Two in Winter by Vanessa North Read Free Book Online

just joined their ranks.
    When she stepped out of the shower, she heard her phone ringing.
    “Hello?”
    “Getty! It’s Stace. Skip’s having some kind of shindig over at his house and he thought you might like to come.”
    “Oh, Stacey, I don’t know.”
    “C’mon, Getty, it’ll be fun. Even Anna’s coming.”
    “Anna? To Skip’s house?”
    “Yeah, they’ve made nice now that he and I are actually dating.”
    “Is Eric going to be there, Stace?”
    “Ugh, what is it with you and this dude? He never gave Skip a straight answer. I don’t think he’s coming.”
    Getty thought about it. He had said he didn’t have anywhere to be today. “Okay.”
    “Okay, you’ll come?”
    “Okay, I’ll come.”
    * * * *
    Skip’s house wasn’t at all what Getty expected. It was a quiet little bungalow on a quiet little street that seemed unlike his party-boy persona. A perfect wintry gingerbread home with icicles lining the snow-covered roof. It was … cute. Domestic. Stacey gave her a hug as she walked in the door. Anna hadn’t arrived yet, but there were several people there Getty recognized from the fertility clinic. Of course—Skip worked there, he’d have friends there.
    As she handed off her jacket to Stacey, she accepted a beer and wandered out of the busy kitchen to the living room. A little blonde girl with snowy boots and glowing pink cheeks was giggling and laughing, swinging from Skip’s arms as he spoke to a leggy brunette in hushed tones. Something nagged Getty as familiar about the brunette, but she shrugged it off—probably someone else from the clinic.
    “Hi.” The little blonde sprite stopped swinging on Skip and came over to Getty, who squatted down to greet her at eye-level.
    “Hi. What’s your name?”
    “I’m Nossie. That’s my uncle Skip and my mommy.”
    “Your uncle Skip’s pretty cool, huh?”
    Earnest blue eyes sparkled at her. Eyes that reminded her… No. She was seeing him everywhere after the fight this morning. This little one, she couldn’t be his. He’d have said something.
    “Nossie, are you bothering the nice lady?” a musical voice asked, and the little girl looked up at her mother, shaking her head.
    “She’s fine, really. A sweetie.” Getty smiled as she stood up again. “I’m Getty.” She held out her hand to shake and once again found herself looking into clear blue eyes. Now the resemblance between the child and Eric made sense—this had to be…
    “I’m Erica. I’ve heard all about you. I’m Eric’s sister.” Erica was quite possibly the most beautiful woman Getty had ever seen. As tall as Getty, with long, straight hair and those soft blue eyes, exactly like her brother’s. She held the little girl in her arms and scooped her close to kiss the end of her nose.
    “Nice to meet you.” Getty smiled. “Eric mentioned he had a sister. He never mentioned a niece.”
    “Well, kids can be one of those topics that put people off. He likes you, he probably didn’t want to scare you. He and Skip are the closest things Nossie has to a father.”
    “I didn’t realize.” Getty was growing distinctly uncomfortable with this line of conversation. She didn’t want to hear about how paternal Eric was with his niece. That would only add to her growing guilt.
    “I’ve been raising Nossie alone for over a year now. Eric living next door and Skip a few blocks away has made everything a lot easier.”
    Eric lived just a few blocks away? She was going to kill Stacey.
    “You’re lucky, to have such a great support system.” Getty began to cast panicked eyes around for Stacey and Skip, but she didn’t see them anywhere.
    “I am. Being a single parent is hard. I never had any idea I’d be going it alone like this. I still hope … well maybe someday we won’t be alone anymore.”
    “I’m so sorry.” Getty found herself unable to say anything more. “Excuse me, I need to go find Stacey. It was nice to meet you and Nossie.”
    “You too, Getty. I