“Why don’t you grab a seat on one of the benches. I’ll grab us some tacos,” Quinn offered.
“I can’t let you do that,” Autumn began to protest. Quinn held up a hand stopping her.
“It’s just tacos,” Quinn laughed.
“Okay. Fair enough,” Autumn smiled, walking towards the benches overlooking the beach. She was fairly certain that Quinn was checking her out, but Autumn fought past the urge to turn back around to check. Autumn found a bench that was free and sat down. She held her file folder in her lap. She watched the way Quinn maneuvered through the people around her, two tacos in hand.
Quinn reached the bench and sat, she handed one of the tacos to Autumn and smiled. Autumn set her file of papers beside her and lifted the taco to her mouth. A sudden gust of wind sent the papers scattering. Before Autumn could react, Quinn was on her feet, her taco fell to the ground as she quickly gathered up the papers. She walked back with the papers in hand.
“Sorry, they’re a little crumpled,” Quinn apologized. She sat beside Autumn on the bench and gave a forlorn glance to her taco that was now on the ground. Autumn stifled a chuckle.
“Okay. You look through those mockups. I’m going to go get you another taco,” Autumn announced.
“You don’t have to do that,” Quinn protested. Autumn simply waved her off.
When she returned with a new taco in hand, Quinn was staring intently at the papers in front of her. Autumn sat down on the bench and handed Quinn her taco.
“What do you think?” Autumn asked. She picked up her own taco and took another bite of it.
“I love it. It’s very loungy but classy at the same time. The natural wood features you placed throughout really bring out the beach bar vibe as well.”
A shy smile tugged upwards at Autumn’s lips. Quinn seemed to completely understand her vision.
“That’s right. I’m so glad it’s close to what you were looking for.”
“It’s exactly what I was looking for. What happens next?”
“I get started. You’ll have a classy new bar all set up in no time at all.”
“I can’t believe it. Everything is happening so fast.”
Quinn threw her arms around Autumn, clearly excited. The gesture was a shock to Autumn’s system. One that threatened to short circuit her brain. Quinn’s arms were firm yet gentle in their grip. Autumn took in the floral fruity scent of Quinn’s shampoo. When Quinn released her from the hug, Autumn felt a noticeable drop in warmth.
Things were on track. Autumn would be done with this project before she knew it. She could make it through her desire for Quinn through the length of the project. Autumn took another bite of her taco and smiled. It wouldn’t be long now.Autumn would finish the project, then she wouldn’t have to see Quinn much at all. The thought of not seeing Quinn every week made Autumn surprisingly sad. She chose to ignore that feeling, pushing it back down into her subconscious.
“Do you think if I wasn’t your client that you’d ever be interested in dating me?” Quinn asked without a hint of self-restraint.
Just like that everything Autumn had tried to hold together, crumbled around her.
“But you are my client,” Autumn sighed.
“Sure. I am your client. I also just got out of a relationship so I’m not on the hunt. But if I was on the hunt, I think I would probably be interested in dating you. I have no problem admitting that,” Quinn chuckled.
Autumn felt as though the ground might swallow her up. She wondered if being swallowed by the ground might feel less awkward than this moment. Autumn steeled herself and let out a sigh. Without looking in a mirror, Autumn knew she was blushing. Her skin felt warm to the touch. Autumn gathered herself and prepared to answer.
“Yes,” Autumn began smoothly. When Quinn arched her eyebrow Autumn quirked her mouth into a smile. Autumn breathed deeply and continued.
“If you weren’t my client I would want to ask you out on a date. But you are my client, so I can’t do that.”
Quinn nodded her head and seemed to understand. She didn’t ask any other questions. Instead, the two of them stayed in relative silence.
Chapter 9
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.
