Book excerpt: Praise for Georgia Beers's 96 Hours: "96 Hours is a page-turner. . . . It is a riveting story rich with detail."—EDGE Boston What happens to lovers after the happy-ever-after moment? What goes on behind the closed doors of a relationship once the commitment is made? What does romance turn into when the hands of time keep turning? Olive Oil and White Bread is a novel that dares to answer those questions. Angie Righetti is the daughter of a sprawling but close-knit Italian American family. She's out and they're proud. Jillian Clark's family is the white bread to Angie's olive oil. Stoic and emotionally buttoned up, they don't want to think about Jillian's sexuality. It's 1988 when they move in together, on the brink of starting their careers. Like every couple at the start of their life together, they expect to live happily ever after. And for twenty-three years life happens: they change jobs, buy a house, get a dog, and deal with money issues and the death of a parent. They fight, love, cry, play, make mistakes, have regrets, and try to be good to each other and to everybody else. Like most of us they tumble into a routine that turns into a rut that leads to distraction and danger. In 96 Hours Georgia Beers gave herself the challenge of writing a romance set in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. And she succeeded, coming up with a book that garnered awards and great reviews. She returns with a new challenge—writing a romance that starts, rather than ends, with the happy-ever-after.