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

“Oh, where do you work?”

“I’m a hostess at Lazy Dog.”

“Nice, do you like it?”

Stella shrugged and said, “The people I work with are cool, but I can’t wait until I’m old enough to be a server so I can make tips.”

I nodded in understanding and turned to Silas, “What about you?”

“Lacrosse,” he said, his eyes darting back toward the kitchen. “You think the food’s almost done?”

“He’s always thinking about food,” Stella said with a sigh. “Just keep your shirt on, Si, Mom’s working on it. Go take over mashing if you want it to go faster.”

“It’s done,” Whitney called back, and I realized she could hear everything perfectly from the next room. “Come grab a dish and we can get started.”

We went to help and came back carrying dishes heaping with food and settled in to eat.

“I hope family style is okay,” Whitney said from her seat across from me. She looked a little unsure, which was very sweet. I could tell she was putting a lot on this dinner and really wanted everything to go well.

“It’s perfect. That’s how we eat all our meals at home,” I said.

“Do you have kids?” Stella asked, and I realized how she would have misconstrued what I’d said.

“No, I don’t,” I replied as I piled mashed potatoes on my plate and passed the bowl to Si. “What I meant was at my parents’ house. I don’t live with them, but my ma always puts on Sunday dinners, and we go there for holidays, of course. So every Sunday my family meets there, and we enjoy a big meal together … family style.”

“Luca comes from a pretty big family,” Whitney told them.

“Yeah, my older brother and sister are both married. My brother has two boys, and my sister has a new baby girl. We are constantly growing bigger, the quintessential Italian family.”

“Are you from Italy?” Silas asked between bites, and it felt like a win having him ask me a question about myself.

“My family is but I was born here. My parents just took a trip to Italy actually, and I haven’t told you this yet, Whit, but they bought some property there. A house on a working olive grove. It’s going to be our family vacation home. We’re going to all go there and see it for the first time this summer.”

“Wow, a house in Italy? I’ve always wanted to go to Europe,” Stella said with a wistful sigh.

“That’s amazing. I’m sure you’ll have a lovely time,” Whitney added.

“So, does that mean if you and my mom are still going strong, we could be spending our summer in Italy?” Silas asked with a mischievous grin.

“Silas,” Whitney warned, at the same time I said, “Absolutely.”

Twenty-Three

Whitney

“Sorry, Steve, I’ll have it to you in the next five minutes. I just need to finish up.”

“You were supposed to have it to me five minutes ago,” Steve said with a shake of his head, then as he walked away from my desk I heard him mutter, “This is what happens when they give the job to some housewife off the streets who hasn’t worked a spreadsheet in over a decade.”

To say Steve was not my biggest fan would be an understatement.

I took a deep, cleansing breath and finished what I was working on so I could get it to Steve quickly and hopefully not have to interact with him again today.

I got along pretty great with everyone at the office, except Steve. At first I was confused as to why he didn’t like me when he didn’t know the first thing about me, but then Pam in payables told me his nephew had been up for the job I’d ended up getting and he was pissed about it.

Since there was nothing I could do about it, I mean, short of giving up my job, which was not going to happen, I tried to kill him with kindness whenever I saw him but avoided him when I could.

I finished up the spreadsheet and sent it off, then pushed back from my desk and stood up. After a short stretch, I decided coffee was in order and headed down the hall toward the break room.

When a hand grabbed my arm and pulled me into a supply closet, I let out a yelp of surprise and turned around in time to see Luca shut the door and lean back against with a sly grin.

“Oh my gosh, you scared me,” I managed, placing a hand on my chest.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to. I was in here getting some staples and saw you coming down the hall and went on impulse.”

He reached out to grasp my waist and drew me to him.

When his lips nuzzled my neck, my pulse quickened for an entirely different reason.

“I missed you,” Luca murmured.

I let my head drift to the side and my eyes close as the feel of his hands caressing my bare arms mingled with the heady sensation of his lips on my skin.

“That feels lovely,” I said with a soft sigh. It had been getting harder and harder to be satisfied with only making out. My body seemed to be ready to ignite at the simplest touch from Luca and I was once again reminded of how incredibly long it had been since I’d found pleasure with a man.

Lord, the last few years of my marriage had been anything but sexually fulfilling. Marcus had been using up all his energy with his affairs, leaving me to take things into my own hands.

“Come over tonight,” he said as he did something delectable to the spot just under my ear.

“I am … We have dinner plans, remember?” I said, a little confused. We’d texted about it last night after I’d told him the kids were both going to be out with friends all night.

“No, I mean, not just for dinner … Stay with me tonight.”

I let out a moan of protest when he stopped what