Read Online Thy Neighbor's Wife by Georgia Beers - Free Book Online Page B

If you
    like it, help yourself to the rest. Grafton is a fantastic writer, one of
    my very favorites. That’s where Kinsey got his name.”
    “Really?” Jennifer scratched the object of the discussion
    between his ears.
    “Yup. Kinsey Millhone is the main character in all the novels.
    It’s a she, but the breeder only had male puppies left.” Alex reached
    over and covered the dog’s ears. “Don’t tell him he’s named after a
    girl, okay?”
    “It’ll be our little secret.” Jennifer giggled. “Do you write any
    lesbian stories?”
    The question took Alex by surprise. “Um, no. Not usually.
    Well, not for public consumption anyway.”
    “Why not?”
    “I don’t know. I just don’t.” She quickly tried to come up with a
    reason, never having honestly answered the question, even to her-
    self. “They’re not as marketable.” She nearly cringed at the lame-
    ness of it.
    Jennifer furrowed her brow. “But, you said you write what you
    know.”
    “Uh-huh.” Alex sipped her wine, feeling cornered.
    Jennifer studied her for several long seconds, a question burn-
    ing on the tip of her tongue. She finally filed it away for future ref-
    erence and decided a subject change was in order. We’re definitely
    going to address this later, she thought with determination. “Are
    you from here originally?”
    The relief was apparent on Alex’s face as she answered. “East
    Rochester.”
    Jennifer grinned. “Fight, fight, brown and white.”
    Alex laughed. “Go Bombers.”
    42 Georgia Beers
    “What kind of colors are brown and white for a school? I
    mean, who decided on that?”
    “Whoever it was should be shot. Brown is not a flattering color
    for most people. How ’bout you? Where do you call your place of
    origin?”
    “Pittsford, born and bred.” She watched Alex’s face and then
    laughed. “Go ahead. You can say it.”
    “Say what?” Alex feigned innocence.
    “Ew! Pittsford. Where all the snooty rich people live.”
    Alex burst into laughter, nearly showering Jennifer with wine.
    “Hey, you said that, not me!”
    “Yeah, but you were thinking it. Admit it.”
    “You’re right. I was. I’m sorry.”
    “Don’t be.” Jennifer grinned. “It’s true for the most part.”
    Alex sighed dramatically. “It ain’t easy being rich.”
    “Not always, no.”
    “Did you go to school in Pittsford?”
    “Nope. Mercy.”
    “Ah. Private, Catholic all girls school.” Alex waggled her eye-
    brows.
    “’Fraid so.”
    “What about college?” Alex gestured to her sweats. “Did you
    go to NYU?”
    “No, Eric did.” A shadow passed over Jennifer’s face, but she
    chased it away. “I spent two semesters at Parsons School of Design,
    but it didn’t last.”
    “So that’s why you’re so good at this decorating stuff.” Alex
    nodded with realization. “Why didn’t it last? Did you get home-
    sick?” She had met a couple different people in her life that had
    gone away to college, only to find that it wasn’t for them. Their
    homesickness had been nearly catastrophic and they’d ended up
    quickly dropping out and returning home, usually extremely embar-
    rassed. She suddenly wondered if she was being insensitive by ask-
    ing.
    “Something like that.”
    Alex knew that that was all she was going to get on the subject.
    Since she had shut Jennifer down on the lesbian writing topic, she
    figured fair was fair. We’ll come back to this, she thought. “How
    ’bout your family? Any siblings?”
    “One older brother,” Jennifer replied. “He works on Wall
    Street.”
    “Wow.”
    “Yeah, it’s pretty impressive,” she said, sounding anything but
    impressed. She sipped her wine thoughtfully before adding, “Don’t
    get me wrong. It is impressive. And Kevin’s a great guy…” Her
    Thy Neighbor’s Wife 43
    voice trailed off and Alex felt like she could read Jennifer’s mind.
    “But he’s left big shoes for you to fill.”
    Jennifer looked surprised, then shameful. “Yeah. My