The photo was the fifth in a string of threatening notes that she’d received from Summer since her return from Peru. The first four had been simple messages that Summer was keeping close tabs on her, that Autumn would never know when her twin would strike or how. The fifth, though, proved to Autumn that Summer could and probably would make good on her threat to hurt her sister.
Lily stared up at her from the photograph. She was reaching for whoever held the camera, and the smile on her face would’ve made Autumn happy at any other time but now. The picture terrified her because it meant that Summer had been able to get close enough to Lily to take a picture without Autumn having a clue. It meant that Summer was capable of making Autumn’s life the worst of nightmares.
Well, Autumn thought, she’d just have to work hard to make sure that she and her child were protected at all costs from Summer’s attack. She wasn’t entirely sure how she’d accomplish this, but she would.
“Hey, Autumn.” Nick knocked lightly on her open bedroom door before strolling in, waving a packet of papers. “Guess what I got?”
Autumn managed a small smile as she quickly stuffed the note and photo back into an envelope and rummaged through her drawers and shoved it in. Then, she turned to Nick. “Hi to you, too. What’ve you got?”
Nick frowned at her. “What was that? What’d you just hide away?”
“N-nothing.” Autumn smiled widely, hoping he wouldn’t pry too much. “Private stuff.” She knew he wouldn’t push too much into her privacy as that was part of their unspoken deal in living together. “So, what’d you get?”
Nick stared at her for a few more moments, wondering what she had to hide away from him. It wasn’t as though she was stashing away her piles of crack or something. This was Autumn, after all. He figured it was exactly what she said it was. He hoped it was. Besides, he was too distracted by what was in his hands to really put effort into prying.
“It’s the schedule for the tour,” he said finally.
“The tour?” Autumn looked blank for a moment before recognition lit her face. “Right! The tour. So what does it look like?”
“It’s a lot more full than any of the other guys’ itineraries. We’ve got special couple interviews scheduled for us. They really want to push our publicity and media exposure to the maximum,” he added, sounding somewhat annoyed at the prospect.
Autumn took the packet from him and flipped through it. “It’s probably not as bad as you think. And, look! We get to visit Italy, London, and all these places that are still on Autumn Evans’ list of places to visit. This is exciting!”
Nick stared. “Seriously? You’re excited about this tour now? A month ago, you were practically screaming at me because you didn’t want to do this. Now, it’s like the highlight of your summer or something.”
“Oh, don’t be so dramatic, Nick. I mean, we did want media exposure, didn’t we?” Not to mention being on the road would make it difficult for Summer to track them. How would she get to Tokyo or Rome anyway? “Well, now we’ve got all the exposure we could possibly want.”
“I heard we’re the most searched for couple on Google,” Nick informed her. “Gosh, I feel so special.”
“Your group is the second or third most searched for fandom, too,” Autumn said with a grin. “How’s it feel to know there’re thousands of women out there who love to write about you getting it on with fictional women?”
“Not as creepy as you make it sound,” Nick replied with a smile of his own. “At least I have caring fans.”
“Who are still burning me in effigy for marrying you.”
Nick shrugged. “Comes with the territory, babe.” He tapped the pages she held. “This starts at the end of next week. Are you ready for it?”
“I haven’t packed for me or Lily,” Autumn began but Nick cut her off.
“No, I meant mentally prepared. Touring, even as small as this, can be really exhausting. I mean, we’re going from Tokyo to Rome with barely a day in between to relax.”
“We have time off in Rome. Hey, let’s go taste test the wine at those wineries!” Autumn brightened a bit at the prospect of being able to explore the places she’d always wanted to visit.
Nick nodded. “Sure, yeah. As long as you can handle yourself before you get drunk.”
“Hey, I wasn’t the one who passed out that time we got drunk. That was you,” she reminded him, poking one finger at his chest. “I can handle my alcohol fine, thank you.”
“Right. Anyway,” he gestured to the pages in her hands, “you can hang onto those. I should go give Lily her bath because I know you have to pack for your trip tomorrow.”
Autumn nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. Um, Nick?”
“Yeah?”
She bit her lip nervously, remembering Summer’s threats. “While I’m gone, could you keep an eye on Lily as much as possible? I always hate leaving her, and she’s at that point where she could walk off without you noticing that she’s gone, you know? I just worry, that’s all.”
Nick patted her shoulder reassuringly. “She won’t be out of my sight. I swear. When I hit up a club, I’ll take her with me, too. Sound good?”
Autumn rolled her eyes. “Yeah, sure. Thanks, Nick.”
“No problem. I’ll see you for dinner.”
“Yeah, dinner.” She watched him go then sat on her bed and, squeezing her eyes shut, prayed with all her heart that her family would be protected. Somehow.
Because, the truth was, even as she was worried sick about Lily, she was scared for Nick, too. Summer had already found him once, so what was stopping her from finding him again and harming him? As far as she knew, Autumn loved Nick, and hurting him would seem a surefire way of hurting Autumn.
The funny thing was, Autumn thought, a few months ago, it wouldn’t have mattered to her what happened to Nick. Now, she had to admit, he’d somehow squirmed his way under her skin. Things between them seemed so pleasant, so perfect, and he’d become a friend. Not just a casual one, but one that she was beginning to really depend on.
Despite the contentment she felt most days, she still couldn’t shake the fear that something was going to wreck it all. Summer had certainly succeeded in intimidating her.
It seemed as though she would now spend the next few days in New York, worrying about Nick and Lily and waiting for the other shoe to drop and wreck her picture-perfect life.
“Nicky?” Lily poked her head out from under the towel that Nick was rubbing over her wet hair. The pained expression on her face clued him into the fact that maybe he was scrubbing a little too hard, so he gentled his touch until her thick, dark curls dried. “Better,” she announced when he was done and grinned at him.
He scooped her off the bed and tossed her up in the air, making her squeal with delight. “So, how about we get you into some clothes, huh?”
“No! No clothes!” She crossed her arms over her chest and frowned at him. “Wanna be nakey.”
Nick’s brows rose. “You can’t go around naked, Lily. That’s just not right.”
“Wanna be nakey!”
Nick ignored her demand and dug out her favorite pair of soft purple pants and a blue top. Holding them up for her to see, he wiggled his brows. “Hey, Lily. Look how cute these are! Wow, I wish I were almost two years old. Then I’d totally wear them, too!” His attempts at convincing her were clearly not working as she continued to glare at him.
“No clothes!”
“Lily.”
“No!”
“Lily.”
“No!”
“Fine.” And, before she could see it coming, he tackled her and, while she squirmed in his arms, he tugged the pants up her legs. “Look how comfy they are, munchkin. Isn’t that nice?”
“No!”
He ignored her claim and set her down on the bed. Taking good hold of her, in case she managed to wiggle out of his arms, he managed to get the shirt on her, too. Then, he stood back and admired his work. “You look perfect, Lily. What was so bad about getting dressed anyway?”
Lily scrunched up her face for a moment before smiling sweetly at him and pulled on her hair. “Make this?”
“Uhhh…” Nick glanced around her room and spotted the box of hair ties and ribbons. “Cool.” He picked through the accessories and found a purple scrunchie. “This’ll match,” he muttered before turning back to Lily. “Okay, munchkin. Let’s do this.”
Unfortunately for Nick, Lily had decided that, as punishment for making her get dressed, she would make it darn near impossible for Nick to actually make her hair, which, after a two minute tussle for control, now stuck out at various angles from her head. Nick even lost the staring contest they had—the winner getting his or her way. Lily giggled and ran around the room, hiding behind a chair, a table, or the bed.
“Lily! Get over here, right now!” Nick, usually low on patience, had completely run out of it at this point. “You won’t get any cookies if you don’t,” he added as a threat.
Clearly, it had no effect on Lily because she continued to run circles around him. So, seeing no other choice, Nick began to chase after her. Dodging around the furniture and sidestepping over scattered toys, he finally managed to catch her. Holding her wriggling body close, he settled in the rocking chair and had just managed to tie the ribbon on haphazardly when his cell phone beeped in his pocket.
Shaking his head over the way half of her hair fell out of the ribbon, he let Lily go and answered the call.
“Hey, Nick! It’s Brian.”
Nick frowned. Brian was starting to become a semi-permanent fixture in his life again. The man was always calling and dropping by. Not normal behavior for Brian, considering the relationship he and Nick had stopped having in recent years.
“Uh, hey, Brian. What’s up?”
“Not much,” Brian replied cheerfully. “Actually, I have a favor to ask of you.”
Nick furrowed his brows. “Uh, okay. What is it?”
“Can I have Lily?”
“What?” Nick’s gaze shot over to where Lily was playing with a xylophone. Actually, she was banging away on it painfully, but Nick decided he could deal with it. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, can I borrow her for the evening? Baylee’s really been getting on my case about seeing her again, and Leighanne and I have the biggest headaches from his screaming. So we were wondering if we could have her over for a while. Maybe you and Autumn could go out or something? Have a little private time. I know Leigh and I craved it after a while with Bay.” Brian paused. “So, what do you say?”
Nick glanced up as Autumn appeared in the doorway of Lily’s room. “One second, Brian.” He placed a hand over the receiver. “Hey, Autumn. This is gonna sound kinda crazy, but Brian and Leighanne want to borrow Lily for the night. Baylee really wants to see her, and Brian figured we could use a little time alone, too.”
Autumn knelt next to Lily and deftly straightened her daughter’s hair. “Wow, I didn’t know Baylee enjoyed Lily quite that much. But I don’t know, Nick. I mean, I kind of wanted to spend tonight staying in with you guys, since I have to leave tomorrow.”
Nick nodded, though he felt strangely let down at the thought that he and Autumn wouldn’t be alone tonight. “I’ll tell Brian.”
As he lifted the phone to his ear again to let Brian know, Autumn sighed. “You know what? It’s okay. Tell Brian we’ll drop her off on our way to dinner or something. Lily should be hanging out with other children. I can’t keep her with me all the time, right?”
Not knowing how to answer, Nick lifted a shoulder vaguely. “She does need friends.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
When she didn’t say more, Nick turned back to his cell and let Brian know the good news. The relief in Brian’s voice was obvious, and he offered to pay for whatever Nick and Autumn wanted to do. Nick told him not to worry and that they’d be there in an hour or so.
Nearly an hour later, Nick pulled his car into the driveway of Brian’s Los Angeles home. Autumn unbuckled Lily from her car seat and carried her and a baby bag with everything Lily could possibly need to the front door.
Before she could even ring the doorbell, the door swung open.
“Oh, thank goodness!” Leighanne looked harassed but managed a smile for Autumn. “Brian and I are at our wits’ end. We told Baylee that Lily was on her way over, but he didn’t believe us. He’s been throwing tantrums right and left.” But before she could say another word, Baylee ran up to the door.
“Lily!” The frown on Baylee’s face was instantly replaced with glee as he reached his arms up for Lily, who had begun to chant “Bay! Bay!” by this point.
Leighanne looked visibly relieved and smiled gratefully at Autumn before looking down at her son. “See, Baylee? Didn’t Daddy and I promise you that Lily was coming over?”
“Uh-huh. Sorry, Mommy.” Baylee gave Lily’s little hand a high five. “Come on, Lily. Let’s go play with my toys.”
Autumn must have looked hesitant to set her daughter down because Leighanne gave her an encouraging smile. “It’s okay. Brian’s back in the playroom where Bay must have left him. Lily will be fine.”
“I brought her baby bag,” Autumn began, letting Lily down and watching her run off after Baylee. “Everything that you need is in there. She hasn’t had dinner and, usually, anything that you have for dinner is fine for her, too. Just soften it up a little. She’ll probably fall asleep around ten without too much fuss. If she does-”
“Autumn. Relax.” Leighanne grinned at the anxious expression on Autumn’s face. “I know how toddlers work. After all, I raised one, too.”
Autumn nodded, mildly convinced. “You’re right. I know. I always get freaked out when I have to leave her anywhere where I won’t be. Nick’s going to get a book-length lecture tomorrow before I leave. I can’t help it.”
“She’s your baby. I get it. I did and still do the same thing.” Leighanne patted Autumn’s arm. “Relax and have fun tonight. Tell Nick I said hi. We’ll take good care of Lily here.”
Autumn stepped out the front door and glanced nervously over Leighanne’s shoulder when she heard Lily’s infectious laughter. “You’re right. I’ll see you in a few hours.”
But she worried as Nick pulled out of the driveway. She had to keep herself from nervously chewing on her nails over it even as they pushed through the gaggle of paparazzi waiting outside their restaurant. She could barely sit still through appetizers, and Nick finally grew tired of it.
“Quit it.”
Autumn blinked, surprised. “Excuse me?”
Nick took her hand in his and squeezed gently. “Look, I know you’re worried about Lily. But this isn’t the first time you’ve had to leave her with someone. I promise, Brian and Leighanne will make sure that she’s perfectly safe. I worry about her, too, you know.”
She knew it was true. The look in his eyes didn’t lie. Neither did the dozens of times she’d walked in on Lily and Nick laughing over something that didn’t involve her. Nick was becoming every bit the parent that she was to Lily. That fact made her feel warm and fuzzy inside, but he didn’t have to know it.
“I know you worry about her, too. And I know I’ve been ruining this date that we’re trying to have.” Autumn glanced past Nick at the photographers outside the windows. Squeezing his hand back, she sighed. “I’ll try not to think of Lily for the rest of the night. I promise.”
Nick studied her for a moment, knowing that she would definitely think of Lily at least once every five minutes. At least it would be an improvement over constant worry. “Okay,” he said finally. He leaned towards her conspiratorially. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Where are we going?”
He signaled the waiter over and asked for the check. When it had been paid, he stood and held out a hand for Autumn. “Trust me. It’ll be fun.”
She hesitated for a moment, but, seeing the sparkle in his eyes and realizing that he knew she was still worried and wanted to take her mind off it for a bit, she suddenly knew that she did, in fact, trust him. With everything. It was an unnerving realization, but it was comforting, too. So she took his hand and let him lead her out of the restaurant, through the crush of reporters, and into their car.
He’d been right, Nick thought, nearly an hour after they’d left the restaurant. In all the time he’d known Autumn, he’d never seen her cut loose. This night had seemed like the perfect time. She needed to relax, and God knows he’d needed a night of partying, too. Not that he could flirt with any of the women or get wasted—not that he wanted to.
Watching Autumn dance in the middle of the club, her eyes closed, and a slight smile on her face, Nick wondered how any man could prevent himself from looking at her. He couldn’t keep his eyes off her. Her dark hair curled wildly down her back and the little black dress she wore showed off long, long legs that made him want to sing a thousand praises to whoever had invented short dresses. In other words, Nick felt a kind of lust he hadn’t felt for anyone in a very, very long time.
When he held a hand out to her, she took it, laughing, as he drew her close. “I’m glad we came here. I haven’t been out dancing in so long!”
“Glad I could help,” Nick replied, raising his voice to be heard over the music as he danced with her.
She moved out of his reach again then twirled back into his arms where Nick caught her and held her. The music seemed to slow, the people and the noise around them receded, and the world narrowed and centered on the two of them. His eyes never breaking contact with hers, Nick slid an arm around her waist and brought her against him. He heard the tiny gasp escape her throat and, savoring the feel of her, lowered his lips to hers. He couldn’t prevent himself.
Long moments passed before Autumn’s eyes fluttered shut, and her arms wound around his neck and pulled him closer. Feeling the tiny sigh of surrender tremble on her lips, Nick let his own eyes close and sank into the feel, the taste that was Autumn.
The picture of the passionate kiss was splashed across every magazine cover the following day. While publicists rejoiced and celebrity news anchors relished the juicy images and story of a golden couple so deeply in love, the couple in the spotlight was not quite so pleased.
Autumn snapped her seat belt together and, resting her chin on her hand, stared out at the tarmac through the airplane window. The image of Nick and Lily waving her goodbye at the security checkpoint flashed through her mind’s eye. Even as it made her smile wistfully, wondering at what could have, under any circumstances, been a dream come true, she struggled to remember that it wasn’t real.
The kiss had left her more confused than ever as to what was happening. Nick Carter had a fabulous pair of lips, and they’d done quite the number on her both times they’d touched hers. But, she tried to remind herself, he’d simply been playing a role that she could not and should not confuse with reality.
For, in reality, Nick Carter and Autumn Evans were business partners of a sort. Nothing more. And if, in some secret part of her heart, she wished that they could be more and the illusion could be a reality, she knew that their sham marriage would come to an end soon. If she let herself believe the lie, she was sure to end up heartbroken.
But she had to admit that, knowing her run as Mrs. Nick Carter would end soon, made a tiny piece of her heart break.
