Epilogue
“To Whitney. A badass woman, mother, and accountant, who grabbed love by the balls and made it her bitch,” Margo said, raising her glass of Cabernet.
“Yes,” Summer agreed with enthusiasm. “To the woman who was scarred by love when we met her, but had the foresight to give the sexy, charming, affable, Luca a chance, and ended up happier than she’s ever been.”
“Here, here,” I said, lifting my glass to join theirs in the toast. “I never would have made it without the two of you, I swear, so I want to toast you as well. Two beautiful, strong, funny women who not only helped me to trust in my heart again, but to believe in the power of true female friendships.”
“We’re awesome,” Summer said happily.
“Hell, yeah, we are,” Margo agreed, looking more relaxed than I’d ever seen her.
We were currently downtown at a wine bar, sharing a charcuterie board and sampling flights of wine.
“All right, now that I am in love and getting sex on the regular…”
“Braggart,” Summer said, jokingly narrowing her eyes at me.
I laughed and asked, “Who are we going to focus on next? Who wants to be happy and sexed up?”
“Oh, me!” Summer exclaimed, sitting up in her seat and bouncing with her hand raised.
“Yeah, her,” Margo agreed, thrusting her nearly empty glass at Summer.
“Okay, so … you’re doing the app thing again, and Margo has agreed to take you out on her missions to pick up some strange, but maybe we could set you up, too. I can think of a couple guys who may be a good fit. What about you, Margo?”
“Ummm, well, all the single guys I know I’ve either slept with, or work with … and none of them are good enough for you,” Margo said, which made Summer’s face soften.
“Aww, that’s so sweet, Margo,” Summer cooed, then looked at me and said, “Oh, what about that Damon guy, the friend of Luca’s we met at the mixer? He was super-hot.”
“He is hot and single,” I agreed. “But, when I saw him at dinner with Luca’s family, I sort of caught some vibes between him and Charlotte. I mean, she’s married, but I think there’s something there. Whether it’s history or still current, I’m not sure, but I’d hate for you to fall for a guy who’s hung up on someone else.”
“Oh, agreed, but that’s too bad,” Summer said with a shrug.
“Are there any guys you’d say aren’t your type or you wouldn’t be interested in meeting?” I asked.
“No, I’m pretty open. I’m willing to try anything once. I mean … not like that … not like try them or anything, sexually, but to go on a date, sure.”
“Perfect, well, I’ll check into the guys I’m thinking of. Make sure they’re still single and don’t have any skeletons in their closet and let you know.”
“Yay, I’m so excited,” she said, clapping her hands together. “After Jared, I’m so ready to find a nice, decent man, who wants to start a family and make a life together. Maybe that’s why I haven’t found anyone yet. Maybe I’m too focused on settling down and it scares guys off.”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t mention the whole settling down and having kids thing on the first date, but, Summer, there’s nothing wrong with knowing what you want and going after it,” Margo said. “And if a guy can’t handle that, he’s not the one you want anyway.”
“Exactly. You’ve already settled for an asshole who didn’t treat you right. No more settling,” I told her. “Go after what you want and refuse to take anything less.”
“I love you guys,” Summer said, her eyes filling. “I know I say it all the time, but meeting you two was the best thing that ever happened to me. The Jilted Wives Club is filled with empowering, caring, amazing women who lift each other up rather than tear each other down. It’s just what I needed in my life.”
I loved that she said, is filled with, when there were only the three of us, but that was Summer to a tee. Brimming with positivity.
“To the Jilted Wives Club,” I said, raising my glass once again. I was sure we were annoying the people around us, but I didn’t care. Summer was currently beaming at me and I loved putting that look on her face. “The best women I know.”
“To the Jilted Wives Club,” they said in unison, and we toasted each other.
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Trophy Wife
Chapter 1 - Summer
I made my way down the city street, practically skipping as I hurried to meet my favorite people in the world for dinner … The Jilted Wives Club.
The club only consisted of me and my friends, Whitney and Margo, but still, it was the best club ever.
We’d met a year ago when we’d all tried, and failed, to attend a support group for women who’d recently divorced from their cheating bastard exes. Well, at least in all three of our cases, that was accurate. I wasn’t sure about the other women, since I’d only made it through one tearful exchange before I’d bolted from the room.
Since then, Whitney had met and fallen in love with Luca, this horribly wonderful and sweet younger man who truly was the yin to her yang.
I wanted to find a yin, but so far, I’d been unlucky.
You know how they say you have to kiss a lot of frogs to find your prince? Well, let’s just say I’m covered in metaphorical warts from head to toe and so far … no prince.
I’d gone on blind dates, set up by Whitney, tried meeting guys in bars with Margo, and had been sporadically using a dating app for over six months, but kept coming up empty.
I mean, not all the guys were bad…
A few of them had been really nice, but there’d been no spark.
A couple had sparks for days but were jerks.
Then there were the weirdos. The one who asked if he could rub my feet … on our first date … at the table … in a restaurant. Then the guy whose profile picture was of a looped belt and some lube.
Suffice it to say, finding Mr. Right wasn’t easy, but I wasn’t giving up.
Sure, my first husband had been married when he started dating me, without my knowledge of course. By the time I’d found out I’d been terribly in love and he’d vowed to leave his wife. I’d only been in my early twenties when we’d gotten married, and he’d been much older, officially making me his trophy wife. Although I’d naively thought we’d be together forever, he’d done the same thing to me that he’d done to his first wife.
Cheated on me with another woman and eventually left me for her.
I don’t know why I thought Jared would be different with me. Once a cheater, always a cheater, right?
Margo would say it’s because I trust too easily. And she’d be right.
A deep voice catcalled as I neared the restaurant and I turned to see a group of men working at a construction site across the street.