Page 9 of Stolen Hearts (WaterColor Romance #7)

Throughout the afternoon Quinn had often found herself stealing glances at Autumn.

She couldn’t help finding the woman intriguing.

Autumn’s humor could be a bit dry, but the woman still managed to exude a certain kind of warmth.

The longer Quinn was around Autumn the more she seemed like a constant contradiction.

She was serious yet warm and funny. Quinn knew she shouldn’t allow it, but Autumn was well on her way to stealing Quinn’s heart.

She and Autumn had been sitting side by side on the bench in front of the ocean for several minutes.

They had long since ended their meeting and their lunches.

Yet it was clear that neither of them wanted to leave.

Quinn had spent so much of the day trying to figure Autumn out.

Autumn had assured her that she didn’t date clients, yet when she had held Quinn in her arms there was no mistaking there was a certain hunger behind her eyes.

Quinn could feel it inside of herself as well.

No matter how she tried to convince herself that she wasn’t ready to date, Quinn’s heart seemed drawn to Autumn.

Her heart seemed bound and determined to be stolen despite her arguments to the contrary.

Her ex, Rory, had been the complete opposite of Autumn. Where Autumn was practical and measured, Rory was bohemian and wild. Rory insisted that schedules were for the boring people of this world. But Quinn didn’t find Autumn to be anything but intriguing.

Autumn turned to face Quinn, as if she could feel the weight of her gaze.

“Something on your mind?” Autumn asked.

Quinn fought her initial urge to clam up. She took in a measured breath and moved her eyes back to the ocean.

“I was just thinking about my ex,” Quinn admitted.

“Oh. Anything you want to talk about?” Autumn offered her a tentative smile.

“I was supposed to be living in a nice house in the desert. But here I am sleeping on my friend’s couch near the beach.”

“I much prefer the beach,” Autumn admitted with a smile. Quinn met her eyes.

“Me, too. I much prefer it here,” Quinn chuckled but she held Autumn’s gaze.

If she wasn’t mistaken, Quinn thought she noted a hint of pink tinging Autumn’s cheeks. There was more she wanted to say, maybe even needed to say.

“I was thinking about how different you are from my ex. She was so free-spirited. That’s one of the things that drew me to her in the beginning. But one of the things I like about you the most is your ability to keep a schedule.”

Autumn gave a tiny chuckle.

“I’m not sure if that’s a good thing.”

“It’s definitely a good thing. I’m just wondering what it means that what I’m drawn to has been changed so drastically.”

“That’s usually a sign of growth I think.”

“I would like for that to be the case,” Quinn smirked.

“Then make it the case.”

“What do you mean?”

“You get to choose your own path. If you’ve learned that one thing doesn’t work for you, then it’s okay to want something different,” Autumn explained.

Quinn gave Autumn a look of surprise. The woman might as well have three heads. She had to admit everything Autumn was saying made perfect sense.

“Have you ever been close?” Quinn asked, she forced her eyes to wander back towards the water.

“Close to what?”

“I don’t know. Marriage? Long-term partnership? Happily, ever after?”

Autumn chuckled at Quinn’s questions. She sighed and paused for a long time before answering. The wait was long enough that Quinn worried that she had possibly overstepped in some way.

“I don’t think so. There’s never been anyone I enjoyed more than I liked having my own space.”

It wasn’t a romantic answer, but Quinn could tell it was an honest response.

“I’m sure that sounds terribly depressing,” Autumn added.

“Not at all. It sounds terribly honest,” Quinn’s lips curved into a slight smile.

“Actually, I think that’s a pretty good way to gauge a relationship. Whether or not you prefer them to having your own space.”

“I hope it is. Did you prefer spending time with your ex over having your own space?” Autumn asked, cocking her head to the side.

“For the most part, I did. Not at the end. But for a long time, I really did prefer having her around.”

“If you don’t mind me asking what happened?”

Quinn’s smile faded. The expression on Autumn’s face told her that the woman regretted asking. Quinn tried to bring her smile back, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“We were engaged and buying a house together. I thought she was the love of my life. But I came home early and found her in bed with someone else.”

Autumn’s eyebrows shot to her hairline.

“She swore it was a one-time thing. Just nerves before our big day. I had my doubts, but I wanted so badly for that to be true.”

“I’m guessing it wasn’t true?” Autumn asked, her voice soft.

“No. She ended up calling off the engagement and buying the house we had found together with this new woman.”

Quinn allowed her shoulders to slump. She hadn’t spoken about Rory with much of anyone besides Madison. Quinn felt warmth as Autumn wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“You deserved better than that,” Autumn said with a sureness that felt so tangible Quinn could almost reach out and touch her words.

“You’re going to find someone who appreciates what a genuine sweet soul you are. Hell, you’ll probably meet her at this bar you’re about to open. I’m sure every lesbian in WaterColor will come through your doors at some point.”

Quinn felt a flutter in her heart. Something about Autumn’s words woke part of her up. A part of her that had been asleep since things ended with Rory. But looking at Autumn made that part of her stir to life once more.

“I don’t know about all of that. What I do know is that once this bar is opened and I’m no longer your client, I’m going to ask you out on a date.”

The words had come from the very depth of Quinn’s soul. She meant them with every fiber of her being. From the expression on Autumn’s face, Quinn knew she had taken the woman off guard. Autumn went to open her mouth in protest, but Quinn spoke again cutting her off.

“I’ll respect your boundaries. While you’re working on this project, I’ll be all business. But once the project is over, I want to ask you out on a date. Whether you say yes, is totally up to you.”

Quinn wasn’t completely sure where the words or her confidence was coming from. Autumn’s face showed her complete surprise. Quinn couldn’t help noticing that Autumn was blushing again.

“Well. I guess we’ll see,” Autumn chuckled.

Quinn just flashed a smirk at her and winked.

She was pretty sure that Autumn either really liked the move or was completely over her bullshit.

Quinn wouldn’t know for certain until after the bar opened.

The waves of the ocean were almost a perfect mimicking of her own feelings.

Quinn’s feelings had surged forward, and not she couldn’t believe that she had said all of those things out loud.

Had she really just promised to ask Autumn out? She definitely had.

Quinn allowed her eyes to wander back to Autumn.

She was surprised when she found the woman eyeing her as well.

Autumn smiled, her lips curving to reveal her perfect teeth.

Quinn wondered what those lips would taste like.

Autumn’s eyes had turned an even deeper shade of blue in the fading daylight.

Who was this woman? Autumn was so warm and yet so uniquely put together.

It was almost unnerving how unflappable she was.

“Can I ask you a strange question?” Quinn immediately regretted opening her mouth.

“Sure,” Autumn asked. Her blue eyes met Quinn’s with suspicion.

“How are you so…” Quinn trailed off trying to find the exact right wording.

“Composed. How are you so composed all the time?” Quinn asked nervously.

Autumn burst into a fit of laughter. Quinn startled, jolted by the sound.

“Sorry,” Autumn covered her mouth with a hand.

“That was just such a funny way to ask that question. And you should have seen the look on your face,” Autumn teased.

“I guess I’m glad you aren’t offended,” Quinn admitted.

“I’m not offended. And you’re right. I am composed. My parents raised me to be… well as perfect as possible. Grace under pressure. Composed and always perfectly poised. So, I am.”

“Did you ever have a chance to be a kid? Or like non-perfect?” Quinn asked. She watched as Autumn studied her.

“Not really. My parents were older when they had me. My mother was late thirties. My dad was early forties. They’d built their businesses, and a kid was the next box to check.

So here I am. But neither of them had much time for me to be interested in typical kid things.

I was going to business deals with my mom when I could barely speak.

And I knew that there was a way that I was supposed to behave. ”

“That seems like a lot of pressure for a kid,” Quinn offered a warm smile.

“It still is. But things are a little easier now that I’m away from home. I have my own place. And I have good friends who remind me to stay out of my head.”

“It’s important to have good people around you. I’d be in shambles without Madison,” Quinn chuckled.

An invisible string tugged Quinn even a tiny bit closer to Autumn’s heart. They locked eyes and neither of them gave voice to the deeper feelings beneath the surface. If Autumn felt any kind of deeper connection she didn’t show it. Instead, she cleared her throat.

“We should get going before it gets dark,” Autumn suggested. If Quinn wasn’t mistaken there was a rasp in the woman’s voice that hadn’t been there a moment earlier.

“I’ll walk you to your car,” Quinn offered.

Autumn gave her a slight nod of her head. Quinn’s eyes took in Autumn’s body. She had the perfect amount of curve to her hips. Quinn pulled her eyes away and focused on looking ahead.

“I had fun today,” Quinn said smiling.

“Even though you almost died?”

“You caught me. That’s all that matters.”

Quinn leaned in and gave Autumn a respectful hug.

She was careful not to linger too long with her contact, though it was hard to pull away.

She stared long after Autumn’s taillights disappeared.

Quinn gave a long and breathy sigh. There was no denying that where Autumn went Quinn’s heart wanted to follow.