Autumn Getaway (Seasons of Love)

by Gracen, Jennifer

  “Mm hmm, that’s him,” Lydia whispered, reaching for her mimosa, not looking up.

  “Is he pretty?” Donna asked Kathryn.

  “He’s freakin’ hot,” Kathryn said admiringly.

  “Oh, I am so turning around right now,” Donna said.

  “You don’t have to.” Kathryn smirked. “He just looked over, saw Lydia, and his eyes lit up. He’s on his way over here right now. Like a moth to the flame.”

  Lydia’s head lifted to see if Kathryn was pulling her leg or not. Sure enough, Sam was already halfway across the dining room, his eyes and smile aimed directly at Lydia.

  “Looove it,” Donna sang under her breath triumphantly.

  “Hi there,” Sam said to Lydia as he got to their table.

  “Hi,” she answered, unable to keep a smile from spreading on her face.

  “Are these the famous college friends you and Melanie have been talking about?” Sam asked, smiling down at Donna and Kathryn.

  “Infamous is more like it,” Lydia cracked. She introduced her friends to Sam, who politely shook their hands.

  “I just wanted to tell you,” Sam said to Lydia, “that Alec, Paige, and the kids were supposed to meet me and my parents for breakfast. Well, Alec never showed. He was still out cold; Paige had to come down alone with the kids. He's up now, but he’s hung over as hell.”

  “I’ll bet.” Lydia chuckled. “Poor Paige, huh?”

  Sam laughed too. “Well, he just took Paige and the kids for a nature walk, I told him about the path through the trees. Maybe he thought the fresh air would help.”

  “I took a walk there after I saw you before,” Lydia said. “It was just gorgeous. Leaves and pine cones everywhere, chipmunks, rabbits, birds… the kids will love it.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I told them,” Sam agreed. “But really, Alec just needed the fresh air. So I’m gonna go play cards now with my parents and Ryan’s parents. I just thought you’d get a chuckle out of Alec indeed being green this morning.”

  “What do you play?” Donna asked him.

  “Poker,” Sam replied. “Texas Hold ‘Em. You play?”

  “I sure do,” Donna said. “If you play again, let me know, I just might muscle in on that.”

  “You got it.” Sam grinned. “Maybe we’ll play at the after party tonight.” His eyes briefly swept over all three women. “You all know about that, right? You’ll be there?”

  “Yes, we do,” Kathryn said. “Wouldn’t miss it. We’ll all be there.”

  “Great.” He looked back at Lydia and smiled. “Well, enjoy your reunion, and your lunch.”

  “Thanks,” Lydia said, spellbound. He had seemed glad to see her when he came over, and now, if she wasn't imagining it, something in his eyes showed regret that he had to go.

  “See you all at the wedding,” Sam said amiably. “Nice to meet you both,” he added to Donna and Kathryn.

  “Likewise,” Kathryn smiled.

  “A pleasure,” Donna smiled.

  “See you later,” Lydia murmured.

  He looked at her for another two seconds before turning away to head back and join his parents at the doorway.

  “Oh my God, he is hot,” Donna whispered intently, leaning in so only her friends could hear her. “Working that scruffy, just a bit tousled look, it really works for him. And, um, hello? He wants you. Bad. Tell her I'm right, Kath.”

  “Oh, you're right. He does. That was… adorable.” Kathryn sighed. “He couldn’t take his eyes off you.”

  Lydia’s cheeks burst into flame. “I swear to God, I feel like I got in a time machine and went back to 1990,” she sputtered. “Listen to you guys!”

  “Hey,” Donna smirked. “I just call ‘em like I see ‘em.”

  Lydia finished off her mimosa.

  “You should’ve seen your face when he was here,” Kathryn noted with a quiet smile. “You lit up.”

  “Well, he’s very nice,” Lydia said evenly, feeling the hints of a blush threatening again.

  “Lame!” Donna laughed. “Yes, he does seem nice. And it's nice that he's nice. But you need to get that man on you tonight.”

  “You need to stop talking like a truck driver before Kathryn hides under the table,” Lydia remarked, glancing at how Kathryn was rolling her eyes.

  “I think this weekend just got a lot more interesting,” Donna said. “I can’t wait to see what happens tonight; there’s serious potential there.”

  “Potential for what, exactly?” Lydia said, her voice turning a bit edgy. “I’m not going to just sleep with this guy tonight and go home tomorrow. I’ve never done that in my life.”

  “First time for everything.” Donna smiled, unfazed. “And you're long overdue for a steamy fling.”

  “How about, just enjoy his company, then,” Kathryn said to Lydia. She shot Donna a sideways look that told her to back off.

  “He lives in Chicago, I’m in New York,” Lydia said to Donna in a hard tone. “What am I gonna do—sleep with him here, and then, what, friend him on Facebook when I get home? Have awkward email exchanges for a few weeks before it flickers out?”

  “Well, you’ve just got it all figured out, don’t you?” Donna said, undeterred by the steel in Lydia’s voice. “Give him a chance. I think he actually likes you. Why else would he come over here just to tell you some tiny thing about Alec being hung over? Who cares? He just wanted an excuse to talk to you, to look at you. Come on—a guy who’s just looking to get laid wouldn’t have bothered with that—he wanted to see you again.”

  “You know,” Kathryn said, her tone reflective, “it doesn’t have to be love at first sight for you to click with someone. Sometimes it’s just… how about… intrigued by someone at first sight? That something that you know is there, but you just can’t put it into words? That’s what I just saw. On both of your faces.”

  “Sounds to me like you guys have it all figured out,” Lydia grumbled, pushing at her salad with her fork.

  “Sounds to me like you’re scared,” Kathryn said softly, bending a bit to look into Lydia’s face and make eye contact. Once she had, she placed her hand on Lydia’s in support. “And we don’t blame you. You just got divorced, your self-esteem has been kicked around, your life’s a little in flux—it’s completely understandable to be a little self-doubting right now. Isn’t it, Donna?” she added pointedly.

  “Of course it is,” Donna said. “I’ll shut up now. I know, my big mouth and I don’t stop.” She reached across the table and grasped Lydia’s other hand. “I’m very sorry if I pissed you off. You know I’m just saying these things because I’m a snarky chick, and I love you a lot, and you’ve been unhappy for a long time, and I just want you to be happy. You know that, right?”

  Lydia grinned begrudgingly. “Of course I do.”

  “Okay then. New topic,” Donna declared. She squeezed Lydia’s hand once more before she pulled it away and turned to Kathryn. “How are your girls?”

  The three of them spent the rest of their lunch talking mostly about their children, like most mothers end up doing. Kathryn had two young daughters and Donna had two young sons, all close in age to Lydia’s son. The three friends talked about preschools and public schools, gymnastics and dance classes, soccer and T-ball teams. Donna and Kathryn asked about Andy's speech therapy, and Lydia told them all about it. They talked about Kathryn’s and Lydia’s jobs, Donna spoke about being a stay-at-home mom, and they all compared schedules and routines. Kathryn and Donna touched only briefly on their husbands, not wanting to seem insensitive to Lydia’s new single status.

  Lydia sighed inwardly at one point, realizing she had always wanted two or three kids, but hadn’t had the time to have more than one before her marriage ended. Now she was almost thirty-seven. Guess that boat has sailed, she thought sadly. But at least I have my beautiful little boy.

  When the waiter came to clear their plates, Kathryn checked her watch. “Okay, girls. It’s after two o’clock. The wedding starts at five. What do you want to d
o?”

  “I’d love to take a nap, to be honest,” Donna said.

  “God, that sounds fabulous,” Lydia replied.

  “So why don’t we?” Kathryn shrugged. “Let’s go back to our rooms, nap, get ready, and meet in the lobby at a quarter to five.”

  “Sounds perfect.” Lydia nodded.

  “Where’s the ceremony being held?” Donna asked.

  “Well, they lucked out with the weather, so it’ll be outside,” Lydia said.

  “Will it be too cool out there by five?” Kathryn wondered.

  “We’ll be fine,” Donna said. “We’re strong broads, we can take it.”

  Lydia grinned. “I think it’s out back here,” she said, turning in her seat and pointing out the windows to the open expanse of emerald lawn between the garden and the thickly condensed trees. As the words left her mouth, she noticed a couple of men heading to that very spot with stacks of white folding chairs. “Um, yup, that’s it. Look, they’re about to start setting up.”

  “I’m so excited for her,” Kathryn said. “Mel will be a gorgeous bride.”

  “Yes she will,” Donna said. She stood up and stretched out. “Come, let’s vamoose. My bed’s calling me.”

  “You know,” Lydia said, “I actually slept in this morning for the first time in forever, but once you said the word ‘nap’, I instantly got tired enough to want one.”

  “That’s because we’re getting old,” Kathryn quipped with a wry grin.

  * * *

  “Aha, boy!” Henry Forrester exclaimed. “Gotcha.” He laid his cards down on the table. “Full House. Lookie there.”

  “Damn!” Sam cried. He threw down his cards. “Three of a kind here! Come on! You’ve gotta be kidding me!”

  The group laughed good-naturedly. Sam’s mother, Marcy, reached over and laid her hand on his. “Ah well.”

  “Wow,” said Maryann Selby. “Bet you thought you had him.”

  “Of course I did.” Sam chuckled, shaking his head. He looked at his father and grinned with admiration. “Well played, Dad. Well played.”

  “He’s still a shark,” Bill Selby said with a grin.

  “Nah.” Henry shrugged. “I'm just a good poker player. Got one more in you?”

  “Don’t deal Sam in this time,” came Alec’s voice from the doorway. He entered with a smile for the group, looked down at Sam in his chair and said, “I need to talk to you.”

  Sam’s brows furrowed in curiosity as he looked back up at his brother. “Everything alright?”

  “Everything’s fine,” Alec assured him. “Just need to talk privately.”

  “Okay.” Sam turned to his parents and friends and shrugged. “Sorry. Go on without me.” He shot a surly grin at his father. “You can blindside these guys instead.”

  The group laughed collectively as Sam rose and left the room with Alec.

  “What’s up?” Sam asked.

  “Walk with me,” Alec said, glancing around him as they strode down the hallway.

  “What are you looking for?” Sam asked.

  “Privacy,” Alec said. “A place to talk where no one will hear us.”

  “So come outside,” Sam suggested as they approached a door that led to the back patio.

  “That works for me,” Alec replied. They went out onto the stone veranda, found some chairs by the huge pillars that made up the railing, and sat together. The closest people were over twenty feet away.

  “Okay, no one’s close enough to hear us,” Sam said in a low voice, his eyes searching his brother’s face for a clue. “You've got my attention. What’s going on?”

  “Um…” Alec rubbed his chin as he thought for a few seconds. “Well, you know what? I don’t know how to phrase this delicately, so I’m just gonna say it.”

  “Alec, I would never put you and ‘delicate’ in the same sentence, so don’t worry.” Sam grinned sarcastically. “Just say whatever you have to say.”

  “This woman, Lydia, that you’re interested in, that you left with last night,” Alec said. “Do you know that she just got divorced? Like, literally, as in this week?”

  Sam’s grin disappeared, and his eyes narrowed on his brother’s face. “Yes, I do. What about it?”

  Alec’s gaze returned the potency emanating from his brother’s. “I just didn’t know if you knew that or not, if she’d told you. I wanted to be sure she had.”

  “Lydia’s very open about her divorce, she's not hiding it,” Sam said tightly. “But how, exactly, is it any of your business?”

  “It’s my business because you’re my little brother, and I’m looking out for you, just like I always have,” Alec said, firm and unapologetic. “I mean, don’t get me wrong—have fun with her. She's pretty, she's stacked, she even seems bright—so have a one-night stand, a weekend fling, do her from the chandeliers, whatever. But just know that if she’s very newly single, you need to proceed accordingly, with some caution. She might be a loose cannon. You don't want her getting all clingy and stalkerish on you. Divorcees, especially new ones, can get like that.”

  Sam raked his hands through his wavy hair and took a deep breath, trying hard to keep his annoyance from turning into anger. “For the record, when I walked Lydia back to her room last night, we sat and talked. And that was it. But even if I’d had wild sex with her all night long, it’s still absolutely none of your damn business—or your wife’s. Did Paige also tell you that Lydia has a child? A little boy, three and a half.”

  “Don’t bring Paige into this,” Alec said coolly, his gaze frosting.

  “The hell I won’t,” Sam snapped. “That’s who put this bee in your bonnet. Apparently while you and I were playing pool last night, Paige took it upon herself to give Lydia a quick cross examination. I thought you were the attorney in the family, not her.”

  Alec sighed, seeming to pay no heed to anything Sam had said about him or his wife. His mind was stuck on a fresh detail. “A kid too? Newly divorced, and she has a kid. Sammy, what are you doing? This is screaming 'complications'. A one night stand doesn't have to be complicated, and shouldn't be. Maybe she's not the right one to fool around with this weekend. You can find someone else to screw tonight and leave tomorrow with no strings, I guarantee it.”

  Sam leaned in, his angry gaze secured intently to Alec’s, and said in a quiet, firm voice, “For the last time. What I do, and who I do it with, is nobody’s damn business but my own. So tell Paige to back off, and you better too. I can take care of myself, thank you very much.”

  “Oh my God,” Alec said disdainfully, his eyes wide with surprise. He pulled back in mild horror. “Wait a minute. Wait a goddamn minute. This isn't just about getting laid—you think you actually really like this woman. Oh no, no, no.”

  “Watch yourself,” Sam murmured, his jaw setting in irritation.

  “C'mon Sammy! Jesus,” Alec said, ignoring the steely resolve in his brother’s tone. “She's a newly single mom—I'm telling you, she could be a bit of a head case right now, you know? No piece of ass is worth that, and you don't have to go down that road. I mean, I know you've always loved a challenge—well hell, now that I think about it, maybe that's part of her appeal to you.” Alec nodded to himself as he went on, “She looked up at you with those big, bottomless eyes, shook those big tits at you, and you felt the need to sweep in and rescue her, pull your white knight thing, as you always do. Maybe you even want to try and fix her, like you do with everyone you see who's somewhat broken. But come on, Sammy—for a little weekend fling, you couldn’t just keep it simple?”

  “For Christ's sake, Alec.” Sam expelled a sharp hiss of held breath and stood up. His eyes flashed with anger. He was mad enough at his brother that his hands were curled into fists. “I’m leaving, right now, before I say or do something I regret. But let me make this very clear. You and I? Are not going to talk about this again. Just leave it alone. Leave her alone—hell, leave me alone. I don't want to hear another word out of your mouth about this; the subject is closed. Got it?�
�

  “Whatever you say, little brother,” Alec said, raising his hands as if in surrender. He watched Sam stalk away from him and shook his head in resignation.

  * * *

  Lydia had just finished applying her makeup when her cell phone started ringing. With a grunt, she went to her phone where it lay on the desk and checked the caller ID. It was Matt. Her mouth went dry instantly from dread as she answered it. “Matt? What is it? Is Andy alright?”

  “He’s fine,” Matt said, sounding annoyed with her, as usual. “He’s fine, calm down.”

  Lydia slumped onto the couch nestled in the corner under the window. She closed her eyes and took a deep, cleansing breath. “Then what’s up? I’m getting ready, I have to be downstairs in ten minutes, the wedding's going to start soon.” She looked down at herself, only in her black bra and matching panties, and realized with a grimace that she still needed to finish getting dressed.

  “I took Andy to the park all day,” Matt began, “and we had a great time. He was playing nonstop, all over the place, we had lunch there, he was very happy. Then he got tired after a few hours, so we started to go back to the car to go home. He tripped in the parking lot and scraped his knee up. He was crying, all that—”

  “Oh, poor baby,” she gasped. “Is he okay?”

  “Lydia,” Matt said, quickly moving past annoyed into livid. “He scraped his knee. It bled a little. I have Band-Aids. He cried a bit. He’s fine. It’s just that… he kept asking for you.” Matt’s voice had gotten lower, slightly sullen. “So I told him I’d call you so he could say hello.”

  “I thought we agreed this morning that we weren’t going to do that again this weekend,” she said, her tone turning icy.

  “I know we did, but he kept asking for you. I thought it’d make him feel better to hear your voice. He was obviously missing you. What was I supposed to do?” Matt snapped defensively.

  Lydia sighed. “Put him on, put him on.”

  There was a pause while she heard Matt cross his living room to get to their son. “Andy,” she could hear Matt say, in a much nicer tone of voice. “Andy. Hey buddy. Here, Mama’s on the phone. Yeah! Mama. She’s on the phone, here.”