slap Trey on the arm. “None of your business.”
No way am I going there with him. It’s not that I haven’t shared those kinds of details with Trey in the past, but this feels…
private somehow. Like, if I’m going to ask Zeke to keep our having slept together a secret while telling my friend about it, I can at least have the decency to not describe his anatomy in detail.
Trey doesn’t argue, and we continue our work, my worries about having slept with Zeke fading into the background.
After all, in the grand scheme of things, it was nothing.
Zeke’s had more one night stands than he can even remember, I’m sure, and I had a couple of my own, too, back in college.
It’s natural. Normal. Nothing to get weird about.
He’ll come over this week to re-film his pilot, and the tension will be out of our systems.
It’s all good.
The prep work for the show is pretty close to finished, and I feel the flutter of nerves in my stomach every time I think about it.
Trey confirmed he was able to snag a column about the new line in the style section of next Sunday’s edition of the Boston Current, complete with photos from the previous day’s event.
Everything is coming together, and I’m so, so grateful.
I can feel it in my bones: This show is going to kick my new life as a single woman into high gear. This is the start of a new life chapter, and goddamnit, I deserve it.