Wife by Charlotte Mendelson

BookBar says: Mendelson's superb writing explores the damage left behind once passion has curdled. A romance begins beteen two women, but as their desire to have children exposes the cracks in one's glamorous facade, their partnership sours. Tense and exquisite storytelling. Perfect for the literary explorer.
 
When Zoe moves in with Penny, their relationship looks perfect; after all, everyone wants a wife. But this is the story of how love can become a disaster . . . Zoe Stamper, junior researcher in Ancient Greek Tragedy, meets fellow academic Dr Penny Cartwright at a faculty flute recital. Dr Cartwright seems impossibly glamorous to Zoe, who is, after all, several rungs down the academic pecking order - and a nervous ingénue as far as Penny’s sophisticated circle is concerned.
But Penny leaves Zoe a cryptic note, and a passionate affair ensues. Once Penny confesses all to her live-in lover, Justine, their happiness seems assured. But there is something else Penny needs as badly in her life as Zoe’s adoration, and thus the beginning of their affair might also have signalled its end.