Page 93 of Autumn on My Mind

He lifts his head slowly to look down at me, his face half shadowed but his eyes bright. “I won’t pretend.” After a second of quiet between us, he goes on. “I am interested to hear what you think is happening right now, though.”

“We’re dancing,” I say, but my voice is breathless. “Like—friends.”

What a stupid word—friends.

Dom thinks so too, because a huff of skeptical laughter escapes his lips. Then he leans down once more to speak in my ear.

“Let me ask you something, Berkeley,” he says softly as his hands travel slowly over my back. He trails one finger down my spine, just like the night he moved me into his shed, and I shiver; another little laugh from him, amused now. “Do you think you and I can truly be friends?”

There are a million things I want to say, but only one true answer—and I can’t speak that word out loud.

Dominic doesn’t expect me to.

“What about siblings? Hmm?” he says, and his earlier amusement grows sardonic teeth, bites deep. “Do you think we can be stepsiblings?”

My breath catches in my chest at the question, desperate and trapped; my hands grasp each other tightly behind his neck, my fingers twisting painfully. “Stop,” I whisper, my voice cracking. “Stop—please.”

I feel his sigh, the pliancy of his body as it curves around mine until our dance is more of a hug, cradling and deep and home.

“Monsters in the dark can be outrun,” he murmurs as his hand strokes my hair. “The truth never can.”

His words settle into my heart, my bones, and hot tears prick my eyes, because I know he’s right.

Something has to give.

I hesitate only a second before turning my face into his chest, his neck, breathing him in. I don’t know what the future holds for us. I don’t know if or when I’ll get to do this with him again. So I savor the moment—and all the memories it brings.

SIX YEARS AGO || END OF OCTOBER

Autumn Ridge knows we’re coming.

That’s the only explanation. How else could our town be so perfect? The trees are showing off despite the lateness of the season; the weather is everything you could want from a fall day. The sky is a crisp, clear blue, the sun bright overhead, and the air is infused with everything I love most: maple and autumn leaves and beautiful memories.

Like I said—perfect.

We pull into a parking spot on Main when we arrive in town, the truck idling as Dom looks over at me from the driver’s seat. No hat today, and his flannel button-up is open over a white shirt. He looks like the quintessential country boy I know him to be.

“All right, darling Reese,” he says with sparkling eyes. “You’re in charge. All of Autumn Ridge is at our disposal.”

“Because I got a ninety!” I say, gleeful.

A trick of the light causes Dom’s sparkling eyes to dim, a shadow hovering before it vanishes. “You did,” he says. “You studied hard, and it paid off. I quizzed you myself and you did great.”

I beam at him. I can’t help it.

“So where to?” he says.

“Bugelbach’s,” I say immediately, my smile falling away as I think.

He nods. “Pumpkin farm. Got it. What else?”

I point out the window and down Main a bit to where the world’s best bakery is located. “Keller’s, definitely.”

“And your baked good of choice is…?”

“Maple bar,” I say, an answer that needs no contemplation. “Maple bars all day, every day.”

“Mmm,” Dom says slowly. “They’re good, but…” He quirks his brows at me. “Have you tried the sticky buns?”