Page 69 of His Vivacious Angel
“Schmuck, schmuck,” Sebastian repeats, smiling up at me, though it sounds more like,“smuck, smuck.”
Well, that confirms it. Bryce must know everything. I tell him, “I love her, and there’s nothing indecisive about me.”
Bryce clicks his tongue. “Love, huh? She know that?”
“Not yet.”Because I’ve been a schmuck,I finish silently. “But give me anotherweek, and she will.”
“Why a week?” Bryce asks.
“As I said, I have a plan.”
Bryce cuts a look to the side, and I follow his gaze to Autumn and Josephine making their way back to the table. “For the sake of her and the—” He clears his throat. “The kids, good luck to you, brother.”
Brother.Guess I’ve not only won Autumn’s family’s approval but his as well. All that’s left is to win Autumn’s.
“We’re ready to head out,” Autumn says, rubbing her cute, full belly after eating more than half of our shared meal and the largest portion of the Big Ol’ Brownie I ordered for the table.
“He smuck,” Sebastian says, smiling even wider when he looks at her.
She raises a brow at me. “What’s a smuck?”
“Schmuck,” Bryce says with a shit-eating grin, and my cheeks burn.
“Sometimes,” Autumn says with a snort, lifting Benjamin when he reaches for her, and settling him on her hip.
Bryce stands and tickles Benjamin under his chin. “Don’t you two paint quite the picture, sun—” He stops himself in the nick of time. “Looks good on you.”
Dammit.
“What does?” she asks, swaying side to side, rubbing my son’s back when he rests his head on her shoulder. I’m not the only one who loves her.
“The baby,” Bryce says. When Autumn’s eyes flare wide, he says, “Benny,” as if to clarify.
“Oh. Yeah. Thanks.” Autumn chuckles nervously, darting a peek at me before quickly looking away.
My Spidey-senses are tingling, though I’m not sure why. Am I missing something?
Outside in the parking lot, Josephine pushes between Autumn and Bryce when the two say their goodbyes, huggingfor longer than either of our liking, especially when Bryce slips his hands low on Autumn’s back. This jealousy of mine is a new development since meeting Autumn—one I’ve not experienced before—and I need to keep a leash on it. Autumn would never tolerate this kind of behavior, as she shouldn’t, and it would only drive her further away.
Josephine says to Bryce with a sneer, “K, bye.” She physically pushes Autumn toward my SUV parked a few spots over. Bryce laughs when Autumn whispers something to Josephine, and Josephine slinks back. “Sorry for being rude,” she says with a slight curl of her upper lip. She doesn’t wait for Bryce’s forgiveness before spinning on a heel and flipping her hair over her shoulder. She learned that move from Autumn, who huffs and shakes her head but allows Josephine to push her onward.
Bryce pulls the brim of his hat down low over his eyes. “Seems you’re not the only one who doesn’t like me,” he says as we linger at the back of his truck.
Luckily for me, I take it that big trucks, cowboy hats, and square-toe boots aren’t Autumn’s type. It’s the lanky nerds and polished brogues that must do it for her. I can’t help but smile. “I like you just fine.”
“Yeah, now you do,” he says with a chuckle. “Thought things were going to come to blows, at first.”
“There’s a first time for everything,” I tell him, then flick the brim of my imaginary cowboy hat and leave him to join Autumn, who’s helping Benjamin and Josephine get buckled into their seats.
I pass Sebastian to her, admiring the view of her backside in her tight skirt and high heels as she buckles him in next. When she twists and closes the door, I want to set my hands on her hips and sweep her into a kiss, but I push my hands into my pockets. For now. Sweeping her off her feet will come later if all things goas planned.
The wind picks up with the incoming storm that’s supposed to bring cooler weather to the region just in time for Christmas. It’ll be a sad day when Autumn has to trade in her trouble-making, Forest-killing dresses for something warmer. I make a mental note to buy a space heater for the office so she won’t have to cover up so much at work.
“It’s getting dark, and it’s supposed to start raining soon,” I say, making a greater effort to keep my hands to myself since my fingers keep twitching with the desire to cup and caress her jaw. “Come home with us. I’ll have your car delivered.”
Her inner debate is quickly settled when the sky opens up and starts sprinkling. “Thanks,” she murmurs, skirting to the side, her purse clutched to her chest to keep it from getting wet.
The drive home is quiet but peaceful, what with Josephine no longer chatting Autumn’s ear off, now that Bryce is no longer around. I’ve missed having Autumn in my passenger seat, and now that I have her, some of the tension I’ve been carrying for weeks eases. When we get home, I don’t ask Autumn to help me with getting the kids inside. Neither do I try to get her to stay longer when she does so on her own.
