Sisters and Husbands Read Online Free PDF

about time you figured that out.” He brushed past her and headed toward the
     doorway.
    “Kevin,” she protested. “We need to talk about this. You’re always running off.” He didn’t stop at the sound of her voice.
     He didn’t even look in her direction.
    She stamped her foot and stared at the empty doorway. She could no longer deny it or even rationalize it. The old Kevin—the
     loving, generous, ambitious family man she had married—was gone. And it was going to be hard to get him back. Maybe impossible.

Chapter 5
    T he second Beverly spotted Julian in the hotel restaurant—standing tall and bronze and smiling warmly in her direction—her
     heart did a little shuffle. They had been dating for a year, and he still had the power to melt her with a single glance.
    He removed his eyeglasses and kissed her tenderly on the lips, and the masculine scent of his cologne made her heart flutter.
     She smiled as they slid next to each other in a quiet, secluded booth at the back of the restaurant. They had developed the
     naughty little practice of spending one night a month in a different local hotel. They would meet in the restaurant or bar
     for drinks and dinner and then head up to their reserved room. Sometimes it was a fancy hotel at the Baltimore Harbor or in
     Georgetown in D.C. Other times it was a simple roadside motel. Today they had chosen a chic little spot on East Lombard Street
     in downtown Baltimore.
    The regular rendezvous were Julian’s idea, and it was typical of the way he often blended the familiar with something exotic.
     When she was anxious about work or frustrated with the wedding preparations, she could think about the night of passion they
     had planned for that month. It never failed to put a smile on her face.
    He ordered an apple martini for her and a regular one for himself, and she told him all about the fitting and meeting with
     the chef that afternoon. Julian was as manly as they come and he loved all manner of sports, with the Baltimore Ravens being
     his favorite ball team. His determination to get out on the golf course on weekend mornings bordered on fanatical. And yet
     he could sit and listen contentedly to Beverly go on about things like dresses and wedding cakes and her sisters.
    When Beverly first met Julian at a party at Valerie’s apartment a year earlier, it was instant attraction for the both of
     them. Beverly was licking French onion dip off her fingers when she turned away from the buffet table and collided with a
     tall, bronze-complexioned stranger wearing dark-rimmed eyeglasses. He was holding a drink that nearly spilled on her. Fortunately
     he pulled away just as Beverly jumped back, and some of the beverage ended up hitting the floor instead of her off-white summer
     dress.
    They both apologized repeatedly to each other as he stooped down to blot the floor with his napkin. When he stood back up
     and looked at Beverly, it slowly dawned on her that this was no ordinary guy. On the surface, he looked a bit nerdish with
     his semi-round barrister-style eyeglasses and a crisp white shirt tucked in neatly at the waist. But he was tall—about six
     foot two—and well-built, with broad shoulders and a slender waist.
    “You sure you’re all right?” he asked her again.
    She put on her best smile. “I’m fine, really.”
    “I didn’t get any vodka and Coke on that pretty white dress, did I?”
    “Nope. Not a drop.”
    He wiped his brow with mock relief. “Whew! Close call.”
    “Yes, it was a little close.”
    He extended his free hand a little awkwardly, as he balanced his glass and a small plate holding cheese and crackers in his
     other hand. “By the way, I’m Julian. And you are… ?”
    “Beverly.”
    “Beverly,” he repeated. “I always wanted to meet a Beverly.”
    “Yeah, right.” She laughed. “I bet you say that to every woman you meet.”
    “No, not at all,” he said, looking very serious. Then he cracked a devilish smile. “Only to