Starter Wife (The Jilted Wives Club Book 1) by Bethany Lopez (a court of thorns and roses ebook free TXT) 📕

Once drinks and desserts were ordered all around, we played rock, paper, scissors to see who would go first in Jenga.

“So, things are getting pretty serious, huh?” Margo asked, leaning in so I could hear her over the loud music. “You ready for that?”

I glanced at Whitney, who was laughing along with Summer as she pushed a large wooden block out of its place, before looking back at Margo and saying, “Absolutely.”

She looked at me pointedly, not saying anything else, but waiting for me to go on.

“I wasn’t the one with the reservations in the first place,” I told her. “I knew from Campanella’s that first night that Whitney was someone I wanted to get to know better and with each encounter that feeling grew. I took things slow because that’s what she wanted, and I’m still going slower than I want because the last thing I want to do is scare her off. She’s coming off of a long-term marriage, raising two kids, and finding her footing again. I know that and I’m not trying to rush her or derail her dreams. I’m just hoping she’ll find a place for me in them.”

“Pretty fucking good answer,” Margo said after a beat, causing me to grin.

“Thanks, I’ve been practicing,” I joked. “I know meeting her kids is going to be huge but meeting the two of you is just as big of a deal for me. I know she values your opinion, and I was actually really nervous to meet you.”

“Aww, you didn’t have to be nervous,” Summer said as she joined us. “I mean, to meet Margo, yeah, but you know I’ve been Team Luca from the get-go.”

“I appreciate your support.”

“You’re up, babe,” Whitney called out and even though my body froze, and my heart leapt, I didn’t say anything about it, just in case she didn’t realize what she said.

Still, I shot a wink at Summer, who gave me a big smile and thumbs up, and went to take my turn at Jenga.

Twenty-One

Whitney

“Silas, I told you to take out the trash!” I yelled as I scurried around my living room lighting candles.

“I know,” came his response.

“Then why haven’t you done it?” I yelled back, exasperated. “Luca will be here any minute.”

“I’m in the game,” Si called out.

“Oh my God, that stupid game,” I muttered, shaking my head as I hurried into the kitchen.

Silas often spent his free time gaming with his friends online and once he was playing, it would take a natural disaster to get him off of it. Drives me crazy. You could hear his shouts and taunts through the house and I often had to put on headphones or turn up the volume on the TV to drown him out.

I gave everything a cursory glance as I moved through the room.

There was a charcuterie board on the counter, ready to be the first course. I had a salad made and chilling in the fridge, a whole chicken roasting in the oven, potatoes boiling on the stove, and asparagus ready to be sautéed when the chicken was almost done.

There was no way I was going to cook Luca Italian food, maybe ever, but I had plenty other meals I was excited to make and share with him. This one being the easiest, giving me time to be engaged rather than hunkered over the stove, while he was interacting with my children for the first time.

I popped into the downstairs bathroom real quick to double check the makeup I’d applied earlier, before I’d started cleaning and prepping, but before I could run up the stairs to reapply, the doorbell rang.

“Crap,” I muttered before yelling up the stairs again, “Silas!”

This time he must have heard me and the doorbell because the loud thumps of his feet hitting the floor and then coming down the stairs flooded the house.

“I’m here … I’m doing it,” he said hurriedly as he rushed past me to the kitchen trash can and began taking the bag out.

“Don’t forget to put a new bag in,” I hissed before moving back through the house to greet Luca at the door.

I paused, smoothed down the front of my shirt, and picked lint off of my capri pants, before releasing a deep breath and opening the door with a smile.

“Hey,” I murmured, moving in to tiptoe up and give Luca a kiss on the lips. “Welcome to our home.”

“Thank you,” he said, lifting his hand to offer me a bouquet of flowers. “These are for you.”

“Aww, they’re beautiful, thank you,” I said, accepting the gift and lifting the fragrant blooms to take a sniff.

I stepped aside to let him in and noticed he’d styled his hair differently, used some product or something. When he lifted his hand to mess with it, before stopping and dropping it, I bit back a smile.

He was nervous, which was really cute. I didn’t think I’d ever seen Luca anything but completely confident.

“Come with me to the kitchen and I’ll put these in some water,” I said, leading him through the house.

When we got to the kitchen, Silas was nowhere in sight, but the trash was replaced with an empty bag.

“How was the rest of your week? I didn’t see you much, you must have been pretty busy,” I said, making conversation as I trimmed the stems of the flowers and placed them into a glass vase.

“Yeah, it was really busy. My dad decided he enjoyed his vacation with my mom so much he’s thinking of making it permanent.”

“He’s going to retire?”

“Eventually,” Luca replied, looking around the kitchen. “I think he’ll still keep his oldest clients, but he’s going to take a big step back. Only come into the office a few times a month, unless those clients need him, and start spending more time home and doing the things Ma’s always wanted to do.”

“How do you feel about it?” I asked, moving to place the vase in the middle of the dining room table before returning