Read Online A Week at the Lake by Wendy Wax - Free Book Online Page B

bought it and there were times during construction that I wondered what the hell I’d been thinking. But I fell in love with the high ceilings and the windows and although I’ve murdered more plants than I’ve saved, I love the garden.”
    â€œIs that rosewood?” Mackenzie eyed the floors appreciatively.
    â€œYes.”
    â€œIt’s so spacious but manages to be cozy at the same time.”
    â€œThanks.” Her home was near the intersection of Bank and West Fourth streets, not far from the brownstone where
Sex and the City’
s Carrie Bradshaw had lived. Every time Serena walked in the front door, she was reminded of just how much Georgia Goodbody had given her. “Have a seat. Anybody want a cold drink?”
    They dropped onto the nearby sectional while Serena took stock of the contents of her refrigerator, not that there was much to take stock of. She brought a tray with Diet Cokes and bottled waters and small bowls with nuts and pretzels. Zoe, who’d been extremely quiet on the ride from the hospital, yawned as she reached for a bottle of water and a handful of pretzels.
    â€œThe cupboard’s pretty bare since we were headed out of town. I’m going to run out for a few things,” Serena said. “Any requests?”
    Zoe was chewing with her eyes closed. Mackenzie slumped into the sofa. Serena was exhausted too, but oddly restless.She couldn’t stop thinking about Emma lying there so lifeless. What if she never woke up? She couldn’t sit here any more than she could sit in the hospital.
    â€œI’m going to shower and head out to run some errands. I think you guys should catch a nap. Why don’t I pick up Thai food on my way back?”
    They nodded sleepily then followed her upstairs.
    Thirty minutes later Serena was cabbing to the studio where
As the World Churns
was recorded. She waved hello to Catherine Stengel at the reception desk, walked past the booth where a red light glowed to indicate recording was in progress, then slipped into the control room. Lauri Strauss, a twentysomething blonde whose character, Dahlia, was far younger and dewier than Georgia Goodbody, was recording with Wes Harrison, who played Georgia’s current love interest both on-screen and off. They stood at side-by-side microphones, the monitor positioned where they could both see it. Serena’s eyes lit on Wes, who had pursued her for months before she’d finally slept with him. His broad shoulders strained against the fabric of his shirt. His jeans hugged a great butt and an even more impressive pair of thighs. The craggy features and whiskey-colored eyes didn’t hurt, either. Despite her exhaustion and worry, she felt a small tingle of sexual awareness as she remembered their lingering farewell just two nights ago.
    This evaporated when Lauri looked up at Wes as if he were God’s gift to the female universe. Her heart thumped uncomfortably in her chest when Wes stared back at her as if he agreed.
    â€œRolling playback.”
    Lauri was so busy fluttering her eyelashes at Wes that she flubbed her next line. “Sorry,” she giggled.
    â€œNo problem,” Wes said as if her screwup was somehow endearing. Then he smiled at her in a way Serena had always thought he reserved for her. And possibly, on occasion, for his wife.
    â€œRolling.”
    This time the two made it through the scene without further screwups. Serena’s jaw clenched each time they smiled at or touched each other. Wes had acted so disappointed that she’d be gone a whole week. “Acted” was apparently the operative word.
    She was preparing to slip out as quietly as she’d come in, when Ethan Miller entered the control room. He’d been only thirty-five eleven years ago when the series was green-lighted. Even now he could have passed for late thirties, an impression that was reinforced by his laid-back personality and clothing choices that rarely strayed