Love Never Dies Read Online Free

as canned laughter from a nightly sitcom. Seth never made apologies for his behavior or tried to be more sociable; he simply remained distant. His strange behavior caused Julia to wonder if he’d suffered some sort of personal loss, but she decided not to waste any more time speculating upon his anti-social behavior, which was easier said than done.
    For Paul, he was the perfect roommate; quiet, responsible, and neat. If Paul noticed his sister’s begrudging attraction to the aloof man, he never commented on it, instead focusing his attention upon upgrading his condominium. Angie often visited the condo and Seth seemed more inclined to talk to her, often querying Angie about her hectic job as a pediatric nurse at the Santa Barbara Community Hospital.
    Angie told him all about her little patients and how they dealt with life and disease and Julia could hear the depth of his compassion in his beautiful melodic voice. In contrast, Seth neither asked Julia anything about her work as a teacher, nor ever commented upon the warm relationship she maintained with her brother or parents who often visited the condominium as well. It was as if her lifestyle and career were too dull to warrant even a polite question from him and her unbidden attraction to the tall, dark-haired man almost turned into a form of hostility.
    Julia’s father, much to Julia’s chagrin , became casual friends with Seth. Several times Seth shared with Jim Morris some of his blueprints for a local duplex development he was currently working on for Lenny Glickstern. Her dad mentioned him once again as Julia sat at a late night supper with her parents after a back-to-school night. It was mid-November and the weather had turned chilly, raining dismally over the past three nights and dampening her normally upbeat spirits.
    “I believe Paul’s roommate Seth is one of the best architects I’ve ever met,” observed Jim Morris.
    Julia picked at her broccoli and cheese stuffed baked potato disinterestedly. “Is he now?” she asked exasperatedly.
    “Yes. He seems to have a real grasp of how to blend multiple building styles, but never disrupt the Mediterranean and Spanish red-tiled standard that has exemplified our city all these years.”
    Santa Barbara was indeed a lovely old town, originally built around the mission developed by Father Jun’pero Serra and still hosting one of the most famous missions in California. That, coupled with the fact Santa Barbara was a huge university town boasting an extremely lovely beach, made it an enchanting place to reside. Though a bit pricey, Julia balanced that against her evening jogs on the beach, the vibrant night life available from a city that catered to the university students, and the close proximity to her family. Right now, she couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.
    “Seth’s voice is so unusual, not quite northeastern or Canadian. He told me he hailed from upstate New York, but his accent doesn’t quite ring true and I suspect he’s traveled a great deal. Have you gotten to know him well?” her father asked, as he cut a slice off his rare steak. Jim had managed to coax his wife Helen into giving him steak even though he was supposed to be watching his cholesterol.
    “No, I’ve only seen him a few times and he seems very quiet and distant. I don’t think he likes me much at all.”
    “Really?” asked her father, cocking his head at Julia’s mother. “He’s queried me all about what you were teaching, that sort of thing you know.”
    “That’s right,” asserted Helen. “The last time I visited Paul, he probably asked at least twenty questions regarding you. What you taught, the age group, where you’d gone to university. He seemed very interested indeed. In fact it sounded like you guys were great friends. You know,” said her mother, crinkling her sharp green eyes. “You could do a whole lot worse.”
    Julia frowned at her mother’s red hair. “You can quit your matchmaking , Mom. First of