The Wives of Beverly Row 1: Lust Has a New Address Read Free Page A

lot more comfortable now,” Zola said. “Trust me. You never want to be the only girl at a pool party without a bathing suit.”
    Becky looked at her and smiled. Despite the strangeness of the situation she was pretty sure she liked Zola. At first she’d pegged her as a bimbo and a trophy wife but now that she had a chance to see her more closely she could tell that there was more to her than that. She seemed sensitive, vulnerable even. It wasn’t difficult to see why. She was young and Mexican and she was probably as amazed at all the wealth on Beverly Row as Becky and her mother were.
    Becky tried to imagine what it would be like to marry an older man like Jake Medeiros and have him take her into this world of glamor and glitz. Would she feel like a princess who’d been rescued by her prince charming? Or would she feel like property that had been purchased? Would she feel that she had to do everything her husband wanted to keep him happy? She wasn’t sure.

IV
    A RIEL LOOKED AT HERSELF IN the mirror. Becky and Zola were ready to get back to the party.
    “You two go ahead,” Ariel said. “I’ll be right down.”
    “Are you alright, mom?”
    “Sure, honey. I just need a minute to collect my thoughts.”
    Zola smiled at her. “Don’t worry about a thing, Ariel. I remember how nervous I was to meet these people when I first came here.”
    “When was that?” Ariel asked.
    “It was about two years ago. I lived with my mother in East LA before that. I guess me and my mother were like you two,” she said, looking at Becky.
    “That can be a nice arrangement,” Becky said, smiling at her mother.
    Ariel loved it when Becky said things like that. She’d gone through a period of guilt after her divorce. Becky’s dad was a good father and she knew Becky would miss living with him. But Becky understood the reasons for the divorce and once she got things clear in her head she’d been nothing but supportive.
    “It was nice,” Zola said. “Sometimes I miss it, even with all this wealth and comfort, I miss the ratty little apartment I grew up in. Funny isn’t it?”
    “Not really,” Ariel said. “I can understand that.”
    “Does your mother still live there?” Becky said.
    “Oh, no. She died a few months after I left.”
    “Oh, I’m sorry,” Becky said.
    “It was very sudden. Very unexpected. I felt so guilty at the time. I’d left her alone to rush off and marry a rich gringo and then she died. I felt like I’d abandoned her.”
    Ariel put her hand on Zola’s shoulder. She felt like comforting her. Ariel felt strangely protective of Zola. It was weird considering they’d only just met. There was something about Zola that Ariel could relate to. She could see herself and Becky in Zola’s face. Zola was just a few years younger than Ariel but Ariel almost thought of her as being closer to her daughter’s age. She seemed somehow alone in the world and that made Ariel want to look after her.
    *
    A RIEL WATCHED ZOLA TAKE BECKY down the sweeping staircase and then went back into the bedroom. She gathered up the dresses she and Becky had taken off and then touched up her makeup using the mirror above Zola’s vanity. She knew she was just stalling. She’d been so embarrassed when she arrived and she needed a few minutes to compose her thoughts.
    What the hell was up with Jake Medeiros? How had a sweet girl like Zola ended up with a man like that? Sure, he was rich and good-looking, and she knew as well as the next girl that those two things could be a powerful combination, but he was so smarmy . That was the word that came to Ariel’s mind. She still couldn’t believe he’d actually patted her butt right there in the kitchen where anyone could have seen. He seemed to be one of those entitled men who thought the whole world and everyone in it was his for the taking.
    *
    W HEN ARIEL GOT DOWNSTAIRS SHE felt just as shy as she had earlier. She looked through the kitchen doors out to the patio and there