Note from the editor: Side Dish essays are a way to explore the topics of girlfriends, books and entertaining, submitted by authors and Book End Babe book club members. Today kicks off TAINTED week. TAINTED is a January Top Pick, and a debut psychological thriller. The author’s voice, intriguing characters and creative plot made TAINTED a one-sit read for me! I hope you’ll take the time to get to know more about TAINTED this week and introduce it to your book club. You can find out more about the book by clicking on the cover image in the sidebar. PEOPLE magazine said: “[T]his sneak-up-on-you page-turner packs a suspenseful wallop that will chill your soul.” I totally agree. – ML
by Brooke Morgan
Soon after I moved from Boston to London, I realized I was missing a crucial ingredient in my life – female friends. How was I supposed to find them, especially when I wrote at home alone?
And then, boom – I was at a cocktail party and saw this strawberry blonde woman surrounded by a group. I edged in. “Should I marry the man who bought me this dress?” she asked and I thought: first of all – no, don’t marry him – the dress is O.K. but not gorgeous, and secondly: you have to be my friend.
I’d already learned that Englishwomen could be stand-offish. They thought American women who tried to make friends right away were too pushy. So what was the best way to approach her?
The tragic truth is that I stalked her. I found out her name and where she worked and at lunchtimes I’d walk by her office hoping to accidentally on purpose bump into her. After three failed attempts, I did – on a snowy day. Within minutes she was telling me about the man she was desperately in love with: an unobtainable hunk named, honestly, Storm – who wasn’t the one who bought the dress. The man who bought the dress was a boring banker.
Storm disappeared from the scene, but Sally stayed and became my best friend. Awhile ago, I introduced her to a guy I know and they are now having a tempestuous, passionate romance. After one of their periodical huge fights, we’ll meet up and she’ll say: “I should have married the dress man.” And then we order another glass of wine.
Book End Babes is Girls Night Out meets great reads, celebrating books and girlfriends. With real-life chapters around the country, we'll feature 4 Top Picks each month, share book reviews, recipes and prizes to start a reading revolution. The reviewed books are typically supplied by the publisher, though reviews are not guaranteed. BEbabes was founded by author Malena Lott. Our group blog features a dozen book babes. If you'd like to start a BEbabes chapter, click the envelope button below to contact me! 
