Newton Neighbors (New England Trilogy) (52 page)

Maria draped the fur coat over Jessie’s shoulders. “Suits you.” She gave a self-satisfied nod.
 

Jessie was wide-eyed admiring it. “Are you sure about this? It feels very heavy. I’m guessing it cost quite a lot.”

Maria swatted the idea way and headed out into the hall again.
 

“I still have the same e-mail. Come visit us in Puerto Rico anytime.”

“I think I’d like that,” Jessie said, and Maria knew she meant it.

Maria left Noreen’s house feeling like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders, and it wasn’t just the fur. She walked down the snow-cleared path of number nine and along the sidewalk of Crystal Lake Lane. Just as she was about to head into her old house, Cathi opened her front door. Maybe she had seen Maria coming, or perhaps she saw the large black Mercedes that pulled up next to the house. A man got out and stopped Maria to ask for directions.

“Hullo. I wonder, can you tell me which of these houses is Noreen Palmer’s?”

Maria studied his face—he looked familiar, but she couldn’t place him. He wasn’t very tall, and his frame was small. He had to be an old friend of Noreen’s.
 

She pointed toward Noreen’s. “That’s it, but you’ve just missed her. She’s gone on vacation—a cruise in the Caribbean, I think, and then she’s going to one of the islands.”

“Oh? You don’t know which island, do you?”

“No, but I think my friend here, Cathi, does. Are you a friend of Noreen’s?”
 

Cathi was coming up the pathway with the determination of a snowdrop in springtime.

“You could say that.” He smiled, and then Maria recognized him. “I was in town, and I just thought I’d surprise her with a Valentine’s Day visit.”
 

“Oh my God,” she said. “You’re Mick Wolf!”

The End (for now)

Preview of Lincoln Ladies, Book 3 in the
 

New England Trilogy Coming in 2014

Kate Kavanagh
was happy raising her daughter and focusing on work, but when the girl moves to New York for a job and ends up moving in with her philandering father, Kate wonders if her time was well spent.

Kate’s best friend,
Madeline Stein
, has been a career girl all her life. As a single mom, her job defined her, so when she loses it, Maddy needs a total rethink.
 

Portia Kavanagh
hits New York with a bang. She’s so hungry for adventure, she bites off more of the Big Apple than she intended. Portia retreats to what she thinks is the sanctuary of her father’s home only to find she’s not the only one in the family with an overactive appetite.

Kate and Maddy find themselves leaving their lovely hometown for the lush and very romantic hills of Tuscany, Italy. However, blue skies, rich wine, and charming Italians bring on a whole new world that the ladies must maneuver with the grace and style of a Lincoln Lady. Portia’s high-octane life in Manhattan comes at a price, too. Out of the millions of men she could have, she chooses the only one she’s meant to avoid. Her quandary: has she made a mistake of epic proportions or found the one in a million?

This is a story of three fantastic women on a journey of self-discovery. With more ups and downs than a Florentine fairground, the ladies survive love, loss, and fresh pasta by laughing at life and using a doggy bag. There are lots of thrills and spills along the way, but in the end it’s all about friendship, attitude, and walking off all that fabulous food. Come on the adventure and enjoy the ride with the lovely
Lincoln Ladies
.

Dear Book Club friends,

I really hope you enjoy reading
Newton Neighbors
as much as I did writing it. As with my last book,
Wellesley Wives
, my aim was to entertain you and make you laugh at life. Did I succeed?

I was conscious of the possible discussions and debate it could spark. So, again for your entertainment (and to get you chatting!), I’ve included ten book club questions. Of course, there are no right or wrong answers, because all points of view are valid, but I’ll post my own personal answers to the questions on my website, www.suzyduffybooks.com. It might be interesting to check out if we have the same opinions or not. Either way, it’s just for fun.

Happy reading,
 

Lots of love, Suzy

Book Club Questions—Warning PLOT SPOILERS lurk here.

1. What was the theme/essence of Newton Neighbors?
   
2. Is there such thing as a babysitter who is just too darn good-looking?
   
3. Out of Maria, Cathi, Ely, Jessie, and Noreen: Which character can you best relate to? How would you have handled her predicament? Have you or anyone you know gone through some of these situations? Which ones? How did they deal with it?
   
4. Do you think Jessie and Josh were right to tell Ely what they thought of her business idea? (They thought it would fail.) Should they have kept their negative opinions to themselves? Have you been in a similar position?
   
5. Maria gradually became complicit in all of Cathi’s crazy plans. At what point do you think she should have stood up to her? When Cathi first approached Noreen in her house? When she started to sell her own house behind Michael’s back? When she faked the pregnancy? Never?
   
6. Should Jessie have told Dan’s wife, Sadie, what he was up to?
   
7. Would you go to a Botox and Bollinger party? Would you like a bull-shit dog?
   
8. Should Ely have gone with Richard Worthington or her dad?
   
9. Was Maria right to take Ricky back and was Michael right to take Cathi back? Do they remind you of someone you know? How and why?
   
10. Do you think Noreen’s behavior was appropriate or, at eighty years, should she be slowing down, living life at a slower pace?
    

Also by Suzy Duffy

Wellesley Wives

Popsy Power is pretty, popular, and insanely rich. Her husband adores her, and her two daughters are busy producing babies and romping up the corporate ladder—like good little Wellesley Wives. However, what Popsy doesn’t know is that her husband and worldly wealth will soon be gone, and as for her daughters... Well, Lily’s romping is not restricted to the boardroom, and Rosie finds her pilot-husband flying more than his jet.

Sandra is Popsy’s best friend. She has the perfect body, bank balance, and palatial penthouse. As a second wife herself, she should know how husbands wander, but even she is shocked when she discovers where Jack has found his fun . . . When Lily’s nasty, little secrets suddenly go public and Rosie finds her husband flying a little too high, it’s time to escape.

Popsy and Sandra flee to beautiful, peaceful Ireland. Rosie heads to Mexico, and Lily seeks refuge in the arms of her man. The adventure continues for Popsy and Sandra. Within days, they’re almost arrested and killed before finding themselves in a boathouse in Banagher—with jobs! Meanwhile Rosie is diving off the back of a catamaran into the azure-blue of the Caribbean, but she’s not sure what’s worse—the sharks in the sea or the ones on the beach. Back in Boston, Lily discovers that getting what she wanted was not what she wanted, but unlike her scuba diving sister, surely she’s in too deep...

From Banagher to Boston and down to the Caribbean Sea, these four ladies are on a rollercoaster ride through life. Rich, poor, happy, sad, in or out of love—only one thing is certain. Things are is never dull when you’re with the Wellesley Wives.

Download a sample of this book at
The Writer’s Coffee Shop
.

Acknowledgements

I love this bit because there are so many people involved in getting a book up and out and even more who help bring that book to a larger audience, so brace yourself. Here are movers and shakers of the moment! At No. 1, I want to say . . . Dianne O’Sullivan-Gard, thank you!

Thanks also to my Literary Agent, David Forrer in Inkwell Management, NY, and the blessing in my life—Lyndsey Blessing in Foreign Rights! At TWCS, thanks to Amanda Hayward, Cindy Bidwell, Lea Dimovski. Thanks to Elyse Evans, an amazing editor, and Jen Matera (my Sandy sister!). Thanks to the incredibly patient Jenn McGuire, who guides me through all things techno, and a BIG thank you to my dear friend and mentor, Jenny Pedroza. Thanks to Christa Beebe and DJ Gann (my Sydney sister!). In New Zealand, thank you Andrea McKay and the rest of the team. What a team. In Canada, thanks to super Sarah Miniaci at Smith Publicity and my new friends at Cappelen Damm Publishing—Norway.

Of course, I want to thank the fabulous women of Wellesley and beyond, who were such a support launching
Wellesley Wives
. I expect no less for
Newton Neighbors
! Special mention to The Wellesley Book Shop and Wellesley Library—thank you. Hi, if you follow me on Twitter and Facebook. I love our cyber community. Thanks for your “likes,” RTs, and “shares.” If you’re not already here, join the party on
www.facebook.com/Suzyduffybooks1
.

Thank YOU for buying my book. 10% of my royalties goes to The Friends of Boston’s Homeless, so we’re doing good, here—romantic comedy with a cause! Check out
www.fobh.org
for more.

Thanks to my dearest Michael, Alannah, Saskia, Lily, Zola, Hugo, all the Duffys and Higgins—for letting me do what I do. I love you.

About the Author

Suzy Duffy is an international and #1 bestselling author of romantic comedy (rom com).
 
She’s Irish but lives in Boston with her husband, five children and their dog (Hogan).
 
She’s writing a New England Trilogy—
Wellesley Wives,
Newton Neighbors, and Lincoln Ladies
—and 10% of her royalties goes to www.fobh.org.
 

Other than this, Suzy was a national radio DJ and TV presenter (& had great fun!) in Ireland before she started writing. She’s also been an interpreter in the United Nations, Geneva (yawn), a water ski instructor in Crete, Greece (yes!), and a corn cutter in the south of France (until she was fired).

Her ambition is to lose seven pounds (not realistic) and write a book a year for the next forty years (more realistic). Then she’ll have a rethink.

Connect with her on
www.suzyduffybooks.com
.
 

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.
 

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