Page 10 of Stolen Hearts (WaterColor Romance #7)

What the hell had just happened? If Autumn wasn’t mistaken, Quinn had just staked a claim on her.

What was more surprising, Autumn hadn’t hated hearing Quinn promise to ask her out.

People say things all the time. Quinn will probably forget before the bar ever opens.

Autumn tried to manage her own expectations.

Throughout her dating life Autumn had usually needed to make the first move.

Apparently, there was something about her that most women found vaguely intimidating.

Not Quinn. From the very first moment they had met, Quinn had seemed completely comfortable with her.

There had never been any hesitation on Quinn’s part besides needing to get over her recent breakup.

After the story Quinn had shared Autumn completely understood why she’d needed time to recover.

Not given to bouts of extreme emotion, Autumn had been surprised by how angry she’d been on Quinn’s behalf.

Quinn was so sweet and wonderful. She couldn’t imagine anyone treating her that way.

Autumn knew she needed to get out of her own head.

Her friend, Piper, had already agreed to meet her for dinner at Autumn’s place.

It was later than Autumn usually stayed up.

She knew that was something that Piper would have taken note of.

Autumn couldn’t go home to her empty place.

Not tonight. She opened her front door and found that her place felt more empty than usual.

Autumn disliked the feeling of her life being somewhat off kilter and was glad when Piper knocked on her door.

Piper Sorella had a way of always looking elegant.

She wore black pants that seemed to be tailored just for her, and a shimmery dark green shirt.

The shirt was silky and hugged Piper in an attractive way.

Piper and Autumn had been close from the moment they’d met.

They each had a direct approach to communication, that belied a natural warmth.

Piper took one look at her and held up a bottle of red wine. Autumn smiled; Piper always knew how to make her feel better.

“Go sit. I’ll pour.”

Piper’s words were a command not a suggestion. Autumn’s mouth curved upward as she made her way to the couch. She didn’t allow anyone else in her life to order her around. When Piper made demands they were almost always motivated towards Autumn’s self-care. It made swallowing her pride much easier.

There was a loud pop as Piper uncorked the bottle of wine.

The sound made Autumn jump; her nerves were obviously frayed from the day she’d had.

Piper met her at the couch with two newly poured glasses of wine.

Piper had spent so much time at Autumn’s place that she was able to move through Autumn’s kitchen as if it were her own.

Piper extended a well-manicured hand to Autumn to hand her the glass.

“What brings me here this evening?” Piper’s lips curved up as she smiled.

“I think I have a crush,” Autumn began.

“Oh wow. I didn’t think that was even possible.”

“Hey,” Autumn gasped.

“Sorry. I’ve just never seen you with a crush on anyone before.”

“I’m sure I’ve had a crush before.”

“Name the last crush you had,” Piper demanded.

Autumn huffed a sigh in frustration when she couldn’t remember a single crush.

“I’ve liked people before,” Autumn insisted.

“Sure. We’ve all liked people. But liking is different than crushing.”

Piper gave a too casual wave of her hand. Autumn thought about her friend’s words. She knew Piper was right, Autumn had liked plenty of people. But the way she felt about Quinn was different. No one had ever been able to make Autumn’s heart run wild or turn her cheeks red quite like Quinn.

“I don’t know if I like this feeling,” Autumn laughed.

“What exactly is bringing this up for you tonight?” Piper asked.

“I spent a lot of time with Quinn today,” Autumn began. Piper arched an eyebrow, pinning her with a stare.

“Not like that,” Autumn huffed a sigh.

“Then what was it like?” Piper drawled.

“We went to the warehouse to look at furniture. She fell off a ladder and I had to catch her.”

“Good grief. I’ll give you this much you sure know how to show a woman a good time,” Piper teased.

Autumn shot her a sharp look, but Piper only shrugged and grinned.

“After the warehouse we went for lunch so that I could show her my mockups for the bar.”

“So far this all sounds like business as usual,” Piper moaned, a plea for Autumn to get to the juicy stuff.

“Fine. Fine. Then she asked me if she would be my type if she wasn’t my client.”

“Go Quinn,” Piper smiled.

“Not helping, Piper.”

“What? I can appreciate someone who can see what’s right in front of them.”

Autumn sighed but continued her explanation.

“I told her yes. Then she told me that when I was done working with her on the bar that she was going to ask me out.”

Piper’s grin widened; Autumn huffed a sigh.

“What did you say?”

“I said, ‘I guess we’ll see,’” Autumn answered.

“Very smooth,” Piper laughed.

“What was I supposed to say?”

“Why wait? Ask me now.”

“Piper,” Autumn tusked.

“Take me, I’m yours,” Piper howled with laughter.

“Piper!” Autumn chided.

“I’m just saying you’ve been struggling to find someone to the point we’ve both basically given up. Now here is a woman bold enough to tell you that she’s interested in you. On top of that she’s your type. Why are you waiting?”

“I’m being professional.”

“You’re being stubborn,” Piper argued.

Autumn downed the last bit of her wine and headed to the kitchen for glass number two. Glass filled, she moved back to the couch. Piper gave her a once-over. Her friend was far more insightful for comfort in this moment.

“I just want to go about things in a good way. This is a huge project. Not just for me, but for Quinn too. She’s put her finances and her heart into this bar. It’s too important to let our feelings run away with our senses.”

Piper gave her a look that told Autumn she understood what she was saying, though she wasn’t happy about it.

“Ugh, you’re not wrong.”

“Listen, anything can happen down the road. What’s in front of me right now is this current project. After that, we’ll see. Maybe when I’m done Quinn really will ask me out. Or maybe, she’ll be so inundated with lesbians she won’t know what to do with herself.”

Even as she said the words Autumn knew they weren’t true.

Even after knowing Quinn for such a short time Autumn knew, she wouldn’t forget her promise.

It would take something big to derail Quinn once she set her mind to something.

Piper eyed her with caution. Her friend was clearly trying to figure her out.

“You know it’s rude to stare,” Autumn laughed. Piper huffed.

“I’m just sad that you are once again proving to be the voice of reason,” Piper pouted.

“Yeah, trust me, it isn’t always fun for me either,” Autumn smiled.

Piper reached forward and clinked her glass against Autumn’s.

“Here’s to being adults, I guess.”

“You make being an adult sound atrocious,” Autumn teased.

“Because it is. I long for the days when I could still blindly believe in fairy tales, and I didn’t have to pay a mortgage.”

Autumn simply nodded her agreement, allowing her friend to go on about the state of the world.

Autumn’s mind drifted back to earlier in the day.

Sitting with Quinn on that bench and looking into her eyes.

Nothing in the world had ever felt more right than staring into Quinn’s big dark eyes.

Those eyes drew her in every time. Autumn knew that despite her business-like exterior she was in trouble.

Despite keeping things on lock inside of herself, she was at risk of getting lost in her feelings for Quinn.

Already, there was a building hope that Quinn would keep her promise to ask her out.

Whether she was willing to admit it or not, Autumn knew she would be disappointed if Quinn didn’t follow through on asking her out.