A Fashionable Affair Read Online Free PDF

they often are.”
    “Patsy is never cruel,” Michael said, “except to her boyfriends.”
    “I’m never cruel to anyone,” Patsy said firmly. Michael looked amused but said nothing. Patsy felt an unfamiliar flash of annoyance. “Anyway,” she continued crossly, “what do you know about my boyfriends?”
    “Not much,” he replied cheerfully, “except that you’re cruel to them. Look at this Don fellow—cast off because he made the mistake of being petulant.”
    “Well, I don’t see that I have to put up with all sorts of infantile behavior just because a man thinks he’s in love with me.”
    “Of course you don’t,” Michael agreed.
    Patsy’s eyes actually flashed with temper.
    “Haven’t you ever been in love, Patsy?” Steve asked.
    “She’s always in love,” Sally said. “The problem is it never lasts.”
    “That’s true.” For some reason Patsy began to feel depressed. “I don’t know why, either.”
    “Your love affairs always conformed to whatever book you were reading at the time,” Michael said unexpectedly. “When you were reading Anna Karenina you fell for Derek Forsyte, a Vronsky type if ever I saw one.” Patsy stared at him in aston ishment. “Then there was Peter Carteret when you were reading Pride and Prejudice.”
    There was a moment’s silence. “Do you know,” Patsy said in awed accents, “I believe you’re right.”
    Sally and Steve rocked with laughter and Michael grinned.
    Patsy thought of the book she had been reading when she fell for Don. “But this is awful!” she said distressfully.
    “Don’t worry about it, Red,” Michael said good- naturedly. “It’s part of your charm.”
    Patsy straightened her shoulders. He sounded like her uncle, she thought indignantly. “Does the psychoanalysis come free or do you include it in your accounting fee?” she asked nastily.
    He didn’t seem to realize he’d been insulted. “It’s free,” he replied, looking directly at her. “Anytime.”
    The fluttery feeling was back in her stomach. His green-gold gaze held hers for a minute, then moved across the table to his sister’s face. “How is Uncle Frank doing?” he asked, effectively drop ping Patsy from his sight, his attention, and his con versation. Patsy stared at him in a mixture of outrage, bewilderment, and a new emotion she didn’t quite yet recognize.
    After dinner Michael and Sally huddled over the math problem Sally had mentioned earlier, and Steve switched on the TV. Patsy sat and watched with him, feeling ignored. It was a feeling she was totally unfamiliar with, and one she didn’t like at all.
    Before Steve drove him home, Michael asked Patsy if she would stop by his place in the morning before returning to New York. He had a few things to ask her about her tax records. Patsy opened her mouth to say no. But she said yes, instead.
     

Chapter Four
     
    Sally’s children were early risers—Patsy had Steven in bed with her at seven—and by nine o’clock the whole family was fed, and the grown-ups were showered and dressed.
    “I’m going to rout Michael out,” Patsy said to Sally. “I want to get back to New York by this after noon.”
    “Okay,” Sally said. “I just hope he didn’t stay up all night working on that problem.”
    “Didn’t you solve it last night?”
    “Not completely. Frankly, I wasn’t getting any where with it. Michael will, though.” She made a rueful face at Patsy. “And I’m the one with the degree in higher mathematics. I’m also very smart. Michael, however, is a genius.”
    “He was always going to major in math,” Patsy said slowly. “What made him switch to accounting?”
    “Have another cup of coffee before you go?” Sally asked.
    “Okay.” Patsy sat at the kitchen table. The sun was shining in the windows and from the next room came the sound of the baby romping in his playpen. Steve had taken Steven with him to get the morning papers.
    Sally poured the coffee and sat down as well. “It was