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

“If it’s this good warmed up, I can’t imagine how amazing it must be right out of the kitchen,” I said, popping a brussels sprout in my mouth.

“We’ll go there.”

“I’ll hold you to it.”

We ate with a gusto, saving the crème brulée until the end and enjoying it with a glass of the Pinot noir I’d brought.

We were laying on the bed, talking as we indulged.

“I’d really like to take you to a Sunday dinner at my parents’, if you’re up to it.”

My breath caught, and when I didn’t immediately respond, Luca said, “If you need more time, we can wait a few weeks, but I want you to know that it’s what I’m hoping is the next step for us. You can bring the kids, or save that for another time, totally up to you, but my ma is going to want to meet you.”

“Have you told her … them, about us?”

Luca shook his head.

“Not yet. Once I tell her, she’s going to insist on meeting you, and since I knew you weren’t ready for that yet, I figured I should wait.”

I thought about him and us and made a decision I hoped was the right one.

“I’d like that, but without the kids first. They only just met you, so I’d like to give them a little more time to get to know you first, before introducing them to your whole family. I don’t want them to be overwhelmed.”

“I should tell you, I spoke with Silas today.”

“You did?” I asked, then remembered he’d been by the office. “At work?”

“Yeah, in the elevator on the way down.”

“How did that go?”

“Well, he gave me the ‘man of the house’ speech.”

“The what?” I asked, puzzled.

“You know, the kind of if you hurt my mom I’ll kill you speech. Although he didn’t use those words. Mostly he wanted to tell me you’ve been through a lot and warned me not to hurt you. He also said you weren’t going to get married again and with things going good in your life again, you don’t need me messing things up.”

I sat up, shocked, appalled, and a little touched at the thought of Si stepping up to have my back like that.

“I hope you weren’t mad.”

“No, not at all. I got where he was coming from. I told him I really like you and don’t want to mess anything up for you and I hoped he’d give me a chance.”

“Oh, okay, well it sounds like you handled it pretty well. I’m sorry he cornered you like that.”

“Is what he said true? Do you not want to get married again?” he asked, and from his expression I could tell my answer was important to him.

So, I answered truthfully… “I don’t know.”

Twenty-Eight

Luca

“What do you say we get together on Saturday and hit up Top Golf or something?” I asked Damon.

He’d called while I was in the middle of a meeting with a client, so I’d called him back before my next one started.

“Sounds perfect. It’s been a minute since we’ve done that,” he replied.

He was right, it had been a long time since we’d gone out and done something fun. Other than the burger we’d grabbed a few weeks ago, I hadn’t spent much time with him at all. I suddenly felt guilty, because we used to be inseparable, but life and work had gotten in the way of that.

“Hey, you know what, you should come to Sunday dinner as well. It will be Whitney’s first time, and although I know you two only met briefly, I’m pretty sure she’d love to see a friendly face in the crowd. And you know my ma would love to see you. It’s been too long.”

“Uh, yeah, my Sunday is pretty clear. I have a golf game with some guys from work, but we’ll be done in time. I’d like that. Tell your ma I’ll bring her a bottle of her favorite wine.”

“Perfect, I’ll let her know and I’ll text you about what time on Saturday.”

“Sounds good, brother, have a good one.”

I’d barely hung up when my phone rang in my hand.

It was my ma.

Her ears must’ve been burning.

“Morning, Ma, I was actually just about to call you,” I said warmly when I answered.

“Good morning, dear, how’s your day going so far? Did you eat a good breakfast?”

I chuckled and said, “Yeah, I grabbed a bagel on the way in.”

“From the corner deli?”

“You know it.”

“Ah, I haven’t been there in ages. I should tell your father to pick some up one day.”

“I can grab you some. I’ll bring them by Sunday morning.”

“Don’t forget the cream cheese.”

“Never,” I promised. “So, I was going to call you to tell you we’ll have two more for dinner on Sunday.”

“Wonderful. Is it Damon? He hasn’t been to the house in forever. Is he bringing a date? Nigel’s out of town again, so it’ll only be one extra place … No problem.”

“It is Damon, but I’m the one who’s bringing the date.”

The line went quiet, and I grinned as I waited for the reaction I knew was coming.

“Praise Jesus,” she whispered and then I heard her giving herself the sign of the cross, “In the name of the father, the son, and the holy ghost.”

I covered my mouth with my fist so she wouldn’t hear me laugh as I pictured her in the kitchen having to steady herself at my news.

It was rare indeed for me to tell my mother if I was dating someone, and even rarer for me to bring a woman home for Sunday dinner. In fact, Giada was the only one I’d ever brought home.

“Tell me everything … Is she allergic to anything? Is there anything she doesn’t like? Should I make my lasagna or manicotti? No, I should make my swordfish with puttanesca sauce … and tiramisu for dessert.”

“Ma, don’t stress. You don’t have to go crazy, just cook what you were already planning on making for dinner.”

“Luca Giancarlo Russo, you