When Autumn gets accepted in the university of her dreams she cannot believe her luck. Her mind is only focused on her scholarship and getting her degrees.
But all those goals are put aside when she meets the notorious Nicholas Payne who is everyth...
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The dining room is bustling with women – in the same attire – who enter and exit the room with platters of food in either their bare arms or trays. In the middle of the room there is a rectangular dining table with a black and white cloth covering it. On top of the table are the food parcels that the ladies bring in. I cannot tell exactly what lays on the platters as they are covered with aluminum food covers. There are various fine bottles of wine as well as four jars of citrus and tropical juices.
The dining hall is almost large enough to fit our kitchen, lounge and dining room altogether back home at my parents' place. At the far end of the room there is a huge sound system – preferably for a disc jockey – that softly plays some classical music through the speakers that surround the room. The calmness of the room creates a peaceful and pacific atmosphere in the room.
There are already four people who are seated around the dining table holding light-hearted conversations amongst themselves. The older man, Daniel Payne, the very man who designed these shoes that I wear, stands up and engulfs Nick into an embrace. He then gives him a fatherly pat on the back.
"Son, it is so good to see you." he simple says with a smile so faint, you could have missed it.
"You too Dad," Nick grins happily. “Autumn loves the shoes.”
Daniel grins at me with the same warm yet small smile he gave to Nick. He holds out his hand for me to shake, “I am so happy that you love the shoes dear.”
“I am more than honored to meet you Mr Daniel. I am literally pinching myself.” I say to him in an ecstatic tone.
He simply nods his head and shakes my hand —— “It is a pleasure to meet you as well Miss...” —— his grip is firm on my hand.
“... Autumn. Autumn Chastain.” I introduce myself anxiously, but having Nick beside me really calms down the nerves. “My father has loved your works since he was just a young boy. He would watch your fashion shows on the television every time they came on.”
“That sounds wonderful.” Mr Daniel laughs. “Your father must really be a young lad, huh?”
“I am pretty sure you do not have that much of a gap in between.” I allege to him thoughtfully.
Just then a young woman in an inappropriately short white dress gets up from her chair to give Nick bear hug. She is Ruth's step-sister, Aspen I think it was. I cannot believe that Nick's parents were forcing him to marry her. I thought parents were done with the whole arranged marriage type of thing since we are in the twentieth century. I look away as her dress lifts while she she leans over to embrace Nick. I notice how Nick's face falls as he awkwardly pats Aspen's back.
The last people to ascend from the table is a young couple who strut up to us holding hands. The man has a sharp jawline and a stubble. He wears a black tuxedo just like Nick and I take notice of their resemblances. He must be Tatum, his older brother. I have seen him as well. He models for Balmain's mens' suits.
Tatum pulls Aspen away from Nick then gives him a side hug. Tatum then turns to me and studies my face for a while, which makes me even more nervous than I already was. After some time his face breaks out into a polite smile. He pulls his hand out and I shake it. "Hey, I am Tatum. Nick's awesome big brother.”
Nick snorts amused at his brother's statement, "I do not know about awesome, but yeah he is my brother."
Tatum raises his hand to ruffle Nick's hair, but Nick smacks his hand. Nick glares at him and grumbles, "Do you have any idea how long it took to get this hair perfectly gelled back?"
"In fact I do! About an half and a hour. I should know this. It is like I grew up with a little sister who hogs up the bathroom for nearly two hours just to do her hair." Tatum teases him with a nudge.
"Oh shut up." Nick hits his forearm and the two of them cackle.
"You know you love me." Tatum grins.
“Ahem, love, you did not introduce me.” says a small voice belonging to a beautiful woman who stands beside Tatum.
“Sweetheart, this is Autumn. She is Nick's girlfriend.” Tatum gestures to me with hishand.
The woman places her hand on her belly, which looks like it has a baby bump, and Tatum puts his own hand on top of hers. With his other hand he gestures to her — “And Autumn this is the love of my life Rosie Beckham.”
“It is so great to meet you honey,” Rosie hugs me tightly which surprises me just a little before I wrap my arms around her as well.
“It is great to meet you too, Rosie.” I beam at her once we have pulled away from the hug.
After that Nick gently jerks me towards the table and pulls out a seat for me. I cannot help but smile upon the small but very sweet gesture he does. He takes a seat next to me while Aspen sits across from him. From then I know that this dinner us going to be interesting for sure.
