Thy Neighbor's Wife (27 page)

original topic. “You have ruined me. You have ruined my career.”

“No, Eric. That’s not true—” She needed to get him on track,

to explain why she’d told Daniel the truth.

“You’ve ruined me!” he shouted.

“No, let’s talk about this—”

“I am the laughing stock of that firm now. Everybody thinks I

can’t cut it, that I cracked under the pressure.” He looked at her and

the rage in his eyes burned a hole right into her heart. “You did this

to me! Why couldn’t you have kept your mouth shut? This is your

fault!” He turned to leave, but Jennifer grabbed his arm.

“Eric, please. Don’t go. Let’s talk about this. Please…”

With a growl, he viciously yanked his arm from her grip and

raised it as if to backhand her across the face. She gasped in fright,

automatically turning away, squeezing her eyes shut, and bracing

herself for the blow. When it didn’t come, she opened one eye to see

why.

Eric was still standing there, but he was looking at his own

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hand in horror, his eyes wide with disbelief and self-loathing. “Oh,

God,” he murmured. “Oh my God.” His eyes filled with tears and

he blinked several times, lowering his arm. “I’m sorry,” he whis-

pered, so softly Jennifer could barely hear him. “I’m sorry, Jen.”

Then he turned and sprinted away like a ten-year-old boy. Jennifer

heard a car door slam and an engine turn over. Then he was gone.

She had no idea how long she stood in her yard, blinking at the

grass, trembling, unable to absorb what had just happened. All she

knew was that it was about to become a very important day in her

life. When she finally looked up, her eyes met those of Alex, who

stood on her deck facing Jennifer, her hands on the railing, looking

completely alarmed and unsure what to do.

Jennifer felt the first sob work its way up from her stomach and

she clamped a hand over her mouth. She turned and ran into the

house.

* * *

The voices were all so far away. They were muffled and distant,

as though she was hearing them from under water. She’d lost track

of how long she’d been lying in bed, drifting in and out of fitful

sleep. She didn’t seem to have the energy to move, to even lift her

head. Instead, she just lay there, straining to make out the words

coming from the answering machine in the kitchen without getting

up or even shifting the position of her head on the pillow.

Beep. “Jennifer, it’s Daniel. Listen, I was wondering if you’d

seen Eric tonight. I’m afraid he left here a bit upset. I’ve tried his

cell phone, but I keep getting voice mail. I’m worried about him.”

Beep. “Jennifer Elizabeth, would it kill you to call your mother

once in a while? An invitation to your place on the lake would be a

nice gesture, you know.”

Beep. “Hey, Jennifer. Um, it’s Alex. Listen, I know we’ve had

our share of problems, but I wanted to put those aside and check on

you. I sort of…overheard your argument with Eric. It was pretty

intense and I wanted to make sure you’re okay…”

That one had been interesting, but still Jennifer had lain there

staring at the wall. Night had fallen. Dawn had broken. She rolled

over to stare at the opposite wall. The phone rang again at ten

o’clock.

Beep. “Jennifer, it’s Alex again. Are you there? Pick up.

Please?”

At ten fifteen, the doorbell rang. She knew it would be Alex

and she was almost disappointed in herself for having locked all the

doors. For reasons she couldn’t seem to grasp at the time, Alex’s

arms seemed to be the only place that held any safety for her. She

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pulled the pillow over her head to block out the insistent ringing.

At noon, she managed to get up and walk the five steps to the

bathroom to relieve herself. After that, she fell back into bed, her

energy level so low she was surprised she was breathing. She

sighed, looking at the ceiling, and unable to hold it all at bay any

longer, she finally gave in. She let her brain open the door to all the

confusing feelings that she’d tried to lock away or ignore. Eric,

Sarah, Alex, the daisy woman. She looked at them all one by one,

examining each, letting her mind understand her heart and vice-

versa. It took more than twenty-four hours.

The phone continued to ring.

Chapter

Fifteen

Three days.

It had been three days since Alex had witnessed the ugliness in

the backyard of the Wainwright home. It has also been three days

since she’d seen hide or hair of Jennifer. At first she had worried

terribly. The fight had been a nasty one, not to mention an incredi-

bly loud one, and Eric had come so close to hitting Jennifer that

Alex herself had gasped in horror at the sight. She’d been so torn,

standing there on her deck. When she’d met Jennifer’s eyes, they

were wide with a combination of fright and humiliation and her

skin had been drained of color. Alex had had no idea what to say or

do. Before she could make a decision, Jennifer had turned and fled

into the house. And three days had gone by.

She’d left a dozen messages on Jennifer’s answering machine

and she’d gone to the house three times to pound on the door. It

was just when she was about to call the police because her worry

that Jennifer might have done something to harm herself was con-

suming her whole, that relief came. She saw the kitchen light snap

on and noticed the light fabric curtains had been drawn over the

enormous windows in the back room. She knew Eric hadn’t been

back—she’d been keeping an eye out for him—so she heaved a sigh

of relief at the shadow moving behind the sheer panels. She’d

watched carefully until it had become clear that the shadow was

making something to eat. Only then had Alex ventured to bed, feel-

ing like fifty pounds of stress had been lifted from her shoulders.

Sleep was elusive. She was exhausted from her vigil and con-

stant worry, apparently too exhausted to actually drift off. She

tossed and turned restlessly. It was stiflingly hot, as it was known to

get in that part of New York State in the dead of summer. No breeze

at all came off the lake. The air felt thick and heavy, making sleep

next to impossible. Though she was satisfied that Jennifer was all

right, Alex’s mind continued to spin around the situation. She

finally got to the point where she was about to scream with the

insanity of it all. Kinsey groaned his annoyance as she threw off the

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sheet and swung her feet over the side of the bed.

“Oh, shut up,” she snapped as she reached for her terrycloth

robe. The simple white cotton panties and matching tank top she

wore to bed felt like much more fabric than they actually were in

such heat and she debated the robe. Glancing at the clock and not-

ing the late hour, she tossed the robe back up on its hook. “Screw

it,” she muttered. “If the neighborhood gets a show, so be it.”

Kinsey yawned and resumed his almost constant panting. The

house had central air conditioning, but Alex was always reluctant to

use it. She hated the way it dried her sinuses and made the atmo-

sphere feel stale, and she hated closing the windows in the summer-

time. The breeze coming off the water was always peaceful and

relaxing. The lack of it and Kinsey’s lethargic panting, however,

made her seriously contemplate flicking the switch.

“Come on, buddy,” she said, lovingly scratching his head. “I

need some milk and we’ll get you some cool water, okay?”

He blinked at her several times, then slid languidly off the bed

to follow her.

“And don’t get any ideas,” she warned. “It’s one thirty in the

morning. You’re not going out.”

The moon was incredibly bright and she didn’t need to turn on

any lights as she strolled through the living room to the kitchen, her

mind still on Jennifer. She couldn’t recall the last time a woman had

affected her so intensely…and against her will. She didn’t want to

feel anything but friendship for her neighbor. She was constantly

berating herself for falling so quickly and so completely for some-

body so unattainable.

Jackie was always telling her that everything happens for a rea-

son and on many occasions, Alex had been inclined to agree. In this

case, however, she just couldn’t grasp what the point might be—not

just the bringing of Jennifer into her life, but making Alex fall for

her. She supposed if the point had been to break her or to make her

feel miserable, then it was working. Otherwise, she just didn’t get it.

She’d never wanted something so badly, and she simply couldn’t

have it. It was excruciating.

She refilled Kinsey’s water bowl and dropped a couple of ice

cubes in it. He sniffed at them, then proceeded to push at them with

his front paw. He was making a small mess, but he was so cute, Alex

didn’t care. She poured herself a glass of milk and leaned against

the counter, smiling down at him.

The tapping at the sliding glass door was so gentle, even Kinsey

wasn’t quite sure he’d heard it. He let out a little half-woof as he

and Alex both turned surprised heads in the same direction. His tail

wagged immediately. A wave of relief washed over Alex as she met

Jennifer’s blue eyes through the glass. She nearly flew to the door to

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let her in.

“I know it’s late,” Jennifer blurted out as she stepped through

the doorway. “I’m sorry. I saw the fridge light go on and I just…I

had to see you.”

She was wearing a pair of light blue, cotton boxer shorts with

Victoria’s Secret embroidered subtly on the waistband. A loose-fit-

ting, pink tank top covered the upper half of her, her deep tan

apparent even in the light of the moon. Her blonde hair was pulled

back into a very loose ponytail, the baby-fine hairs at the nape of

her neck damp and curly from the humidity. Her small feet were

bare.

Alex fully expected to see physical signs of emotional

upheaval, given the circumstances the last time they’d seen each

other—red, swollen eyes, blotchy cheeks, something. Instead, Jen-

nifer looked calm, strong, confident, and incredibly sexy. Alex

blinked in surprised, more than a little curious and more than a lit-

tle turned on.

“No, don’t apologize,” she admonished gently. “I don’t care

how late it is. I’m glad you’re here. I was worried about you.”

“I know. I’m sorry. I did get your messages, I just couldn’t face

you. I couldn’t face anybody. I had a lot of thinking to do.”

“I can imagine.” She studied Jennifer’s face in the moonlight.

“Are you all right?”

Jennifer contemplated that question thoroughly before answer-

ing. “Yeah.” She nodded with confidence. “For the first time in my

life, I think I am.” She held Alex’s gaze. “It’s amazing how things

that were once so blurry can just pull into focus when the time is right. Suddenly, everything becomes perfectly clear.” Her eyes

drifted from Alex’s and slid down her neck to rest momentarily on

her breasts. She rolled her bottom lip in, running her tongue slowly

across it, and Alex felt a jolt shoot through her body. Only then did

she become aware of what she was wearing—or more accurately,

what she wasn’t wearing. All the moisture from Alex’s mouth sud-

denly flew south and ended up in her panties.

Jennifer’s gaze was unwavering as she looked Alex in the eye

once again and Alex realized that she’d never seen the woman look

quite so alluring, standing in the kitchen, bathed in the ethereal

blue of the moon. Her resolve to stay away from Jennifer was

diminishing at an alarmingly high rate of speed.

It seemed at the moment that Jennifer’s boldness was directly

proportional to Alex’s nervousness. As Jennifer stepped toward her,

Alex took a step back until, much to her dismay, she was leaning

against the counter, trapped. Jennifer’s eyes never left Alex’s and

she was so together, so not flustered. Suddenly, Alex wanted noth-

ing more than to just hang on and see where this went, where Jenni-

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fer would take them. She forced herself to relax, and tamped down

the panic threatening to surface. Instead of excusing herself and

scurrying off to find a robe, she leaned back casually and grasped

the edge of the counter with each hand, fully aware of the tank top

pulling taut across her breasts.

“Pulled into focus, huh?” she said softly. “What kinds of things

are we talking about?” She took great pleasure in watching Jennifer

swallow hard as her blue eyes slid down again, this time not stop-

ping at Alex’s breasts until her gaze had traveled the entire length of

Alex’s body and back up again. Alex was sweating and trembling at

the same time, gripping the counter so tightly that her knuckles

were white.

“Life things. Decisions. Expectations. Happiness.” Jennifer’s

voice was husky as she took a step toward Alex, then another.

“Wants. Needs.” She pinned Alex with her eyes. “Desires.”

It was Alex’s turn to swallow hard.