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  “Your father and I need to speak to you.”

  Autumn looked over her shoulder at the half-naked man stretched out in the middle of her bed, and said, “Now’s not a good time, Mom. I…”

  “Nonsense,” Evelyn cut in. “What we have to say simply can’t wait.”

  Autumn’s mind worked overtime. Her parents couldn’t come over right now. She needed to keep them as far away from her apartment as possible. “How about I stop over tomorrow after you guys come back from church? We can talk all afternoon if you like. How does that sound, Mom?”

  “Don’t bother. We’re turning into your apartment complex now. See you in a few minutes.”

  “No!” The phone line went dead.

  Autumn didn’t even give herself time to process what had just happened. She leapt off the bed, slipped back into her clothes and flung the covers back onto the bed.

  “Sounds like we’re having company,” L.J. said, watching her rush into the bathroom.

  Autumn came out of the bathroom a minute later. She’d pulled her braids up into a ponytail and she was wearing lipgloss and perfume. “My parents are on their way up.”

  “That’s great. I’d love to meet Mr. and Mrs. Nicholson.”

  Autumn didn’t speak. She picked up the book of sex tricks sitting on the nightstand, shoved it beneath her mattress, and blew out the scented candles. When L.J. eased off the bed a few seconds later, she respread it, fluffed the pillows and smoothed out the creases in the blanket. Her parents wouldn’t be coming into her bedroom, but she wanted it to be neat and tidy nonetheless. When she was satisfied, she tore down the hallway as if the place was on fire, flicking on lights as she went.

  L.J. followed behind her. “Why are you whipping yourself into a tailspin? Your parents are stopping by. What’s the big deal?”

  Autumn was too busy putting things in order to hear what L.J. was saying. She straightened the furniture, loaded their dirty dinner plates into the already bursting dishwasher and wiped down the kitchen counter. Her apartment was a mess. First thing tomorrow, she would clean it from top to bottom. But right now, she just needed it to look presentable for her parents. She snatched up the half-empty box of condoms at the foot of the couch, handed them to L.J, and said, “Can you please go and get dressed? I know this doesn’t make any sense to you, but if my parents catch you here my life as I know it will be over.”

  L.J. suddenly had the urge to bust a gut. To laugh until tears were streaming down his eyes and his jaw ached. Autumn’s behavior was silly and he told her in no uncertain terms. “You’re right, Autumn, this doesn’t make any sense. You’re a grown woman with a successful career who has her own money and her own apartment. Why are you running around here like a panicked teenager because your parents are coming over? This is your place, remember?”

  Autumn took a deep breath. L.J. was right, but that didn’t stop her from snatching his suede jacket from off the kitchen table and burying it at the back of the front closet. All that mattered to Autumn was preserving her already fragile relationship with her parents. It was going on ten o’clock and although it wasn’t late by any means, her parents would think it was much too late for a man to be in her apartment. Autumn could see it now. Evelyn would collapse if she saw L.J. standing in the living room with nothing on but a pair of boxers.

  Autumn shivered. What would have happened if her parents had let themselves in with the emergency key she had given them?

  “Tell me what’s going on.”

  Her words came rushing out like water from a stream. “It’s a long story and I promise to explain later, but what I need you to do right now is go into the bedroom and wait for me.” When she saw his eyebrows raise and his mouth twitch, she hurried on. “This has nothing to do with me being ashamed of you, because I’m not. This is about my parents. My mom is upset with me right now and if she comes in here and finds you here it’s going to make things a hundred times worse.”

  Autumn looked around the living room, ensuring everything was in its rightful place. She didn’t want to have to answer any more difficult questions. Naturally, he was upset, and she didn’t blame him. If the roles were reversed, she’d feel the same way. What she was asking him to do was insulting, but keeping the peace in her family was paramount.

  Autumn hopped when the doorbell chimed. She seized L.J. by the hand and practically dragged him down the hallway. Once inside the master bedroom, she touched him gently on the cheek. “They won’t be here long and I’ll make it up to you when they leave.” After a peck on the lips, she closed the door and tore back down the hall, leaving him feeling frustrated and alone.

  Chapter 15

  “What took you so long?” Mrs. Nicholson stepped past her daughter. She looked at Autumn as though she had committed some grave offence, then tucked her arms across her chest. “Do you know how long we’ve been out there? At least five minutes.”

  Autumn sighed. Sixty seconds hadn’t even passed. But as usual, Evelyn was fussing. Her mother may have been wearing a frown and an ugly attitude, but she was perfectly put together in ivory-colored dress pants, a red long-sleeved blouse and a multi-colored silk scarf. Despite the poor timing, Autumn was happy to see her mom and dad. It had been weeks since she last saw them, and she had missed them very much.

  “What were you doing?” Evelyn’s catlike eyes swept around the living room, then over her daughter. “You took so long, I started to think maybe someone was here.”

  Autumn hated lying, but that didn’t stop her from saying, “I was in the bathroom.” Her conscience pricked her heart. The lying had to stop. With the leaf-thin apartment walls, and her mother’s vociferous tone, which could easily be heard a block away, L.J. would have no problem hearing their conversation. And the last thing Autumn wanted was for him to think she was a compulsive liar.

  “What brings you guys over?” she asked, knowing full well what was behind this impromptu visit. Her parents never stopped by this late, and rarely on a Saturday night. They should be in nearby Fredericksburg, having drinks with their old college friends at the country club, not popping over for a late-night discussion.

  “We’re on our way home from the Carringtons’ estate,” Howard Nicholson explained. His mouth was set into a deep scowl, but when Autumn pecked his cheek and enveloped him in a bear hug, his face softened.

  “How are things going at the dealership, Dad?”

  “Business is booming! These young, preppy guys are coming in to check out our spring clearance sales, and you know what happens once they take one of the cars for a test drive. They’re hooked. Nothing drives better or attracts more women than a Mercedes Benz.” Chuckling, he sat down next to his wife on the loveseat. He picked up the remote control, but Evelyn wrestled it out of his hands. “We’re not here to watch television, Howard. We’re here to talk to our daughter, remember?”

  He cleared his throat loudly. “You’re right.”

  “Do you guys want something to drink?”

  Evelyn ignored her daughter’s query. She had no time to waste on idle chitchat. She crossed her legs, clasped her hands together and perched them on top on her knee. “Why didn’t you tell us you were dating someone?”

  “I didn’t know I had to.”

  Evelyn yanked her head back as though Autumn had pimp-slapped her. “Of course you do! We are your parents for goodness sake! We have a right to know what’s going on in your life. You’ve been hotfooting it around this city for weeks with that…that man and didn’t even have the courtesy to tell us. Us! Your parents!” Evelyn jabbed her forefinger into her own chest. “You have made us the laughingstock of our friends and associates and we want to know why. Why are you embarrassing us like this? What have we done but care, love and provide for you, Autumn?”

  Autumn stole a look at her father. To her surprise, his face was set with pain and when her mother said they were profoundly disappointed in her, he nodded his head in agreement.

  “Imagine my shock and the humiliation when Mrs. C
arrington told us she saw you and some bodybuilder kissing outside the theater last night,” Evelyn continued, struggling to control herself. Evelyn spoke to Autumn in the softest voice she could muster. “I just don’t understand any of this. Instead of salvaging your relationship with Tyrell or at the very least, finding a man of his caliber, you’re wasting your time with a nobody. A man from Mississippi of all places.”

  “And what’s wrong with—”

  Evelyn wasn’t ready to hear from her child just yet. “What do you even know about this man? How do you know he isn’t married with children? Or a drug dealer? Or worse yet, one of those ruthless gang-bangers who rob and terrorize innocent people? From what I hear, he had no proper upbringing and…”

  If Autumn wasn’t the spitting image of her mother, she would have thought she was adopted and her parents had kept it under wraps all these years. Evelyn was no different than Stu Hamilton. Actually, she was worse. She had a predisposition to suspect everyone of lying, especially those outside of the Washington smart set. She didn’t know anything about L.J., but she was set to lump him in with the womanizers and criminals just because he didn’t come from money.

  Autumn didn’t know where her mother had gotten her information from and she didn’t give a damn. L.J. was none of the things Evelyn had just said. He was an incredibly sweet man of rock-solid integrity and in the time they had been seeing each other he’d never once shown himself to be anything but. He was good for her, and she wasn’t going to be bullied into breaking up with him, regardless of what her parents said. There are only three people I need to confer with about my love life—me, myself and I.

  Evelyn snapped her fingers in front of Autumn’s face. “Are you listening to me?”

  “The entire fourth floor is listening to you,” she mumbled.

  “What was that?”

  “Nothing,” Autumn mumbled. She could only imagine what awaited her when her parents finally left. L.J. would be livid. He had been hiding out in her bedroom for fifteen minutes now and by the looks of things he’d be in there much longer. Soothing Evelyn, once she set off on one of her long-winded rants, was time-consuming. Autumn wouldn’t hold it against L.J. if he didn’t want to see her again after tonight.

  Autumn dropped her eyes to her lap. What was I thinking tucking him away in my bedroom? I should have introduced him to them, then dealt with the repercussions later. Autumn glanced down the hallway. It wasn’t too late. She could still ask L.J. to come out. Deliberating over her next move, she weighed the pros and cons of each choice. Standing to her feet, she said, “I’ll be right back.” But the anguish in her father’s tone of voice halted her.

  “You really let me down, baby girl. I thought you had more sense than to take up with a man you barely know. If you don’t want to date Tyrell, that’s one thing, but how can you fool around with a man who’s just looking for a good time while he’s in town? After the wedding, he’s going to return to his hometown and forget all about you. That’s what men like him do. They find a woman to keep them company while they’re on vacation, and when they get back home they brag to their friends about all the action they got. It’s been almost three decades since I was a single man, but I still remember the games I played.”

  Autumn didn’t realize she was crying until she tasted the salt of her tears on her lips. Her father had never spoken to her in such a hardened tone. She turned her eyes away, to steel herself from losing it completely, but when he continued, more tears fell.

  “I’m the first one to defend you when I feel your mother is being unreasonable, but I can’t do that this time. She’s right on this one. This man is bad news and the best thing you can do is to break things off with him before he ends up hurting you.”

  The next few minutes were a blur. Evelyn announced that they were leaving, and Autumn somehow found the strength to walk her parents to the front door. She couldn’t lift her head to look at her father and when her mother hugged her goodbye, she all but crumpled to the floor. She swiped at the tears dribbling down her cheeks, but they kept coming. One after another. Evelyn’s fury was nothing new to Autumn, but the disappointment in her father’s eyes had sliced deep. She was his princess. His baby girl. Knowing she’d let him down and caused him pain made her feel empty inside. Autumn shuffled back down the hall and into the living room. She’d had enough yelling for one night, so instead of going into the bedroom to face L.J., she curled up on the couch, pulled the blanket up under her chin and had a good cry.

  The glimmering moonlight magnified the tears trickling down Autumn’s flushed cheeks. L.J. watched her quietly, unsure of what to do. She looked like a wounded child standing there, hugging her arms to herself. It broke his heart to see her cry. He wanted to embrace her, kiss those tears away, but he couldn’t bring himself to move. The rejection and confusion he felt inside, and the knowledge that she was ashamed of him, barred him from reaching out to her.

  Her mother’s words circled around his head like the ceaseless buzzing of a police helicopter. L.J. had met his fair share of high-and-mighty people, but her parents were the worst of the worst. As a scrawny, knock-kneed child growing up in Vicksburg, he’d had teachers, counselors and even relatives tell him he would never amount to much of anything. You’re going to end up being a hustler, or slinging rock, or dead by the time you reach eighteen. But through the kindness and generosity of the Delancy family, his father’s old-school style of discipline and a combination of ambition and resilience, he’d proved every last one of the naysayers wrong. But L.J. wasn’t willing to climb up that jagged mountain again. If Autumn and her parents didn’t think he was good enough for her, then he didn’t want her.

  Mind made up, he yanked open the closet door, and collected his jacket. He was midway down the hallway, when he heard his name.

  “Wait! L.J., please!”

  He stopped. His jaw went loose when he turned around and his eyes fell on her face. She looked like the survivor of a catfight. Her eyes were underlined with dark rings, wisps of hair were stuck to dampened cheeks and her breathing was so ragged he thought she was going to pass out. Before he could restrain himself, his arms were around her waist and he was shushing her cries.

  “I’m sorry you had to hear that.” Autumn’s voice was painfully low, and it seemed to take all her energy just to get out the rest of her apology. “What I did tonight was thoughtless and cruel and I know now that I don’t deserve someone like you.”

  When she began sobbing, he led her over to the recliner, pulling her down on his lap. He sealed his arms around her, and held her nice and tight. He stroked her hair, guilt weighing heavily on his heart. Her parents had come down hard on her, and he was making an already dreadful situation worse. Autumn had done nothing wrong, except hear her parents out. He couldn’t fault her for that, could he? Pushing his anger aside, he took her clammy hands in his own and squeezed gently. “Don’t apologize for how your parents feel, Autumn. We can’t control what other people think or say.” He paused to let his words sink in. When she managed the smallest of smiles, he asked her if she was okay. After a brisk nod, he asked, “Is that why you didn’t want me to meet them? Because you knew they wouldn’t approve of us seeing each other?”

  Autumn lowered her eyes.

  “They’re hell-bent on you getting back with your ex, huh?” More uncomfortable silence. “Talk to me, Autumn. Help me understand what’s going on.”

  She pulled out of his arms. “Tyrell is from the most prominent and wealthiest African-American family in all of Washington. He comes from a distinguished line of inventors, ingenious businessmen and civil rights leaders. My parents are utterly starstruck, especially my mom. Nothing would make her more proud than being a part of that family. All my life I’ve scaled walls trying to please her and nothing has ever been enough. Not being on the honor roll or getting a full scholarship to George Washington University or working for one of the most prestigious accounting companies on the east coast.”

  Autumn bit down
on her bottom lip to keep a fresh batch of salty tears away. She stuck out her chin defiantly and spoke with a conviction she didn’t even know she possessed. “I’m not a little girl anymore and it’s time I stop living my life for them and started living it for me. They can threaten to disown me and I still wouldn’t take Tyrell back. He belongs in the past and that’s where he’s going to stay.”

  L.J. wanted to believe her, but he didn’t. She was incredibly close to her family and that was one of the things he loved about her. Nothing came before her parents and brother, and the last thing he wanted to do was alienate her from them. “Where does this leave us, Autumn?” He felt like an idiot for even asking such an obvious question. He knew where it left him, out in the cold. He didn’t even give her a chance to reply. Correcting himself, he said, “Don’t answer that, Autumn. I don’t want to cause waves with your parents. They’re right. We just met. We barely know each other.”

  Autumn clutched his hands. “They’re wrong, L.J. We do know each other. I know that you’re a good man who cares about how I feel and who would never do anything to hurt me.” She was silent for several seconds and when she spoke again her words were quiet. “I don’t want us to stop seeing each other.”

  The creases in L.J.’s face deepened. He ran a hand over his head, and took a deep steadying breath. It was time. Time to tell her the truth. It was going to be hard opening up about his past, but he couldn’t hold off on telling her anymore. He couldn’t run the risk of her stumbling upon the truth or finding out from someone else. The chances were unlikely, but luck had never been on his side before. Peter was the only person who knew about Rachelle and although he trusted him with his life, he also knew that if Melissa ever put any stress on Pete, he’d crack.

  “I have something to tell you, Autumn, but let me start by saying that I really care about you. You’re one helluva woman and I’m…”