A Kiss Beneath the Stars

by Sterling, S. L.

  “Is everything okay? You look a little stressed, Autumn.” Evelyn rubbed my back with her hand.

  “Yeah, I’m okay. Just tired, I guess.” She could read me like a book. She just gave me a look. I knew I wasn’t fooling her. I looked away. I certainly wasn’t telling her here, and I didn’t want to start crying again. She could break me easier than anyone.

  I quickly changed the subject to Christmas shopping, and soon she was going off on what malls we should hit. Evelyn’s best friend Alyssa appeared. She was married to a lawyer at Derek’s firm. “Hey, Evelyn, Autumn, how are you enjoying the party?”

  “Just another boring mix and mingle like last year,” Evelyn answered, and they both laughed.

  “Autumn, it’s nice to see you. I haven’t seen you in a couple of years, but I wanted to say I’m sorry to hear what happened between you and Jason. How have you been?”

  “Thanks, I’m doing okay now.” After the day I had, hearing Jason’s name was the last thing I’d wanted. I had more than come to grips with how things had ended with him, and I wasn’t sorry, so why should anyone else be? It wasn’t her fault. She didn’t know what a bastard he really was.

  “You better get used to life with a lawyer, Autumn. At least we won’t ever be alone at these parties anymore, right Alyssa?” Evelyn said, doing her best to change the subject. “I’ll be right back. I have to use the little girls’ room.”

  “Oh wonderful! Are you dating someone from Derek’s firm?” Alyssa asked as I watched Evelyn make her way through the crowd.

  I shook my head and gave a small smile. “Not from Derek’s firm. I’m dating Hunter Malone.”

  “Ohhh, one of the Malone brothers! The best one of them all too. Lucky girl!” A funny look came over her face.

  “Alyssa, is something wrong?” I questioned, her eyes firmly planted ahead on the crowd.

  “I’m glad to hear that you are finally dating again. I don’t want you to look now, but I think I just saw Jason.” Just as she said it, Evelyn came back over, immediately noticing the look on her face.

  I couldn’t believe my ears. “Please tell me he isn’t here.”

  “Yep, it’s him.” Alyssa turned and looked toward the bar, my eyes following hers in the direction she was looking. “See the tall hunk over there by the bar in the white shirt? He is talking with him right now.”

  There Jason stood talking with Carter, both with their backs to us. They both laughed at something that was said and went back to the conversation they were having.

  I felt the contents of my stomach flip. My worst nightmare was right in front of me.

  “I’ve got to run. Charlie was just about ready to go when I saw you guys. Evelyn, I’ll call you tomorrow.” Alyssa left Evelyn and me there.

  Evelyn was trying hard to calm me down before Hunter returned. “Autumn, don’t worry. You don’t have to talk to him. Chances are he’ll leave before he even sees you.”

  “But what is he doing here, Evelyn?”

  “Well, it is a client appreciation Christmas party. Perhaps he is a client of one of the other lawyers here.”

  She was right. “Just don’t leave me until Hunter is back, please.”

  “I wouldn’t do that. You don’t even need to ask.”

  I turned my attention back to the bar. Carter and Jason were both gone. My beating heart seemed to calm, knowing he was gone. “Here you go, beautiful!” I turned and saw Hunter approaching. He smiled and handed me my drink, Evelyn excusing herself to go find Derek.

  I took the drink from his hand and took a sip of ginger ale, letting the cold liquid roll down my throat. “Are you feeling any better?” he asked as he wrapped his arm around me, resting it on my waist, holding me against him.

  “I’m starting to, yes,” I lied. I had been starting to feel better until I saw Jason.

  “Good, I’m glad. I hope you’re not coming down with the flu.” He kissed the back of my neck.

  Hunter and I went back to mingling. Anything to keep my mind focused on something other than Jason. We were standing, talking to two very lovely couples, when I heard his voice behind me. Turning away from the group, I saw Jason speaking with Carter. I stood, staring, pouring all the hate from my body directly at him, when I faintly heard my name. Hunter placed his hand on my shoulder, pulling my attention back toward the conversation.

  I was trying to focus all my attention on what everyone was saying so I could calm down. Just as I started to maintain my calm, Carter came over with Jason and introduced him to Hunter. This was turning out worse than I had imagined. Sure, okay, he was here. That didn’t mean I wanted anything to do with him. Just as Carter was about to introduce me, Jason addressed me.

  “You guys know one another?” Hunter asked, rubbing my shoulder.

  “You could say that,” I whispered. I could feel Hunter stiffen at the realization of just exactly who Jason was. He placed his arm possessively and protectively around me and stood behind me like a rock, letting me know he was right there and wasn’t going to let anything happen to me.

  “How are you, Autumn?” Jason’s cold eyes hit mine.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I’m a client. What are you doing here? Lord knows you could never afford these guys.”

  Hunter wrapped his arm tighter around my waist, resting his hand on my stomach.

  “Wait a minute, are you actually dating my ex-wife? I’d say that could be considered a conflict of interest.”

  Hunter stood firm against me, never faltering. “How so? You have no business with me personally,” he answered. Carter stood, taking it all in. He didn’t look pleased.

  “All right, Jason, that’s enough. Let’s go over and mingle with some other people.” Carter went to walk away, but Jason kept his feet firmly planted, staring at us as Hunter was trying to keep me calm.

  “Hunter? That is your name, isn’t it? You know, on second thought, you can have her. I’m sure you’ll find out all about her and her psychosis. Let me give you fair warning now: After she lost our baby, she couldn’t get her shit together—probably still doesn’t have it together—but at least she’s a great fuck.” He glared at me, a smug smile forming on his lips. “Just forewarning you, big guy.” Jason smacked Hunter on the shoulder.

  Hunter stepped around me, sheltering me from Jason. “Don’t touch me again. And if you ever insult her the way you just did, I swear to God it will be the last insult you ever make, you fucker.”

  People were already starting to stare, and I didn’t want Hunter to create a scene. I placed my hand on his shoulder and whispered for him to calm down, but it did little use. He kept his focus trained on Jason. Evelyn came rushing over, pulled me back away from Hunter, and tried to get me to the nearest bathroom. Jason must have opened his mouth again to Hunter once I was out of earshot because the next thing I knew, Hunter and his brothers, along with Derek and security, were escorting Jason to the door.

  “Evelyn, I want to go home now.”

  “I know, sweetie. As soon as Derek is finished helping the guys, we will head home.”

  “No, please now, I can’t possibly face any more people tonight. I don’t want to see Hunter. This was humiliating.”

  “I promise, sweetie, as soon as Derek is back, we will go.”

  Evelyn had gotten our coats from the coat check, and we left to go outside to wait by the car. Evelyn quickly sent a text to Derek to let him know to meet us at the car and to tell Hunter where we had gone. Within twenty minutes, we were headed back to the house.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Hunter

  I shut the car off and walked up the steps to the front door. I had never thought I would see the day when I would have to escort one of our clients out of an event. It was all Carter and Derek could do to hold me back once I got him outside, and they both forced me back inside, leaving Chase and Bryce to deal with him and security. Once inside, I was disappointed to learn that Autumn didn’t want to see me, and Derek had told me he was tak
ing the girls home. But, it was probably for the best. I knocked on the front door and waited. Evelyn finally opened the front door with a sad smile on her face.

  “Morning, Hunter.”

  “How is she?” I wanted to skip the small talk. I needed to know how my girl was.

  “She hasn’t been down since we got home last night.” I glanced at my watch and saw that it was almost eleven. She’d been locked up in that room for almost thirteen hours. “I can’t promise that she’ll talk to you or want to see you, but you’re welcome to try. She wouldn’t answer Derek or me this morning.”

  Evelyn told me how to get to Autumn’s room. I climbed the stairs and came to a stop outside of her door. I gently knocked and waited.

  “Go away, Evelyn,” I heard her sob.

  “Autumn, it’s me. Can I come in?”

  I stood waiting, but there was no answer. After a few minutes of waiting, I opened the door and peeked my head into the bedroom. The blinds were closed, leaving the room in darkness. I saw Autumn’s outline on the bed. She lay with her back to the door, her shoulders shaking. I walked into the room and shut the door behind me, the click of the latch sounding through the room.

  “Go away, Hunter, please.”

  I climbed into the bed and lay behind her. “No way, I’m not going away.” I went to put my arm under her head, but she jumped off the bed.

  “Hunter, I told you to go away. I don’t want to see anyone.”

  “Autumn, it’s okay.”

  “It’s not okay, Hunter. You’ve now met my worst regret, and he’s right—I’m totally fucked up. You don’t deserve to be with that. You’re a good man. Give yourself to someone who can give you what you need.”

  “You are what I need, and you’re what I want. I don’t care what he says or what he thinks. It’s my opinion that matters.”

  I sat watching her as deep, guttural sobs escaped her throat. Her eyes were red from crying, and her face was streaked with tears. I walked to her. I had to comfort her. Watching her like this was killing me. I put my hands on her shoulders to pull her into me, but she pushed me away with both of her fists.

  “Hunter, just leave. You will anyway.” She turned away from me and walked into the bathroom, slamming the door.

  I sat down on the end of her bed and put my head in my hands. She wouldn’t even give me a chance to talk to her. I didn’t know what to do or how to handle this. I waited at the end of the bed for a half hour, listening to her cry in the bathroom, until I absolutely couldn’t take it anymore.

  I walked down the stairs feeling defeated, frustrated, and totally pissed off. I should have beaten the fuck out of Jason when I had the chance. I didn’t know how to get her to talk to me. I hoped she just needed some time. As I walked to the front door, I heard Derek’s voice behind me. “Any luck?”

  “No, she went into the bathroom and told me to go away. I waited, but I can’t take the sound of her crying any longer.”

  “Evelyn and I will come pick up her car this afternoon. Give her a few days; she’ll bounce back.”

  I nodded, said goodbye to Evelyn, and headed out to my car. I drove around the city for a couple of hours and took a walk through the park before heading back home. I hit the gym in the condo and then spent the rest of the night watching a hockey game. I didn’t even feel like working, which was a first for me. Normally it was my go-to when trouble struck. I had just gotten comfortable in bed when I heard a knock on the door. I contemplated not answering, but when another knock rang out, I decided to get up.

  I was surprised to find Autumn standing in front of me. She didn’t say anything. She just fell into my arms, crying and shaking from the cold. I pulled her inside, helped her out of her coat, locked the door, picked her up, and carried her down the hall and into the bedroom. I laid her in the bed, climbed in beside her, pulling the covers over us, and held her close to me. We didn’t need to say anything. I knew she needed me, and I couldn’t be happier to have her in my arms.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Autumn

  It was three in the morning. I had spent the last two hours tossing and turning, listening to Hunter snore. My stomach ached and my head hurt from crying. A deep chill had set into my body, and no matter how much heat was radiating off Hunter, I couldn’t get warm. My body’s stress response had kicked in. I knew the feeling well. I crawled out of bed, trying not to disturb him, and grabbed his bathrobe off the hook on the bedroom door, wrapping myself in his scent.

  I plugged the tree in and turned on the fireplace in the living room. I lay down on the couch and covered myself with the blanket that lay over the back of the couch. I was still frozen. I lay watching the lights twinkle on the tree, thinking over everything. I jumped when I heard Hunter clear his throat.

  “Baby, what are you doing out here?” His voice was thick and sleepy.

  “I couldn’t sleep. I’m okay, go back to bed, I’ll be in soon.”

  He didn’t return to the bedroom. Instead, he came over and sat down on the edge of the couch. “I’m not going anywhere, not until you talk to me.”

  When I didn’t immediately start talking, he pushed his arm under my body and lay down in front of me, boxing me in on the couch and throwing the blanket over his half-naked body.

  “Baby, you’re shivering.”

  As I met his eyes, I knew this man was there for me. It didn’t matter what I had to tell him; he would always be there. Whether I was insecure about something, whether I had good or bad news or a good or bad day—he would always be by my side. No problem would be too big for us to handle. I had nothing to fear in telling him what I had learned earlier this weekend, nothing. But it didn’t matter. There was a part of me that was afraid that if something happened, he would walk out of my life just as Jason had, without warning.

  “It has to do with that phone call I received yesterday,” I whispered.

  “Bad news?”

  “Depends. Some might say that.” I looked away from his eyes. How was I going to tell him what I had found out and how I felt about it? I couldn’t tell him while those blue eyes were staring back at me. I swallowed hard and closed my eyes.

  I felt his warm hand graze my cheek, which made a tear fall.

  “Are you okay?” he whispered.

  I shook my head yes, wiping away the tears. “I’m pregnant.”

  He stilled, his hand falling from my cheek. He didn’t need to say anything because the look on his face said it all.

  Chapter Thirty

  Hunter

  The office was still empty. My brothers would be arriving within the hour. It was going to be a day from hell for me—meetings upon meetings—and already I was so exhausted, I could barely concentrate on anything other than Autumn and the news she had shared with me. I took a sip of the cold coffee sitting on my desk and rubbed the back of my head. I closed the file in front of me. There was no point; I had read and re-read it. I should know this case like the back of my hand, yet here I sit, completely lost. I sat back and closed my eyes, trying to get a grip on myself.

  When I had seen her that day at the resort, all I had wanted was fun—nothing more—especially after only getting out of a relationship seven months earlier. I hadn’t been looking for anything serious, and now, things had changed in a big way. I was so in love with her, it hurt, and not only that, I was going to be a father.

  She had left in tears shortly after she had told me, mumbling something about how she shouldn’t have told me and now that she had, she did not want to be a disappointment to me. Granted, I admit, I didn’t take the news well. I could barely speak, it shocked me so. I knew her reaction was because of her past relationship with that ass, but what I couldn’t figure out was how she could ever think she would become a disappointment to me. I had tried to call her this morning on my way into the office, but once again, she wasn’t answering my calls. I had even called Derek this morning, but he had already left for the office. I was still waiting for a call back.

  I got up
from my chair and lay down on the couch in my office. Today was the last day of work before we shut down for Christmas, and normally we all came in early, so we could leave as early as possible. I placed my arm over my eyes. My head was pounding, and the tension in my back and shoulders was killing me.

  “Hunter? What are you doing here already?”

  I looked up to see Carter standing in my doorway. So much for peace and quiet. I sat up but said nothing.

  “Hunter?”

  I wasn’t a weak man by any means, but this whole situation was bringing me to my knees. I put my head in my hands.

  “Come with me.”

  I got up off the couch and followed Carter down the hall to his office. “Take a seat.” He placed his briefcase on the floor and hung his coat up. He headed out and came back with two steaming cups of coffee, handing me one.

  “Now, talk to me. What is going on?”

  “Fuck, Carter, it’s a mess. She’s pregnant.”

  The look on Carter’s face almost scared me. “Jocelyn? It is yours?”

  “No, fuck, Autumn. She’s pregnant, and this one is for sure mine.”

  “It’s okay, Hunter.”

  “It’s not. She told me early this morning and left the condo mumbling that she shouldn’t have told me, and she didn’t want to be a disappointment to me. Now she won’t answer my calls, nothing. She could never be a disappointment to me.”

  “Did you tell her that?”

  “If I had been given the chance I would have, but she practically bolted from the place before I could even grasp what she had told me. I know that those words have something to with her ex—that asshole, Jason—the one that created the scene at the party the other night.”

  Carter walked around to his desk and turned on his computer. “First thing is first, her address.”