“I can loan you three thousand,” Autumn answered.
“That’s it?” He quirked his lips.
“That’s all I have. I’m sorry,” she said.
“Then I guess it’ll have to do. See if you can get another grand or so, okay? It’s for our future—remember that. I’ll need it by tomorrow though, can you swing it?”
“Yeah, I’ll take it from one of my bank accounts.”
“Cool, but try and scrounge up another thousand.” He winked. “Love you.”
For the next hour, Bret had gotten so drunk and loud that by the time they’d finished dinner and exited the restaurant, he was in one of the foulest liquor-induced moods she’d ever seen. When she suggested they call a Lyft, he disagreed with her very loudly. The valet stood sentry as if waiting to see who would win the argument.
In the end, Autumn wound up taking a Lyft by herself, while Bret stubbornly insisted he could drive and refused to go with her. By the time she arrived home, her stomach was in knots, and she worried endlessly about Bret making it home safely. She repeatedly called his number until he finally picked up and told her to “leave him the fuck alone.” Autumn had, at least, managed to get him to tell her he was at his apartment, which eased her mind.
“How did such a perfect night end so shitty?” she asked aloud.
Cinder curled up against Autumn on the couch after she had changed her clothes, washed her face, and poured herself a glass of red wine. As she sipped it, Chains flitted through her mind as he’d been doing since she’d first met him. When Autumn had told him she was engaged, she could’ve sworn she saw an angry, betrayed look flash in his eyes. And then he asked if Christina was engaged. That question had played through her head for the rest of the day.
To Autumn’s surprise, she felt an unexpected twinge of jealousy as she wondered whether Chains had asked Christina out on a date. The reaction surprised and frightened her. It wasn’t any of her business if he made plans with the tech, and Autumn certainly shouldn’t be feeling jealous, especially since she was engaged and planning a wedding.
“Why am I feeling so restless?” she asked her cat, who just stared and then nuzzled against her. After the night she’d had with Bret, she wondered if she even wanted to get married. “Maybe we need to get away like he said. He wants us to go to Aspen,” she said to Cinder.
The phone buzzed and Autumn picked it up.
“Hi, Mark. What’s up?” she asked the veterinarian.
“Not much. I was just wondering if you wanted me to do follow-up calls for your patients.”
Hesitating, she reined in her professionalism. “No, I’ll do it, but thanks for offering. You must be beat after last night’s emergency surgeries.”
“I am. I’m spending tomorrow on the golf course.”
“Good for you—you deserve a break.”
“So do you.”
“I’ll be taking a long one for my honeymoon,” she replied.
“That’s not for a while. Just take a day or two off—we all need it.”
“I know. Have fun tomorrow.”
Autumn made all the calls except for one: Chains. Chiding herself for acting like a schoolgirl instead of a professional, she tapped in his number quickly.
“Yeah?” His voice rumbled with a low, sexy timbre.
“Hello, Chains. This is Dr. Stanford and I’m calling to see—”
“We’re back to Dr. Stanford?”
Autumn poured more wine into her glass and took a quick sip. Ignoring his question, she said, “I’m calling to see how Thor’s doing.”
“He’s doing great.”
“Did he eat well?”
“Yeah. One of the club girls made him chicken and rice like you said. He seemed to love it.”