Maria and Rick Sanchez live in the upscale community of
Newton, Massachusetts outside of Boston. They live in a
lovely home on Crystal Lake, and have two children -- Cody,
age ten, and Alice, age ten months. The marriage is a
little strained right now due to Rick's work hours and
Maria's work load at home with children demanding her time,
especially Alice who is a fretful, very unhappy baby.
Since hiring a new baby sitter, Jessica Armstrong a post
grad student in psychology from England, Maria is
especially concerned since Jessie is drop-dead-gorgeous and
young. Rick is all but salivating when he's around her.
There's also the fact that her children adore Jessie and
Alice never fusses around her.
Michael and Cathi Grant are good friends with the
Sanchez's; Michael and Rick work together and Maria and
Cathi are best friends. Cathi is obsessed with buying the
house next door to Maria even though the elderly owner,
Noreen Palmer, has no plans of selling. Cathi is a force
to be reckoned with when it comes to moving up into the
Crystal Falls neighborhood, and she plans to do this by any
means possible. Michael is unaware of his wife's scheming
or just how far she will go to get what she wants.
Jessie has a roommate, Elyse "Ely" Briskin, from South
Carolina who is very rich, and has already flunked out of
three colleges. Ely is strictly a party girl and keeps a
supply of booze in their room even though Wiswall College
is alcohol free and does not allow sleep overs. Ely has a
steady boyfriend, Josh, who is on the football team, and
Jessie met Dan Walker, one of the firefighters called to
the Sanchez home the night Jessie baby sat. Dan is really
hot and they exchanged phone numbers; when they finally get
together it's like a flash-fire -- quick and very hot, plus
in Jessie's eyes, he is a hero.
NEWTON NEIGHBORS has ethos and pathos woven into its story
threads along with a great deal of humor. Relationships
are varied between all of her three dimensional characters,
and no bad deed goes unpunished. Suzy Duffy flawlessly
brings everything together and solves all problems without
missing a stitch. NEWTON NEIGHBORS is entertaining and a
lot of fun.
Newton Neighbors is a romantic comedy about the colorful
residents of Crystal Lake where everyone’s chasing
something.
Maria’s chasing her lost youth and hot Puerto Rican body.
Cathi’s chasing the house of her dreams and Jessica’s
chasing her man! That’s not all – Noreen’s chasing her
randy Bulldog, Ely’s chasing a business empire and Ricky’s
chasing the sitter.
It’s a story that flows from Boston, to London and back to
Puerto Rico on a wave of Botox, Bollinger and fist-fights.
When the only thing worse than a weak dollar is a weak
martini, you know you’re living with the Newton Neighbors.
Excerpt
"Hubba–hubba!" Rick said, making Maria smile.
She still knew how to work her charms—hands on
hips, subtle breath in through parted lips to elevate bust,
chin raised, head tilted. She could do it all in a
microsecond but make it look natural.
Tonight she was wearing a brand new, figure hugging
scarlet–red dress with a plunging neckline. "You
like?" She pouted for extra effect.
Rick crossed the room in three strides. "Baby, you're
still my weapon of mass seduction." His voice had dropped an
octave already. Blood was on the move. Damn.
Maria pushed against his chest as he wrapped his arms
around her, because she knew where this was going. "Ricky, I
was looking for your approval, not sex. Look, Cody's
downstairs, the sitter's due here any moment, and we don't
have time."
"Oh, come on." He kissed her neck and nuzzled into her
long, wavy hair, but she pushed him away.
"What if your son walks in?"
"We can lock the door?"
Maria tried to laugh it off, knowing it was her fault for
giving him the come–on.
NEWTON NEIGHBORS
"No! You grab a bottle of wine for the party and I'll
check on the baby." She walked away without giving him a
chance to argue. Everything she had said was
correct—they didn't have time for sex—but that
wasn't why she'd pushed him away. The truth was she had a
secret. If Ricky thought she was a weapon of mass seduction,
it was because Maria had upgraded her ammunition.
It looked like a gymnast's leotard, but it was made by
NASA and the ad had promised to reduce her waist by at least
two inches. The fact it took fifteen minutes to squeeze into
and she had no idea how long before she might asphyxiate was
academic. Maria was thrilled with the result. She looked
like her old self, with curves hauled back into the right
position, and that was all that mattered. But there was no
way she was showing it to Ricky. The plan was to wear it to
the party, look amazing, and then when they got home, she
would peel it off in the bathroom before he ever saw. Easy
but spontaneous seductions were not part of the agenda.
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