Until Autumn

“Wow,” he breathes, taking me in as I do the same to him. “You look incredible.”

A shy smile creeps across my face as I feel my cheeks begin to flush. I don’t need to be shy in front of this man. He’s already seen me at my worst, so I don’t understand my reaction, but it’s just something about him that makes me feel like a little girl about to be swept away for the first time.

“You’re one to talk,” I tell him. “You need to warn a girl before you show up at her door in a suit.”

He winks and it sends me into overdrive. “I’ll remember that for next time.”

Oh, my.

The butterflies swarm inside my stomach, and as he holds his hand out to me, I instantly raise my own and place it gently in his. He pulls me in, wrapping his strong arm around my waist, and as my hands fall to his strong chest, he presses a kiss to my cheek. “Are you ready to go?”

“I’ve never been so ready.”

Dr. Mayson pulls back and offers me the most dazzling smile, and for a moment, I’m completely lost for words, and judging by the way his eyes sparkle with laughter, he damn well knows it. “Good,” he tells me, moving back into the hallway and giving me space to lock up my apartment.

I find my keys and lock and bolt the door before looking back at him. “Let’s go.”

He nods toward my door. “Is this place safe?” he questions, his brows furrowed as he glances at my neighbor’s door. “I’ve never really spent much time in this part of town. You don’t get any dickheads trying to follow you back from that bar across the street, do you?”

I roll my eyes and fall into his side as his hand drops to my lower back, instantly sending my world into blissful happiness. “Apart from Breaker, you’re the only dickhead who’s ever followed me back from the bar.”

“Good,” he murmurs, quickly glancing down at me. “I’d hate to find that you weren’t safe here.”

“I’m all good,” I tell him. “But if I wasn’t, I have about twelve locks on my door, and if all else fails, a baseball bat hiding behind it.”

He narrows his eyes. “Have you ever taken self-defense classes?”

“Seriously,” I laugh. “I’m fine. I’ve got it covered, but it’s not like there’s anything valuable in my apartment. No one is coming here looking for anything.”

“Trust me,” he says. “You’re in the apartment, and that makes it the most valuable apartment I’ve seen.”

My cheeks flush again and I have to force myself to look down at where I’m going. If I keep staring at those dreamy sky-blue eyes, I’m going to trip and no doubt break my nose on the pavement. Though, I guess I’ll be lucky to have an award-winning doctor at my disposal.

Thorne leads me out to the street and as the fresh air hits my face and the breeze rushes through my hair, I glance up and come to an immediate standstill. “What the hell is that?” I ask, scanning over the cherry red Ferrari that’s parked right outside my apartment building.

“What does it look like?” he laughs. “It’s a car. What were you expecting? I was hardly going to take you by public transport or wait for an Uber. You deserve the best.”

“Yeah, but a Ferrari? What’s wrong with the standard-issue Corolla?”

He glances at me as though he’s never been so offended in his life. “A Corolla?” he says bluntly, struggling and failing to keep the amused smirk off his handsome face. “Tell me, have you ever met another surgeon who’s getting around in a fucking Corolla?”

“I guess not, Your Excellence,” I say in a bullshit British accent. “Had I known that I was going to be dining with royalty, I would have broken out my diamonds.”

Thorne scoffs and leads me toward his car. “Really?” he laughs. “You have diamonds just sitting around, waiting for the off chance that you’ll be dining with royalty?”

I shrug my shoulders and allow him to open the car door for me. “Sure do,” I grin proudly. “At least, the lady who sold them to me for twenty dollars in Bali promised they were real.”

Thorne laughs and helps me into his car before leaning down and meeting my eyes through the open door. “A woman like you deserves to be showered in diamonds.”

Fuck me and that stupid blush.

All I can do is bite down on my lip as Thorne closes my door and walks around to the driver’s side. He drops down beside me, and the second his door closes with a soft thud, the outside world is blocked out, and my nerves instantly fire up again.

This is really happening. I’m on a date with Dr. Thorne Mayson.

Shit, I really need to stop calling him that. It’s Thorne, just Thorne. None of that Dr. bullshit unless we’re at work. Maybe in the bedroom. Damn, I’d love to get him into my bedroom. Sex with Thorne Mayson … holy hell. I bet he’d be the most—NO, no, no, no. I cannot go there. Don’t think those naughty thoughts, Autumn, or you’ll never make it through the night.