Friend or Rival?

I am 38 y. old and happily married for many years. We have two wonderful children. I have a problem that many wives have, so I would like you to help me with advice.

My husband has a childhood friend who married 3-4 years after us to a woman I can briefly describe as the dream woman for every man - pretty, with nice body, kind, helpful, etc. I also liked her. We are family friends for many years.

My husband is not a womaniser, but he’s the type that doesn’t pass on an opportunity. He keeps family and family values close to his heart and with few exceptions we haven’t had problems with the opposite sex. Recently, I’ve been consumed by a secret jealousy, which sometimes makes me behave abnormally and that really bothers me.

We visit our friends on many occasions and often I feel like a "second hand" woman not because my husband offends me or something, but I see him take sleek looks at her and feel his adrenaline, which increases when he comes close to her (no way all men feel that way ), but this is the same looks and passion with which he looked at me before and although I have tried to keep good appearance, be the perfect housewife, mother and mistress I have a feeling of helplessness because I know that something will happen (that is if it hasn’t already) between them because I see the same kind of body language from the lady too. They kind of sneak up on each other and one day, I saw his hand run down her back!

Please advise me how to behave – I don’t want to ruin the relationship with our friends, it makes me feel like the villain of the story the more because they are friends of the children too, but at the same time I’m afraid of the events that may occur if nothing is done now and it could destroy the harmony in my family.