It’s really nice to see you so happy.” Willow placed a hand on Autumn’s shoulder.
“It’s really nice to see you happy, too,” Autumn agreed.
“Thanks. Being with Mel has definitely changed my life for the better.”
Autumn smiled fondly at her friend. Willow had been through her fair share of relationship bullshit, and it was nice to see her friend come out on the other side.
“Did you guys ever decide what you were going to do for the honeymoon?” Autumn asked. Willow gave a not-so-subtle roll of her eyes.
“Did I say something wrong?” Autumn asked, genuinely concerned.
“No,” Willow sighed.
“Mel somehow convinced me to let her plan the wedding. And I’ll plan the honeymoon.”
“Sounds wonderful to me.”
“It is. Travel is definitely more up my alley than wedding planning. But now I find myself worried about how far Mel might take this whole wedding planning thing.”
“I’m sure Mel won’t overdo it. She’ll probably just have doves released as you both walk down the aisle. What could go wrong there?”
“Stop. I hadn’t even considered doves being released.”
“Willow. This is Mel we’re talking about. She’s the most grounded of humans. She’s not going to order hundreds of doves to be released.”
“Well thanks for putting that fear in my head,” Willow teased. Autumn shook her head and grinned.
“Okay, well I’m going to go find my girlfriend,” Autumn laughed. Her word choice hit her too late, after the words had already escaped her mouth.
“Girlfriend, huh?” Willow smiled.
“Don’t you start,” Autumn groaned.
“I’m not starting anything. Sounds to me like you’re the one who wants to start something,” Willow shot after her. Autumn was already hurrying away.
Had she just referred to Quinn as her girlfriend? They’d only been going out for a week. Surely that was too soon to make that kind of declaration. If it was too soon, then where had the words come from?
Quinn stood facing Piper and Mel. Autumn took the opportunity to slide her arms around Quinn’s waist. She felt the moment when Quinn melted into her touch. That was one thing that drove her wild about Quinn. Quinn was always leaning into her contact with Autumn. There was nothing she wanted more than to hold Quinn’s body against her own. Though she supposed she should show some kind of decorum among her friends.
Quinn turned her face, smiling at Autumn. She gave Autumn a quick peck of a kiss on her cheek before turning back to the conversation.
Quinn’s phone buzzed, interrupting the conversation. Autumn watched as she pulled the phone out and frowned at the screen.
“Everything alright?” Autumn asked. Quinn startled as if remembering where she was.
“Yes. Everything’s fine. Just some business stuff. I’ll have to take care of it tomorrow. Quinn put her phone on mute and shoved it in her pocket.
“No more work tonight,” Quinn laughed. She leaned in to give Autumn a sweet tiny kiss on the cheek.
When Quinn pulled away, she offered Autumn a smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes. Autumn made a mental note to ask her about the text message later. Within moments she’d forgotten, Quinn and her friends genuinely seemed to enjoy one another. The night was everything Autumn could have asked for. Quinn made Autumn feel so utterly cared for. Autumn couldn’t be sure what she wanted their label to be, not yet at least. But Autumn did know that she wanted Quinn to be in her life for a long time.
Chapter 17
Maddison rushed through the doors of Lip Smack in an obvious panic.
“What’s the emergency?” Madison asked half out of breath.
Quinn could see now that sending an actual 9-1-1 text was probably a bad idea. She offered Madison a sheepish smile.
