Dangerous Pleasures Read Online Free PDF Page A

isn’t for multiple houses. It was residential, but no one wanted to buy it because of all the zoning restrictions. The town board rezoned it for the Channel Corporation because they agreed to renovate and rebuild it. It’s called the Spa at Egret Pointe. I hear it’s absolutely gorgeous, and ultra-, ultraplush.”
    “Just the place for a tired widow with five kids,” Annie said wryly.
    “Hey, you won. That’s all that counts. Accept your prize and enjoy every minute of it. Get massaged, salt scrubbed, manicured, pedicured, and facialed to your heart’s content. They will feed you and cosset you to bits and pieces, and you deserve it!”
    “I’ll bet they have aerobic classes for the already skinny ladies who live on mineral water and lettuce leaves,” Annie said with a chuckle.
    “Who cares? Take a meditation class. Do a little tai chi,” Lizzie told her. “And you can feel totally superior knowing that you are much better off than all the other women there. So you’re widowed and have five kids, but you’re loved, and despite it all you are content with your life.”
    “I suppose,” Annie replied.
    “You aren’t content?” Lizzie was surprised. “What do you want then?”
    “I’m a little bored with being the Widow Miller, and a lot bored with being held up all over town as a paragon of motherhood. I must be more than just that,” Annie said.
    “Gee,” Lizzie said, “I always thought you were happy.”
    “I was. I am. But my husband is gone. My oldest son is off to college in the fall. Three more years and Amy will be gone too. In ten years I’ll be down to one kid, in my mid-fifties, and when Wills is gone what’s left? I’m stuck in a big house in constant need of repairs. Alone. With no life.”
    Lizzie shook her head. “I never thought of it that way,” she remarked.
    “Of course you haven’t,” Annie answered. “You have a career, and you will always have a career if you want it. The law won’t leave you, but your kids do, and that’s the way it should be. But it doesn’t make it any easier.”
    “You’ve got a college degree,” Lizzie said.
    “In history,” Annie noted.
    “You could teach,” Lizzie suggested.
    “I’d have to go back to get teaching credits and to get certified,” Annie said. “Besides, I don’t want to teach.”
    “You have work experience,” Lizzie replied. “When Wills is set in kindergarten get something part-time. People are always looking for help.”
    “I worked in Dad’s insurance office for a year before Nat and I married,” Annie responded glumly. “I typed letters, sent out forms, and filed. I am barely computer literate, and only because Nat insisted. I’m not big on technology.”
    “There has to be something you can do, and earn a living at the same time,” Lizzie insisted. “And now that you’ve started thinking about it, something is bound to come to you or just fall into your lap. It always happens that way.”
    “How you can be such a tough litigator and believe in coincidence continues to astound me.” Annie laughed.
    “You don’t have to make any decisions now,” Lizzie said. “Right now the only thing you have to do is decide what you are going to take to the spa.”
    “What does one take to a spa?” Annie asked her sister. “I’m a spa virgin.”
    “Did they suggest anything in the e-mail?” Lizzie queried.
    “They said comfortable and casual clothing,” Annie replied.
    “Okay, you’ll be there seven nights, so I’d say three pairs of nice slacks, five tops. You can mix and match. Maybe two pairs of sweatpants and a couple of tees. The usual amount of underwear, a few scarves to make the slacks seem a bit dressier at dinner, that great cornrow bracelet, and some of your turquoise earrings. Nightgown.”
    “I wear pj’s now,” Annie said. “After our little Whoops it seemed less provocative, and it was always more difficult to get out of them for sex. It gave him time to put a condom on, instead of