Autumn Getaway (Seasons of Love) by Jennifer Gracen Read Free Book Online Page A

“Thank you. You clean up pretty nicely yourself.”
    Sam chuckled. “Yeah, it’s amazing what a shower and a tie can do.”
    “It’s not just that,” she said. “That color is really nice on you.”
    “Well, thank you.” His smile deepened. “I should’ve assumed you’d be here tonight. College roomies, and all.”
    “Yeah, Mel and I are close. And I am from ‘out of town’. So that qualifies me to be here.” Lydia cocked her head to one side. “Guess you’re from ‘out of town’ too?”
    Sam nodded. “I’d say so. I live in Chicago.”
    “Ah. Yup, that counts.”
    “Where do you live?”
    “New York. Long Island.”
    “Aha. Well, glad we both made the list, then.” He eyed her wine glass. “You already have a drink. I think I’ll get one too. Be right back, don't go away.”
    She watched him make his way to the bar and chat amicably with the bartender. With a short glass of golden liquid in hand, Sam turned around and looked to Lydia, obviously intending to head back in her direction. Just then, Alec approached him and said something with a teasing grin. Sam immediately put his glass down and hugged him tightly. The two men clapped each other on the back, smiling.
    “Good to see you,” she could hear Sam say to Alec, but she couldn’t make out what Alec said in response. The room was filling with people, the volume level was rising, and it was getting harder to make out separate conversations. She saw Sam glance at her meaningfully over Alec’s shoulder. She just smiled, gave a small wave, and left him to his friend, making her way towards what she’d seen earlier was a back door. An escape hatch. She pushed it open with her free hand and made her way outside.
    It was chilly outside, bordering on being cold. Lydia inhaled the crisp air and could smell wood burning from somewhere close by, an incredible autumnal scent that she loved. She wrapped her arms around herself for warmth, careful not to spill the wine on herself. Exhaling a cloud of white steam, she tipped her chin up to look at the stars, and her breath caught in her throat. Without the lights of a big city nearby to interfere and take away from the darkness, she could make out a ton of sparkling stars overhead, brilliant and magnificent in their grandiosity. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been able to see so many stars so clearly…
    Yes, actually, she could. It was the trip to Vermont she and Matt had taken over four years earlier, the trip to the cabin in the woods where she’d most likely gotten pregnant with Andy, since they’d made love every day and every night for the four days they spent there. She could remember how there, as now, the heavens had made her gasp from their astounding beauty as the stars sparkled, like millions of diamonds in an endless sea of black velvet.
    She took a hard swallow of wine from her glass, almost a gulp. She hadn’t thought of that trip in a long time, and didn’t want to think of it now. She hadn’t thought of Matt as her husband, as someone she used to like and love, in long enough that it truly felt alien to do so now. And to remember having sex with him? She actually shuddered, and knew it wasn’t from the cold air around her. Matt had been pretty good in bed, but the thought of him touching her now only filled her with revulsion. The bitterness she tasted wasn't from her wine.
    A frustrated grunt escaped her. She didn’t want to be those things, bitter and resentful. She had every right to be angry, and it was understandable that she was hurting; but she didn’t want to turn into that kind of woman… a brittle shell of her former self, even if she already felt that way at times. She would fight the good fight and not give Matt that power. She resolved, once again, that she would do it for her little boy, especially on the days she didn’t feel like doing it for herself. Andy deserved better than having a witch for a mommy. He’d already gotten a raw enough deal;