Free The Secret Lives of Housewives by Joan Elizabeth Lloyd Page A

wonderful and the sex explosive. At first, much as Angie tried to discourage such talk, he lamented his lack of good sex with Jordanna. “She was such a cold fish,” he had said. “Not like you.” He kissed her deeply, hands roaming over her back, eventually finding their way beneath her top and unhooking her bra. He’d loved her body, spending long minutes stroking and kissing her skin. They’d get undressed and tenderly make long, leisurely love. It had been the best ever for her. Then she’d gotten pregnant.
    They were ecstatic. A baby. They talked about names for hours and made plans to decorate one of the bedrooms in their new little over-mortgaged house as a nursery. They wandered through the mall admiring tiny clothes and being amazed at how much Pampers cost.
    When they learned she was having twins, however, they were shocked, then dismayed. How would they stretch Tony’s meager salary? He’d quit his hated job at the minimart and he enjoyed his leisure time, getting more and more involved in his first love, computer games. They both vowed he’d not go back to working so many hours. She’d work more time for as long as she could and he’d get some part-time work with his brothers in their construction business. It would bring in more money for fewer hours. Jordanna had objected to the mere mention of Tony’s doing manual labor but Angie thought it was a great idea. They’d sock away as much as they could before the birth, which wasn’t much.
    The stresses of her advanced pregnancy totally destroyed their sex life. She couldn’t get comfortable, and in her seventh month, when she had to give up her job, they’d also given up sex. As she thought back, she realized that it was about then that he’d started to spend time with Jordanna, who still lived in her small but luxurious condo about five miles away from the Cariri house.
    At first it had been a plumbing problem. Since they’d shared the condo before their divorce, Jordanna thought Tony might be able to solve the problem without expensive repairs. The fact that the repairs should have been the condo association’s problem hadn’t occurred to Angie at the time. Two months later the air-conditioning unit began to leak and then the washer broke down.
    Tony had seemed delighted by the birth of MaryLee and Brandon, and had been some help around the house while she juggled laundry, meals, cleaning, and nursing two rapidly growing babies. As the spring approached, however, it seemed that he was going over to Jordanna’s more and more often. Her mother, whom Tony adored, was ill, and Tony said they’d been visiting her in the hospital.
    Were they having an affair? At first Angie would have vehemently denied it. Now she wasn’t so sure. She wanted to ask Tony to be with her more but she didn’t want to make waves. A good relationship with one’s ex was important, but God, how she hated it.
    She pictured Monica or Cait in her situation. “Listen, buster, it’s time you spent come quality time with me instead of her. Got it?” No, she couldn’t do that. Not a chance. But she smiled at the thought.

Chapter
8
    A fter her coffee with her new friends Monica had her nails done and grabbed a bite of lunch. She was glad they hadn’t gotten any more deeply into what she did for a living; she didn’t want her title and six-figure salary to intimidate the other three. Actually, Cait’s bank account was probably as big as hers but she had married into it, not clawed and scratched her way to the top. Oh, yes, and fucked her way there, as well. Earlier in the week she’d looked Cait up in the phone book and had driven past her house. Sheraton and Willowbrook, the very highest rent district of East Hudson. A most impressive area, and from what Monica could see from the road, Cait’s house was one of the most impressive. At least five acres of land,