FROM ONE GIRLFRIEND TO ANOTHERâ¦
Dear Charlotte,
Just a note to let you know that you and Zoey arenât the only two to find your first loveâIâve found mine!
Only, he doesnât know it, of course. And Iâm not telling. Heâs a lawyer nowâstill has a âbad boyâ motorcycle, thoughâand heâs got a darling little girl. Guess who introduced us? His ex!
Zoey, as usual, is giving me plenty of advice. I hope youâre having a wonderful time in Bermuda and Iâm so looking forward to the three of us getting together when you return. See you soon!
Love,
Lydia
Dear Reader,
Just what is âkeeping houseâ? In the barest sense, it means keeping a family safe, secure and healthy by providing the essentials of warmth, shelter and food. But beyond the physical necessities of life, âkeeping houseâ also means providing for grace, beauty, hospitality, friendshipâ¦. The list goes on. Not just sustaining life, but what makes life worth living.
A home is much more than a house.
Lydia Lane wants to do all these things, only she doesnât have a family to practice on. She decides to turn her knowledge into a business, teaching the âhomely artsâ to others. One of her first clients is Sam T. Pereira, the âbad boyâ sheâd once secretly loved with all the passion in her fifteen-year-old heart.
Now a street lawyer and a divorced single dad who works out of his house so he can spend more time with his daughter, Sam canât believe how his buddyâs little sister has grown up. He decides he doesnât just want her turning his house into a home; he wants her in his life.
I hope you enjoy the story of Lydia and Sam as they discover that true love can happen to people who care deeply about the things that give life its meaningâhome and family.
With Lydiaâs story, we end the three girlfriendsâ search for their first loves. Zoey chases her man down (or so she thinks); Charlotte accidentally falls for hers all over again and, to turn the tables, Lydiaâs first love finds her.
Warmest regards,
Judith Bowen
P.S. I love to hear from readers. Write me at P.O. Box 2333, Point Roberts, WA 98281-2333 or check out my Web site at www.judithbowen.com.
To Linda Earl,
loyal, generous, enthusiasticâalways an inspiration
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
EPILOGUE
âAMBER!â Sam slapped the pizza box onto the coffee table in the family room, pushing aside the weekâs accumulation of newspapers and comic books. He whistled loudly, then yelled up the stairs. âMommyâs show is on and the pizzaâs here.â
He flicked the channels on the big-screen television until he got to TownTV, Channel 14, and the familiar opening medley of his ex-wifeâs late-afternoon talk show, âWhatâs New with Candy Lou?â Her name was Candace Penelope Downing, no Lou at all, but the producers thought the rhyme sounded better.
âYippee!â His daughter raced into the room with her friend from three doors down, Tania Jackson, right behind her. Amber carried the microphone from the play karaoke set that had been a Christmas present. Tania never said much. The two girls, both eight, were practically joined at the hip, and now they skidded to a stop as one, each grabbed a slice of pizzaâthe two largest, of courseâand scrambled onto the oversize recliner where they settled down happily. Nothing to wipe their fingers with. Should he bother? Yeah, might as well, even though the whole room was due for a major cleaning.
âWhoâs Mommy got on today?â Amber asked, her mouth already stuffed with Hawaiian pizza. Sam was so sick of Hawaiian he could scream. Oh, for a lacing of hot peppers and anchovies. Feta cheese and Greek olivesâhe could dream, couldnât he? Cappicola or, damn, even oysters!
âDonât know, honey.â Sam dropped a couple of paper towels on the arm of the girlsâ chair and then settled into the other recliner with his slice of pizza. Come to think of it, he was sick of pizza, period. âWeâll see.â
Watching Candace Downingâs show with his daughter was a ritual Sam tried not to miss. Amber lived with him. The single women who drifted in and out of his life and the regular visits from Amberâs grandmother and his sisters didnât provide enough feminine influence, in his opinion. Thisâwatching Candaceâs show once a weekâwas supposedly one way of maintaining maternal contact. Candaceâs idea, naturally.
What kind of world was thatâwhere you had to catch your mother on afternoon TV if you wanted to see her?
Sam shook his head and told himself to pay attention.
ââa new and unusual business. Do you really teach people like me how to polish silver?â Candaceâs high-pitched giggle had always bothered him. Sam frowned; heâd seen that woman before, Candaceâs guest.