Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 83772 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83772 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
I chuckled as I followed her inside.
She looked at some of the sets on display, black and lacy, and she grabbed a couple things, not bothering to try them on.
Without looking at me, she asked, “Nothing for Theo?”
“Oh, I don’t know. He doesn’t seem like a lingerie kind of guy.”
She smirked before she looked at me. “All men like lingerie, babe.”
Theo didn’t seem picky. He was ready to deliver with little notice. Lingerie or no lingerie, he was ready to fuck all the same.
“Trust me, get something.”
I looked around and grabbed a couple things, slightly self-conscious about the idea of putting it on in front of Theo and trying to be sexy. It wasn’t something I’d done with Bolton. Didn’t have the confidence to strut around the house and seduce a man like that. And it wasn’t like Theo and I didn’t already have all the chemistry we needed to ignite in flame. But I selected a few pieces anyway.
“They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach,” Scarlett said. “Which is partially true because my husband can’t get enough of my cooking. But he would choose sex over dinner every time.”
With our shopping bags in the back seat, the guys drove us to a restaurant a couple blocks away.
“You don’t want to go to your place?” I asked.
“No,” she said with a laugh. “I fully admit that my cooking isn’t the best.”
“I think Axel would disagree.”
“That man is blind when it comes to me. Always has been.”
We left our bags in the car and got a table near the window. It was a cute place that offered a large basket of bread the second you sat down. Scarlett and I immediately grabbed our pieces and smothered them with butter and olive oil before we stuffed our faces. Neither one of us had any shame.
When the waiter came over, we ordered wine and an appetizer.
It’d been a long time since I’d been out of the house without Bolton or Theo. I didn’t have many friends, and I used to be close to my sister-in-law, but now that she wasn’t my sister-in-law anymore, we would probably never speak again.
“So, how are things?” Scarlett asked.
When we were shopping, we had been more focused on getting everything we needed than having a deep, one-on-one conversation. Now, it was just us and our wine and our bread. “Things are really good, but I feel weird describing my life that way.”
“Why?”
“Well, I’m not divorced. I have a feeling I’ll never be divorced.”
“You can file without his signature,” she said. “So, just file for the divorce and let him deal with it.”
“I have a strong suspicion that paperwork would never see the light of day. Bolton is connected to everyone.”
“And you think Theo isn’t?”
I gave a shrug. “I think filing for divorce is a waste of time anyway, because the marriage will end in death.”
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
“Theo will either kill him or…he’ll kill Theo, and then I’ll be his slave again until I die.” It was a depressing thought to have over dinner, but it was my reality. “I’m kinda living in a fairy tale with Theo right now, so it’s easy to forget my reality. But that is my reality.”
She didn’t fill the tension with a bunch of meaningless phrases, like it’ll get better and don’t worry about it…whatever most people said to make someone else feel better. She chose to let the silence linger like she knew my concerns were valid. “Theo is a cut above the rest. Maybe your husband is a hit man, but my money is still on Theo—and not because I’ve got a dog in the fight.”
“I know Theo is physically superior, but Bolton is smart. Really smart.” Most people didn’t understand just how smart he really was. I’d found his old school things when I was cleaning out the attic, and his test scores were always in the highest percentile. His IQ had him in the gifted category.
“He cheated on you,” she snapped. “How smart can that idiot be?”
I smirked.
She smirked back. “What kind of man is married to a hot piece of ass like you and asks for an open marriage? Maybe he’s brilliant on paper, but in the real world, he’s a fucking dumbass. I have no doubt that Theo will handle it.”
“I’m grateful that Theo wants to handle it.” I wasn’t his problem, but he made me the most important problem in his life. He’d become my shield, my bulletproof vest. He said he was only willing to try, but he’d already offered so much more.
“He cares for you.”
“Yeah.” But not as much as I cared for him, judging by the way my heart screamed anytime he walked into the room.
She drank her wine as she looked at me. “Why do I feel like there’s more to that statement?”