Penny Serenade by Ann Cory Read Free Book Online

have a distinct glow about you.”
    “I do?” She bent down and looked into the jewelry case mirror, turning her face from side to side.
    “Your aura is…different,” Betsy pressed.
    She straightened and tapered her eyes. “Oh stop it. I told you about reading my aura. Save that for your clients.”
    “It’s very noticeable. Almost blinding,” she continued.
    “Enough.” Audrey didn’t know anything about auras and she failed at reading people. She went back to rifling through the jewelry when Betsy started to hum. “I hate it when you do that,” she groaned.
    The woman’s brows arched in question.
    “Hum,” Audrey blurted. “I hate it when you hum.”
    “Oh I’m sorry, dear. I didn’t realize I was.”
    Audrey knew better. “Don’t play coy, I know you. There’s something on your mind and you want me to know what it is. Hence the humming. Spill it.”
    The extended pause that followed raised her blood pressure.
    Betsy folded her hands in front of her body. “I’m wondering what has changed since the last time I was in. It wouldn’t have anything to do with the man that left about the same time I arrived, would it? His aura was glowing too.”
    “It was?” The thrill in her voice surprised even her. The jig was up.
    Betsy’s grin tripled. “It’s becoming clear to me now, dear.”
    Was she that transparent? No, she couldn’t be. Dominic irritated her. “You’re mistaken.”
    “I’m rarely mistaken when it comes to auras and reading people, dear.”
    “You are this time,” she said quietly. At least she hoped so.
    “I’ll stick to my instincts, dear. He was a handsome young man. It has been ages since I’ve seen beefcake like that.”
    Audrey gasped. “No one says beefcake anymore.”
    “Well I do,” she retorted in a stern voice. “My Lucas, rest his soul, was every bit a beefcake when we met. In fact, he was a beefcake the entire time we were married.”
    When put that way, she thought the sentiment somewhat cute. Outdated, but cute. “I think it’s wonderful you spent forty years together.”
    “Forty happy years,” added Betsy, a wistful gleam in her eye. “I blow a kiss to his picture whenever I leave the house.”
    “You’re lucky to have found someone you wanted to share your life with.” Audrey didn’t figure she’d ever know what that was like.
    “It would’ve been lonely if I hadn’t,” Betsy said, and then clapped her hands together. The wistful look changed to intrigue. “So tell me what’s going on with you and this new guy in your life.”
    The woman was too brazen at times. “He’s not in my life.”
    “Ah, then you’re in denial.”
    “He’s not in my life in the way you think,” Audrey corrected and blew a strand of hair from her face. “We just met the other day. He bought one of your bracelets.”
    “How lovely, but you know, dear, connections can happen instantly. They’re often more potent than a physical connection, and have a longer shelf life.”
    “That may be true in some instances, but this isn’t one of them. I’m going on a… well, I’m going with him to the planetarium tonight. It’s not a date, but he heard I was going and since he’s going too, he offered me a ride.” There was no reason to explain that he’d all but coerced her into going with him. “That’s the only reason we’re going together. I’d call it carpooling. Harmless.”
    Betsy smiled the motherly smile she had come to love. “Good for you. You’re too pretty to coop yourself up in here all the time.”
    No one understood that it was her choice to not date. “I’m only doing it so he’ll leave me alone.”
    “Right, because that makes more sense.”
    “It does, in a backwards sort of way,” Audrey insisted. She hoped Betsy didn’t ask her to explain how that worked out, because she didn’t know herself.
    “He won’t want to leave you alone after spending time with you.”
    “You’re sweet,” Audrey said, hoping in some small way that