Pieces Of Us (Angel Sands 6)

Something that made her stomach do tiny flip flops.

The music suddenly turned off. Griff stopped moving but kept her hand in his as he glanced over his shoulder to see what had happened.

“Um, there’s a baby crying,” Jackson said, looking sheepish as he stood in the kitchen doorway. “Not sure whose though.”

* * *

“Are you ready to go?” Griff asked her later that evening as the final guests began to say their farewells.

“Yeah. Let me go and thank Deenie and Wallace first,” Autumn said, pulling her jacket on. It was almost midnight and the air had turned distinctly cool, causing goose bumps to break out on her bare shoulders.

He slid his palm along the small of her back and steered her over to Lucas’s parents. Strange how natural it felt to have him touching her.

Lucas was in the corner, dousing the fire pit that most of them had huddled around for the past couple of hours. Ember and Harper were inside again, along with Harper’s fiancé, James, getting their babies ready to take home. Autumn was getting used to everybody’s names, thanks to being able to sit around the fire pit and listening to them all talk. She knew that Nate and Ally were engaged, worked together at Déjà Brew and had a daughter, who was out with her friends tonight.

And that Brooke and Aiden were here with Brooke’s son Nick, who Aiden had adopted recently. Jackson was here with a girl he’d introduced as Maura, but they’d left early because she’d gotten a headache.

Then there were Caitie and Breck, Harper and James who had baby Alyssa, and of course, her landlords, Ember and Lucas.

And Griff. Her skin tingled at the memory of dancing with him. If she’d been another girl, or this had been another time, maybe something might have happened between them.

Her body certainly seemed to think so. Every time he smiled at her she could feel her heart battering her ribcage.

Most of the glasses had been stacked in the kitchen, and Deenie had waved off everybody’s offers of help to clean up, telling them she’d leave them until morning.

She looked up with a smile as they approached.

“We’re leaving,” Griff told her, leaning forward to give her a hug. “Thanks for letting us come.”

“It was a wonderful party,” Autumn added when Deenie turned to embrace her. “Congratulations again. Forty years together is something to be proud of.”

Griff glanced at her from the corner of his eye. She didn’t look upset, but he couldn’t help but wonder if she was. Anniversaries must be a reminder of her divorce.

“Are you leaving?” Frank Megassey asked them, hurrying over to where they were standing. His face was bright red, the way it always was when he drank more than one beer. “I was hoping to have a word with Autumn.”

Autumn blinked. “With me?”

“Yes. I’m Frank Megassey,” he said, reaching his hand out to her. She shook it, her expression still confused. “I run the Angel Sands Chamber of Commerce. I wanted to introduce myself because we’ll probably be seeing a lot of each other.”

Autumn’s gaze caught Griff’s. He was biting down a grin. “We will?” she asked politely.

“Yes. You’ll want to come to our meetings as the new pier owner, of course.” Frank beamed. “And I also have a little favor to ask you.”

She swallowed. “Of course.”

“Each year we raise money for a different charity. This year we’ve chosen the Angel Sands Animal Shelter. And I was wondering if you’d like to hold an event to help us reach our target.”

“What kind of event?” Autumn asked him.

“I don’t know. Maybe a fun day or a party on the pier. Something that gets the community together. It would be a good chance for you to introduce yourself to the local community and raise money for a good cause at the same time.”

Griff coughed, though it sounded suspiciously like a laugh. When she turned to look at him he was staring over at the house, as though he was avoiding her gaze.

“Of course. I’d be happy to help.”

“That’s great.” Frank patted her shoulder. “Do you think you could come up with a plan by next week? We’re hoping to have the event next month, so it doesn’t clash with our town celebrations in June.”

“By next week?” Autumn repeated. “I’m not sure if I can do something that fast. I don’t know anybody here, and it’ll take me a while to figure everything out.”