EXTRACT FOR
The Wife Next Door
(Eden Burgess)

Miles poured himself a whiskey and toed his shoes off, sitting down on his bed. He'd rearranged his bedroom furniture to give himself a perfect view out of his window as he reclined back, pretending to read a book. Really, he was waiting for her. Adele. The woman next door.



She was beautiful, her long chestnut curls cascading down her naked back, her skin smooth and unmarked, her eyes warm and welcoming. Her smile was enough to make her heart stop. Miles was in love. But so was Adele, he assumed, with her husband. He could kick himself for meeting the love of his life when she was already taken, but fate gave him one small sliver of hope, a few blessed moments to enjoy as she came to bed, every night at the same time, on the dot. Miles stroked his finger down the crisp page of his book, turning it even though he hadn't read a single word, just for an excuse to look up and check she was there.



He was rewarded by the fourth page, her figure almost ghostly in the pale moonlight that lit up the yards between them, shining in her window. Her floral dress wrapped around the curves of her body, tied tight around the middle, pulling in the hourglass of her waist. He knew it wouldn't be long now. She never dragged it out; she always rewarded him for his patience.