Second Time Around A Novel

by Kendrick, Beth

• ISBN13: 9780385342247
• ISBN10: 0385342241
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-03-30
• Publisher: Bantam

Summary

From the author of "The Pre-Nup" comes this novel that focuses on four college friends who learn that the grass may not always be greener on the other side of the fence.

Author Biography

Beth Kendrick is the author of four previous novels, including Nearlyweds and Fashionably Late. She also writes teen fiction as Beth Killian. She lives near Phoenix, Arizona, with her husband, son, and an assortment of badly behaved dogs.

Excerpts

Chapter 1    

"The only way not to think about money is to have a great deal of it." --Edith Wharton, The House of Mirth   

  We all should have gone to law school." Jamie Burton plopped down on a white rattan rocking chair, kicked off her flip-flops, and gazed out at the lake. "I'm telling you. Everyone who warned me about majoring in English was right. If I'd gone to law school,I wouldn't be flashing my decolletage for tips. If I'd gone to law school, all my student loans would be paid off, and I'd be swanning around in the trinity of Christians: Dior, Lacroix, and Louboutin. If I'd gone to law school, I'd be--"  

"Careening down the slippery slope of insanity," said Arden Henley, who had a framed J.D. diploma from Georgetown and a plushly appointed office in a prestigious Manhattan law firm. She'd hosted a girls' weekend reunion here at her family's cottage inthe Adirondacks every Fourth of July weekend since they'd all graduated from college ten years ago. "You'd hate being an attorney. Trust me." 

  "You're probably right." Jamie stretched out her long, tanned legs and swatted away a mosquito. With her bleached blond hair, freckles, and disproportionately ample bustline, she wasn't classically beautiful, but she was so cocky and outspoken that beautywas beside the point. Jamie made it clear that she didn't care what anyone thought of her and so, paradoxically, most people fell all over themselves trying to earn her good opinion. "I'll admit that my brief foray into corporate America wasn't exactly a rousingsuccess. Just the thought of being stuck in a cubicle makes me break out in hives. But I'm sick of bartending and getting home from work at three a.m. and being ogled like some airhead model." She paused. "Okay, maybe that part's bearable. But the rest . .."  

Brooke Asplind stopped painting her toenails long enough to strike a match and light the citronella candle next to the chaise longue on the porch. The sharp citrusy fragrance mingled with the scent of the pine trees surrounding the cottage. "You're burnedout, that's all. This little vacation is perfect timing. Stop talking about how the glass is half empty and grab a cold drink."  

"Twist my arm." Jamie grinned. "What're we drinking? Microbrews? Wine?"  

"Wine coolers." Arden rummaged through a large metal washtub filled with ice and extracted a bottle of peach-flavored booze with a pastel label.   Jamie wrinkled her nose. "Are you serious? I haven't had a wine cooler since . . . last summer, when you lowbrow degenerates peer-pressured me. We're not twenty-one anymore, ladies."  

"No, we are not," Arden said. "We're more mature . . ."  

". . . more worldly and alluring . . ." Brooke added.   ". . . and still paying off those student loans," said Caitlin Johnson, who had leveraged her B.A. in literature all the way to a Ph.D. and an assistant professorship at tiny Shayland College in Connecticut. "But all that debt was worth it, don't you think?We had some good times in college."   "We're still having good times." Arden took a long swig from her wine cooler. '

  Brooke's forehead creased in concern. "Should you really be drinking that? Since you just took your pills an hour ago?"  

Arden tucked her feet up under her and settled back in her cushioned wicker chair. Her baggy beige cargo shorts and threadbare Thurwell College T-shirt only served to emphasize the gauntness of her frame. She had always been pale and petite, but now hercomplexion looked ashen and her cheeks had hollowed out underneath those huge hazel eyes and glossy black hair. "Don't you worry your pretty little head about me. If I gotta die young, at least I'm gonna die with a good buzz on."

   The four women lapsed into silence for a moment, watching the sun sink down to

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Excerpted from Second Time Around by Beth Kendrick
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