Autumn's Light by Aurora Rey

Author:Aurora Rey [Rey, Aurora]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781635552737
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Published: 2018-09-16T16:00:00+00:00

* * *

Despite her apprehension over meeting Mat’s family, Graham thought the day went well. Mat’s cousins were friendly and laid back. Her dad was a riot, too. Blustery, but in the way so many dads are. Underneath the bluster, he was a softy. Mat’s mother was a different story. Pleasant, but Graham detected a cool reserve. She wondered if that was her general demeanor or specific to the situation and the girl her daughter was dating.

Graham didn’t dwell on it, figuring there would be plenty of time to get to know them both in the future. Well, assuming Mat wanted her to get to know them. That part remained unclear. Mat seemed to relax as the day went on, but Graham couldn’t shake the feeling she was playing a role more than being herself.

Still, by the time Graham said her good-byes, complete with hugs and thumps on her back and wishes to see her again soon, it was nearly seven in the evening. Mat walked her out, then offered to walk her home. Graham resisted the urge to accept. “It would be silly for you to walk all the way to my place when yours is three houses down.”

Graham thought—hoped, maybe—that Mat might protest. She wasn’t looking for chivalry necessarily, but she’d have readily accepted an invitation to stay over. She’d have welcomed a sly observation that Mat could walk her home and not bother coming back. But Mat didn’t do either of those things. She kissed Graham on the cheek, thanked her for coming, and went back inside to help with cleanup.

Graham walked with purpose until she was a block away from the house, then slowed her pace. There was a good hour of daylight left and she was in no hurry to get home, although she struggled to identify exactly why. At the very least, she should be relieved. Despite the questionable start to the day, she’d managed to have a nice time with Mat’s family. And most of them seemed to like her. Like, really like her. Based on what Mat had said about them, Graham should actually be elated.

Yet, she wasn’t. Mostly, because Mat didn’t seem to be. The initial tension had melted away, sure. But just as Graham sensed her begin to relax, a detached coolness took over. It felt like she intentionally refused to have a good time.

Maybe she was still angry with Dom. Graham still couldn’t believe he’d orchestrated the invitation behind Mat’s back. By rights, she should be angry with him, too. He’d put her in a situation that was awkward at best. It could have turned out much worse than awkward for all he knew. But even as she thought about it, Graham couldn’t muster any hard feelings. For some reason, she had an unwavering sense that his heart was in the right place.

She wasn’t so sure about Mat’s heart. That was the problem. Mat’s reaction to Dom’s little stunt gave Graham a knot of unease in the pit of her stomach.

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