Trophy Wife

by Bethany Lopez

  Then she began to move.

  It only took one swipe of her hands down her body for me to realize where this was going. I knew I could be slow on the uptake sometimes, but I didn’t know a man alive who wouldn’t understand what was happening.

  “Did you also go to a strip club,” I croaked.

  Summer started unwrapping her dress in the most interesting fashion. Huh, who knew a dress could do that? She even spun around slowly, teasing me with bits of exposed flesh, until the material floated away, and she stood before me in the most amazing corset and garter set in an angelic white.

  “No. Pole dancing class.”

  Her hips were moving, and so were her hands … over those beautiful breasts and back down again.

  “I’m afraid I don’t have a pole,” I managed to say, truly regretting it.

  “Guess I’ll just have to improvise,” she said, stepping toward me and adding, “Stand up.”

  I did so, quickly and eagerly.

  Summer reached for the tie around my waist, never stopping her movement to the music, undoing it, and reaching up to push the robe off of my shoulders. I was left in a plain white T-shirt and plaid pajama pants … certainly not even close to the level of sexy as what she was wearing. But she didn’t seem to mind.

  She danced around me with surprisingly great rhythm. I mean, I’d seen her dance at the country bar, but I’d never seen her do anything like this.

  It was quite erotic.

  I itched to touch, her getup driving me mad, but I didn’t want to interrupt the show she was so intent on giving. I was pretty sure it was turning her on as much as it was me, so I was game to be her pole for as long as she wanted.

  When she crouched down and then slowly slithered her way up, lightly grazing my body as she did, I hardened to steel-level proportions and had to briefly close my eyes and recite the periodic table in order in my head.

  “Noah,” Summer whispered, and I felt her hand brushing over the length of me.

  My eyes flew open.

  “Shall we go to your room?”

  Rather than answer, I picked her up and practically sprinted down the hall toward my bedroom.

  Her gales of laughter followed us through the house, and by the time I deposited her on my bed, my body was on fire.

  She moved back onto the bed and propped herself up on her elbows while I quickly rid myself of my clothes. This time I stood before her fully naked, while her hungry gaze traveled over my body.

  When she moved to unzip the side of her corset, I begged, “No, please, keep it on.”

  Her hands fell back, and I reached for the strings on either side of her hips, then ripped the fabric and gathered the material to throw her panties to the side.

  “I’ll buy more,” I promised, moving over her and dipping my head to finally give her a kiss.

  When we broke apart, we were both left gasping for breath, and Summer said, “You liked my dance.”

  I positioned myself between her legs, grasped her hips with my hands, and slid swiftly and deeply inside of her. When I was fully seated, I looked into her lust-filled eyes and said, “I loved it.” I bent to kiss her again and whispered, “I love you,” against her lips. And then I began to move.

  27

  Summer

  I woke up feeling satisfied and surprisingly not hung over.

  Noah was sleeping soundly and looked so delightfully sweet and rumpled I just had to give him a blow job.

  It was Sunday, after all, and neither of us had anything to do but laze around and enjoy each other all day, so I figured I’d start us off right.

  Noah woke making the most delicious sounds, and when I was done, he gave me a whopper of a kiss and then promptly passed back out. I decided to let him sleep and go make us a decadent Sunday breakfast.

  I scurried through the house, cognizant of the fact the air was cooling my naked bottom, eager to find my dress. Once I was clothed, save for my still-bare bottom, I went to the kitchen in search of a pan.

  I put on Spotify and then started getting out all of the ingredients to make French toast with blueberries, cheesy scrambled eggs, and bacon.

  I sang along with Sia as I prepared everything, feeling pretty fantastic about the current state of my life. Helen was interested in making some of my designs and giving them a shot in her store. Whitney’s wedding was just around the corner. We may have a new member to the already fabulous Jilted Wives Club. And I was in love with a man who made a bathrobe look sexy.

  It’s a great time to be me!

  Once it was done, I plated everything up on his white square plates and took them into the bedroom.

  “Hey, sleepyhead,” I called as I entered the room.

  Noah shifted and turned his head toward the sound of my voice, then opened one eye.

  When he saw the plates steaming with food, he sniffed at the air and sat up. “Breakfast?”

  “I hope you’re hungry,” I said as I laid his plate on his lap.

  “Hmm, famished,” he mumbled tiredly, before looking at me and saying, “Aww, you’re dressed.”

  “Well, I couldn’t very well cook without underwear,” I teased, taking the syrup from under my arm and handing it to him.

  Noah flushed and said, “Oh … right. Sorry about that.”

  “Believe me, I have no complaints,” I said with a chuckle as I joined him on the bed.

  “I can’t believe I had the stuff to make all this.”

  “Your pantry and fridge are both pretty well-stocked.”

  “Huh, well, thanks for making breakfast,” Noah said, then put a forkful of French toast in his mouth. “Mmmm.”

  “I hope you don’t mind me crashing your weekend,” I said, looking at him from under my lashes to gauge his reaction.

  “No, not at all,” he replied, completely focused on his food. “I didn’t have anything going on and it was quite a treat to have you show up on my porch last night. It looked like everyone was having a good time.”

  I laughed as I remembered the ladies shouting affirmations from the limo.

  “We really did. And Whitney seemed to have a blast, which is the most important thing. She wasn’t so sure she wanted all the trimmings and parties since this is her second wedding, but we’ve all done our best to make sure we celebrated her and Luca, while adhering to her wishes.”

  “I look forward to meeting them,” he said, glancing over at me as he asked, “Is she like Margo?”

  I shook my head and smiled. “No, not at all. Margo is one of a kind.”

  “She’s a bit intimidating,” he whispered, as if she may somehow overhear.

  “She’s a pussycat. I swear.”

  He raised his eyebrows and gave me a look of disbelief, which made me laugh.

  “Okay, maybe a baby lion,” I amended. “But, no, Whitney is more laid back. She’s raised two kids and works in accounting. She’s just the sweetest and her and Luca together are perfect. You’re going to love them, promise.”

  “I find it interesting how different you all seem to be. Yet, you’re very close.”

  “Yeah, we are, but for some reason … it works. It was the luckiest day of my life when I decided to go to that support group meeting, which I hated, and ended up meeting the two of them. Margo literally ran me over, she was trying to get out of there so fast,” I said, laughing at the memory.

  “And you formed a sort-of club…”

  “The Jilted Wives Club. I came up with the name because it was the one thing we had in common. Sort of tied us together initially, but now we’re best friends.” I hoped he didn’t think it sounded lame or childish.

  “Clubs are a good way to form bonds and build lasting relationships,” Noah said, and my worry eased. “My dad’s been in a book club with the same guys for over three decades. And Trent and I were part of a swim club for years.”

  “Oh, do you still swim?”

  “Just for pleasure really now. And exercise. Once we both began to work full time and really strive f
or promotions, and then Cam got pregnant, we realized we needed to free up some time in our schedule, so the swim club was the thing we could let go.”

  I nodded but chewed on my lip as I worried with our lives changing, that maybe the ladies wouldn’t have time for our club anymore.

  “I’m sure that won’t be the case with you,” Noah said, picking up on my distress. “You are all friends and that won’t change, no matter who gets married, or how your lives evolve. Trent and I still hang out all the time, we simply don’t swim with the club anymore.”

  “That makes sense,” I said, pleased he was so intuitive. “So, what do you think we should do today? Stay in and watch TV, go for a hike, maybe check out a farmer’s market?”

  Noah put his empty plate on the end table and turned to reach for me.

  “I think we should spend the day in bed.”

  I have to agree, that sounds perfect.

  28

  Noah

  “Hey, I’m Luca, it’s nice to meet you.”

  “Noah,” I replied, shaking the friendly looking gentleman’s hand.

  He was just a touch shorter than me, with dark hair and eyes and an easy grin. He draped his arm over Whitney’s shoulders, and had a glass of red wine in his free hand.

  “This is a special treat,” Luca said, giving his intended a loving glance. “The ladies are very protective of their Thursday night dinners.”

  “I’m pretty sure they wanted the chance to give me the third degree in person,” I joked. “Make sure I’m good enough for Summer.”

  “He figured you out, babe,” Luca told Whitney with a grin.

  She slapped his chest and said, “Stop.” Then she looked at me and said, “I did ask Summer to invite you because I wanted to meet you before the wedding. I know we’ll be so busy, and I thought a preemptive meet was in order. And I thought you’d feel more comfortable with Luca along.”

  “Yeah, when I met them, I was the only man present. It was quite intimidating.”

  “Please,” Margo said, rolling her eyes. “You love being the only man in a room full of women.”

  Luca shrugged and said, “It’s true.”

  I chuckled and pulled out a chair for Summer when she approached the table.

  “Sorry, I had to use the little girl’s room,” she said, moving to give everyone a quick hug and kiss before she sat at gave me a happy look. “Thanks.”

  I took the seat next to her, which was across from the happy couple and next to Margo.

  “It’s so good to see you, Luca,” Summer said, leaning across the table toward him. “I bet you’re so busy with the business and the wedding. Can you believe it’s already next weekend? The Castle is so gorgeous, I know your wedding is going to be the event of the year. I’m so excited.”

  “I think she’s more excited about the wedding than you two are,” Margo joked, and I couldn’t help but chuckle.

  Whenever the subject of the upcoming nuptials came up, Summer oohed and aahed and practically floated around the room.

  Luca laughed heartily.

  “It’s great seeing you, too, Summer. It’s hard to believe the wedding is just around the corner, but I have been lucky to have Whit and my family pretty much taking care of everything. All I really have to do is show up on time and the rest will be done.”

  “It’s all his mom, I haven’t done much either,” Whitney said, laying her head against Luca’s shoulder.

  They looked great together and really had the glow of love surrounding them.

  “Sounds perfect. If I ever get married again, I’m hiring your mom,” Margo said as she tossed back her drink and signaled the waiter to bring another.

  “Not me,” Summer said, her voice getting that dreamy quality. “I have a vision board for my wedding and all kinds of ideas.”

  “You didn’t have a big to-do with Jared?” Whitney asked, then shot me a pained look as if she were sorry she’d brought up Summer’s ex.

  I gave a slight wave of my hand to indicate I wasn’t worried about it, and her face cleared.

  “No, he’d had a big wedding with his first wife, and didn’t want to go through it again, so we were married in Vegas.”

  “What about you, Noah?” Margo asked, taking the focus off Summer and bringing me into the conversation. “Have you always dreamed of a big wedding, or do you plan to have the hands-off approach like Luca?”

  “Honestly, no one has ever asked me that before,” I replied sheepishly. “I guess, thinking about it now, I’d like to have some input, but would defer most of the decisions to my bride-to-be, since she’s obviously been dreaming about it for a long time.”

  Margo’s lips turned up and I realized my answer indicated Summer would be the bride in my scenario.

  I cleared my throat and amended, “At least, that’s my assumption.”

  Margo gave a joyful chuckle and shot me a wink.

  Maybe she isn’t so scary after all.

  “So, Summer tells me the two of you are in accounting?” I asked, hoping to successfully change the subject.

  “That’s right,” Luca replied. “My father started the firm where Whit and I work. It’s becoming a true family affair since Stella has started working with us after school. She’s got a real brain for numbers, just like her mom.”

  “Good for her. It’s never too early to get your foot in the door,” Margo said.

  “And you’re an English professor. How do you like that?” Whitney asked.

  “I love it, most of the time.”

  “When don’t you love it?” Luca asked.

  “Toward the end of the year. Finals … and everyone scrambling to make up the work they’d procrastinated doing all semester long,” I replied with a rueful grin.

  “I bet you were one of those students who did their homework right away and never procrastinated,” Summer said, tipping her head back to look up at me.

  She had that look on her face. The one she got when she wanted a kiss. So, I complied, leaning over to brush my lips against hers. I’d intended for it to be an innocent peck, but upon contact Summer’s lips parted and I couldn’t ignore the invitation.

  I realized we were getting overheated when a low whistle sounded at the table.

  We broke apart to see everyone watching us unabashedly.

  “That’s what I’m talking about,” Luca said, then glanced at Margo and asked, “When are we going to make this a sixsome?”

  “When hell freezes over,” Margo retorted. “Is that even a word? It sounds borderline sexual.”

  “Yes, it’s a word. It’s like a foursome, but with six people.”

  “If you say so…”

  29

  Summer

  “This is more beautiful than I’d imagined, and my imagination is pretty extensive.”

  I looked around The Castle, my head swiveling as I took in every ornate detail inside and outside.

  The wedding itself had been an intimate affair, with only friends and family in attendance at the church. Sure, Luca’s family was pretty huge on its own, but the rest of the guests were invited to join the newlyweds at The Castle for the reception.

  Whitney had looked absolutely splendid, and the expression on Luca’s face as she walked down the aisle toward him had made my vow to not cry impossible. Luckily, before I’d left him for my own procession down the aisle, Noah had tucked a handkerchief into my palm, and I’d stashed it in my bouquet.

  I hadn’t been the only one in tears at the church. Whitney, Luca, Luca’s mom, Stella, and Charlotte had all indulged in some sniffles. I swear I even saw Margo tear up, although she denied it.

  Now Noah and I were exploring The Castle, hand in hand, as he indulged me.

  “It’s quite spectacular,” he said as we moved through the rooms.

  “Wait until you see the grounds where her reception is being held. I took a sneak peek when we were all getting ready. It’s glorious.” It was an absolute fairy tale wedding. Similar to what I would want if I ever got marr
ied again. Of course, I wouldn’t copy Whitney, but I had some ideas. And Noah’s comment about wanting input into his wedding, even though he’d mostly defer to his bride, while he’d been looking at me with his sweet doe eyes, had definitely gotten me daydreaming about the wedding of my dreams.

  “I have to say, this color is quite lovely on you. I can’t quite pinpoint the shade of blue, but I’ve been admiring it on you all afternoon.”

  “Aww, thanks, honey,” I said, pausing to gauge his reaction at the endearment. I’d never been one for sweet nicknames like that, probably because I’d called Jared, babe, once and he’d told me to never call him by anything other than his given name. When Noah didn’t flinch, or show any signs of disgust, I figured he was okay with it. “It’s called dusty blue. You’ll see we totally match the theme once we get outside.”

  “It’s beautiful.”

  “Thank you. It has pockets!” I exclaimed, causing Noah to laugh.

  I really was in love with the dress. It was described as crepe-back satin with one-shoulder. It was floor length with a generous slit over the left leg, and it made me feel like a princess.

  “Why do women always seem to get excited about a dress with pockets? Even my mother mentioned it to me about the gown she wore to my promotion,” Noah asked, sounding truly baffled.

  “It’s one of those simple pleasures. Somewhere to put our hands, or a tube of lipstick … I don’t know, it just makes me happy.”

  “Good enough,” Noah said, leaning down to drop a kiss on my forehead.

  He’d been doing cute things like that all day. Paranoid about messing up my hair or makeup, but still wanting to be affectionate.

  “There you are,” Margo said as she glided toward us. Her dress was similar to mine but was an A-line V-neck that showcased her breasts beautifully. “They want to get started.”

  “Okay,” I said, lacing my fingers through Noah’s as we joined Margo and started outside.