Until Autumn

Now, why the hell do I like that so much?

The bartender delivers me another beer, and as he hands it over, I rise from my chair, unable to resist. After all, if someone is going to talk about me to the whole bar, then I should have the right to sit front and center while she does.

I turn around and follow the sound of her voice, somehow finding it a shitload less obnoxious and a little more endearing now that I know it’s hers. I find her familiar mop of brunette hair in the corner of the bar and raise a brow at the company she’s keeping.

There’s an older gentleman who looks as though he steals candy from children all day long. There’s something kind in his eyes that has me oddly at ease with the thought of Autumn spending time with him, not that I should ever get a say in the company she keeps. That’s none of my damn business.

Autumn’s back is to me, and I grin, loving that I’ll be able to get the drop on her.

I get a few feet away when the scary-looking dude glances up from Autumn’s beautiful face and sees me coming. He keeps his eyes on me, realizing that I’m not just passing by, but somehow does it discreetly as to not alarm Autumn that a random man is approaching her while her back is turned.

I raise my head in greeting as I step right up behind her, then go ahead and reach around her, offering the guy my hand. He instantly takes it. “How’s it going?” I ask. “The name is Dr. Dick.”

There are a few snorts of laughter from the dickheads sitting around the bar, but I’m more interested in the way that Autumn’s back stiffens like a wooden board.

Well, well, my night just got a shitload more interesting.

CHAPTER 6

THORNE

Autumn’s head whips around, and as she lays those hazel eyes on me, something inside of me tightens just as it has every time she’s looked at me today, and fuck, it’s been a lot. Every time I walked by the study room, every time I stopped to converse with a nurse, every time I was anywhere near, her eyes would always fall on me, and fuck, I loved it.

“Oh, shit,” Autumn screeches as her eyes bug out of her beautiful head. She turns back to the scary dude. “It’s him. It’s the arrogant asshole from work.”

“Yeah,” he laughs at his very drunk friend. “I figured that out, and if you were smart, you’d keep your damn mouth shut from now on.”

She shakes her head and leans into the guy. “Don’t worry,” she says with a whisper-yell, trying to be quiet but still being heard crystal clear across the whole bar. “I’m all good. I don’t think he heard me talking shit about him. Otherwise, he’d be crying in the back of an Uber like a little bitch with a bruised ego.”

I laugh as the guy raises his gaze to me. “Yeah. You know what? I think you’re right. You’re in the clear,” he tells her, rolling his eyes before indicating to the bartender and holding up her nearly empty glass. “We’re going to need a few more of these over here.”

I drop down into the seat on the opposite side of the table, putting me right in front of Autumn and feeling the eyes of the whole bar on us. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” my opinionated little trainee demands, crossing her arms over her chest and unintentionally pushing up her perfect tits as she watches me take my seat.

“Getting comfortable,” I tell her. “It sounded like you were just about to tell the whole bar how your day went at your new job, and I’m not one to miss out on a good story.”

Autumn narrows her gaze at me and leans into the table, getting closer. “Come here,” she says. “I have a secret.” I play along and lean in even though there’s a whole table between us. Seeming happy that I’m playing along, her lips twist into a satisfied smirk. “You were an asshole today. I’ve never wanted to junk-punch someone so hard in my life.”

I laugh and lean back, keeping my stare on hers and watching as her cheeks begin to flush. “You were irresponsible and endangered my patient and her new baby. I had no choice but to punish you. It would have reflected badly on me had I not.”

Her mouth drops. “It’s not like I did it on purpose,” she groans. “I was just trying to help. I’m a midwifery student, and the first thing I saw was a pregnant woman needing help. I was trying to get her upstairs so she wouldn’t have to deliver her baby on the floor of the emergency room with hundreds of people watching her.”