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She blurts out the story and then lets out a long sigh.
“Damn, that’s rough. Who is she marrying again?” I ask.
“Arthur Lawrence.”
“Oh shit, who would want him?”
She finishes the second glass, so I pour a third. “Missy Wellington, the bride, and the maid of honor, apparently.”
“Missy’s always been wound tight, from what I’ve heard from her cousins. I never really knew her, though.”
“The thing is, Rowan, I wouldn’t put it past her to get the rumor started that I went after Arthur, just to stay ahead of the rumor mill, you know? That’s all I could think of on the drive here. She is going to ruin me.”
But I shake my head. “She is not that powerful.”
“Her mom—
“She’s the Clerk of Courts, which means she worksforthose people. Notwiththem.”
Autumn looks up at me and huffs a breath out of her nose. “Rowan, I’m not looking for you to solve this for me. I just need to vent.”
I mime buttoning my lip, which makes her smile. Finally, a smile out of her. It’s strange to see her so upset about anything.
“Thanks. I can’t…I’m a photographer. Weddings are my bread and butter. There isn’t enough of a market around here for anything else for a photographer. I might have to move to the city—
“You can’t move to New York!”
She laughs half-heartedly. “Thanks. Not really asking for permission—
“I didn’t mean it that way. I’m sorry it came out like that. But the thought of you living so far away…”
And there it was. Not exactly a declaration of anything. But my words meant more than they should have, and I didn’t know how to take them back. Or if I even wanted to take them back. The thought of her moving away was a knife in my chest, and the words had just sprung out.
“Well,” she looks tentatively at me, “I’m not for now. But the point is, there is nothing else I can really do, career-wise. I’m a photographer. I go where the pictures need to be taken. But Somerset is my home. I don’t want to leave here just because some bride took offense when I told her the truth about her groom.”
Mashing my lips together, I could hardly contain the words on my mind.
And she knows it. “What?”
“She won’t do anything and, if she tries, we’ll sue her.”
Autumn laughs, then hangs her head. “I’m pretty sure I said something about you not fixing this.”
“I know, I know. Not trying to insert myself into the situation. But if you want me to, I will sue the living shit out of her.”
“Thank you for the offer. But let’s wait to see if she makes good on the threat. No sense in getting worked up, right?”
“You were right to come see me. It’s best I’m prepared for any litigation—
“Rowan,” she says my name in a way I had not heard in a long time, and immediately, I know I’m in trouble. “I realize that’s how you process things, but I just got fired. Can you dial it down a notch?”
I close my eyes and take a breath. “I’m sorry. And I’m sorry you got fired. That sucks. She sucks. I hope she and her groom have a long and sucky life together.”
She laughs. “I basically said the same thing to her before I left.”
“That’s my girl.” I smile at her and the words feel right and wrong at the same time. Autumn, for all intents and purposes,ismy girl. But in reality, she’s not. I keep stepping into landmines tonight. Feels like I crossed a boundary with that phrase…is friends with benefits going to keep working for us?
“Uh, I just—“I start to say.
