diff --git a/lib/cookie-sessions.js b/lib/cookie-sessions.js
index 477a388..165d3d0 100644
--- a/lib/cookie-sessions.js
+++ b/lib/cookie-sessions.js
@@ -210,7 +210,7 @@ exports.readSession = function(key, secret, timeout, req){
     if(cookies[key]){
         return exports.deserialize(secret, timeout, cookies[key]);
     }
-    return undefined;
+    return {};
 };