Wellesley Wives (New England Trilogy) by Suzy Duffy Read Free Book Online

when they broke up. She and Lily were at his wedding to Sandra, and here was her sister in a very compromising position with the man that was like a second father to them. How weird was that?
    As quickly as possible, Jack backed away and escaped down the emergency stairs, incapable of waiting the seconds it would’ve taken for the elevator doors to reopen.
    Rosie looked at her little sister. She smirked and gave a quizzical look. “Lily?”
    Lily didn’t even bother to pretend or lie. It would’ve been futile. Instead, she scooped up her niece and walked back into her apartment. Rosie followed them and closed the door behind her.
    “Can I make us some coffee? I think we need to talk.” Rosie walked into the kitchen as Lily focused all her attention on the duck coat and boots.
    Natasha danced in a little circle so her aunt could fully appreciate the outfit.
    “I was looking in the fridge for some low fat milk when, lo and behold, I found this bad boy open and looking forlorn,” she explained when Lily glanced up.
    Her sister looked riddled with guilt, and Rosie was enjoying the sudden turn of events.
    “Well, it would be flat in a matter of hours. Seems a bit of a waste not to drink it, right?”
    Lily shrugged and wrapped her arms around her body like she was cold, and Rosie came to sit beside her.
    “It’s not what it looks like,” Lily said, taking the glass of champagne she was offered.
    “Oh, you’re not screwing Uncle Jack?” Rosie whispered, but her words were still brutal.
    Lily gestured to Natasha as if to say: not in front of the child. But Rosie wasn’t going to let her daughter stop her from getting to the bottom of this.
    “Natasha, if you watch Sponge Bob on Aunt Lily’s bedroom TV, I’ll buy you fries on the way home. Deal?”
    “Yay!” She squealed and took off at top speed for her aunt’s room. Lily jumped just as fast. “Jeez, my room is a bit of a mess.”
    Rosie sank back onto the deep, soft sofa, enjoying the moment.
    How quickly things can change. She’d been so dreading facing her sister’s moral high ground when all the time she was the one with the morals of a pirate.
    Lily returned a few moments later, only this time she was wearing a cashmere sweater and leggings. She pulled the sleeves down over her hands—her guilty “tell.”
    “Come on,” Rosie said. “Spill the beans.” She patted the sofa next to her.
    Lily did as she was ordered, but she sat on the edge of the cushion nervously. “I love him.”
    “So do I—but in an uncle way, Lil.”
    “No, I love him more than that,” she said with stronger conviction this time.
    “So how long have you loved him?”
    “Oh, you wouldn’t understand.” She flopped back onto the sofa.
    “Try me.” Rosie took a swig of champagne.
    “It’s been almost a year now. He and Sandra haven’t been getting along, and we go to the same gym.”
    “And?”
    “Oh come on, Rosie. Do you need to have every lurid detail?”
    “That would be good.” She grinned, but then continued a little more seriously, “For God’s sake, Lily. All the guys in the world and you pick Dad’s partner to have an affair with. Jeez, he could be your father. He’s old enough.”
    “Age doesn’t matter.”
    “Not now, but it will in another twenty years. And what about kids? His daughters are the same age as we are. This is so wrong, little sis.”
    Rosie felt anger beginning to rise. Here was her sister utterly remorseless, yet condemning her for doing something she hadn’t even done yet. “You know what, you’re some hypocrite. You’re having an affair with a man who’s already on his second wife. He happens to be a very close family friend, and you have the nerve to give me grief about—oh, I don’t know—experimenting. But at least it’s within the confines and honesty of my own marriage.”
    Lily rose to her feet again. “See, this is why I didn’t tell you. I knew you wouldn’t understand. I figured you’d judge me like this