Like a Woman Scorned Read Online Free PDF Page B

then headed for Macy’s and the gourmet food department.
    There were samples galore, everything from fruit cake to puff crèmes and assorted tiny cups filled with various foods to taste. Alison always purchased a few items for her pantry here during the Christmas holiday week.
    Something reminded Alison she had not yet opened the envelope holding her Christmas bonus. How could she forget that? She looked in her her purse and there it was. She decided to postpone the event, however, not wanting to be disappointed while standing right here in the middle of the Macy’s.
    The cab ride home took longer than usual, with the wet streets and having to circumvent several flooded intersections. There were no messages from Rick when she got in—or anyone else, for that matter. That made Alison sad, a feeling she wasn’t used to, and didn’t like. It was an unauthorized feeling and she asked it to leave. After all, Rick told her she wouldn’t hear from him for a few days. And she was not going to intrude in his family life, not now. It was too soon. But she was back to not caring about the amount of her Christmas bonus again.
    Alison could no longer avoid Brenda. They had brunch together the next morning to exchange gifts and satisfy Brenda’s burning need to know all that happened between her and Rick.
    The gift exchange came first. Alison opened hers. Inside the big box was an old-fashioned popcorn popper, the kind everybody could watch as it popped. Alison was genuinely thrilled with it. Then it was Brenda’s turn. Her gift came in an envelope. It was three pairs of tickets for next season’s Giants games.Good seats.
    “Oh, Ali, I can’t believe it. Wow. What a gift! I can’t thank you enough. You have no idea how much this means to me. Wow. I can’t get over it. Thank you, sweetie. Thank you so much.” Big hug. Then Brenda continued.
    “Ali, you look so in love I could scream. Have you seen yourself in the mirror? You are radiant, just gorgeous. Not that you weren’t before, but now—have you heard from him? When will you see him again?”
    “Okay, Bren, one question at a time. I don’t know when I’ll see him. He took his children to Vermont to visit with his parents and his sister and her family, and is staying through New Year’s. He sent a text message when he arrived safely back in Boston. And Saks delivered his gift—this.” She showed Brenda the mini-brochure for the bottle of Angel perfume Rick had sent her. Both of them swooned over it.
    “It’s been a very intense month for both of us,” Alison said. “We got hot and heavy fast. He had the trial, and even though it went smoothly and he didn’t have to burn the midnight oil, it was still stressful and demanding. And in the middle of that we fell in love. The man is a perpetual motion machine in bed, sexual like you wouldn’t believe, and neither of us were getting enough sleep. We stayed in his hotel room or at my place every night, had dinner out or ordered in, spent weekends in bed and only occasionally went out to have fun in the city. We had a glorious month, something out of a fantasy really, and then—poof, he’s gone. I think we must have crammed six months of fiery relationship into three and a half weeks.” Alison took a deep breath before going on.
    “We haven’t talked details on what happens next because of the holidays and trial and everything. But I already know that for us to have a real future together, I will have to go to him. Rick isn’t going to leave his practice or family to move to the opposite coast, as much as he may like the idea. So, I’m already thinking about that, and have pretty much made up my mind that I will move to Boston if asked. I don’t need to work for a while, and I can take a lesser job if need be.”
    Brenda appeared thoughtful and just sat there for a minute before responding. “Good,” she finally said. “At least you aren’t closed to the idea. I’m glad to hear that. I was afraid you