Dexter nodded toward the doorway and reluctantly, I took my napkin from my lap and stood. Why the fuck wasn’t he pulling Joshua to one side and having a word with him, rather than having me help him with God-knew-what?
I followed him out into the hallway. “I want to pick out a bottle you’d prefer to the Barolo,” he said, leading me into a wine room with a glass door and low lighting. “Let’s pick something.”
“Can’t this wait,” I snapped. “Everyone’s eating.”
Dexter didn’t say anything, so I gave in and stalked into the room. He closed the door behind.
“I don’t care,” I said. “This one.” I pulled something off the shelf without even looking at it. “Can I go back to my steak now?”
“What’s going on, Gabriel?”
“I’m hungry. That’s what’s going on.”
“I mean with Autumn.”
My stomach sank through the concrete floor. Shit. Was it that obvious?
“What are you talking about?” I hadn’t rehearsed what I would say if I was confronted. Autumn and I hadn’t discussed it.
Dexter took a deep breath. “I’ve known you a long time. You’ve been the dad of the group even before you were an actual dad. Steam was practically coming out of your ears when Joshua was flirting with her.”
I didn’t know what to say because I wasn’t quite sure what he was saying. I just nodded, trying to say nothing at all.
“Look, I can tell you there’s no way Joshua’s taking her out. You don’t need to worry there. And I get that you’re protective. She’s your employee. You don’t want her bringing Joshua back to the house and them doing . . . anything.”
The idea was like curdled milk in my stomach. Autumn with anyone else was completely unthinkable.
“She’s not going to be disrespectful. I know she cares about Bethany a lot.”
“I know,” I said, still wondering if he’d figured out there was something between Autumn and me.
“You don’t need to worry about her,” he said, patting me on the shoulder. “Anyway, Hollie said that guys flock to her. It’s only a matter of time before she’s dating someone who isn’t Joshua.”
“Right,” I replied.
“And that you can’t really do anything about. Remember she’s only here until the end of July. And then she’s gone.”
I nodded. He didn’t seem angry with me. And he wasn’t telling me to keep away from Autumn. He thought I was looking out for her out of concern for my employee. Which was true. In a sense.
“I’m just wound up about work, Dexter.”
“Look, mate, I know work is important. I respect that you don’t want to live off your dad’s money and you want to be a role model for Bethany, but it’s good to have other things going on as well. Now that the divorce is going through, you might want to take a woman out to dinner. I’m not saying you need to get serious with anyone, but I think it would be good for you to have some balance in your life.”
I nodded again. If only he knew that I’d taken his advice before he’d given it. I hated to lie to him and if Autumn was anyone but his soon-to-be sister-in-law and Bethany’s nanny, I knew he’d be cheering me on. But I couldn’t say anything. I’d not discussed it with Autumn and even if I had—what would I say? I’m banging Autumn? I’m having some short-term, non-complicated sex with your sister-in-law? He’d accuse me of using her to get over my divorce. Even if that was partly true, I liked Autumn. Cared about her. Enjoyed her company and her outlook on life.
“Can I let Hollie set you up with someone?” he asked.
“If you promise that we can go back to the table now, I promise to consider it. How about that?”
“Okay. I can live with that. For now.”
I’d consider being set up. And I’d say no. I didn’t want anyone but Autumn or anything but what we already had.
Seventeen
Autumn
I almost couldn’t breathe, the view was so spectacular. Gabriel had us in the penthouse suite, enjoying what must have been the best view in Italy. We could see for miles from up here. I took in the domed churches and higgledy-piggledy buildings from the doorway of the balcony, Bethany on my hip. “That must be St. Peter’s,” I said, pointing to the large grey dome. “I just can’t believe I’m here with you guys.”
“I can’t believe it’s bloody raining,” Gabriel mumbled from behind me.
I tutted. “It’s California dew. Not rain. I come from the Pacific Northwest, and California dew doesn’t even get me wet. More importantly, we’re in Rome. That’s Italy, in case you didn’t know. We brought raincoats and rainboots. We’re all set.” I wasn’t about to let a bit of H2O spoil this trip. “Bethany, Rome is the capital of Italy. It’s on the river Tiber and it was founded in 753 BC.”