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.
I lifted my hand to wave and yelled back, “Thanks,” before opening the door and walking inside.
As my eyes adjusted to the change in light, Whit caught my attention by raising her hand to let me know where they were seated.
“I see my friends,” I told the hostess before she could ask me how many were in my party and moved through the dining room to the back where my friends were waiting. “Hi!”
“Hey, girl,” Whit said as she got out of her chair to give me a hug. “Margo’s on with a client.”
I looked over at Margo, who winked at me but continued her conversation, and took one of the empty seats.
“I’m so happy it’s Thursday,” I said as I picked up the menu.
We met every Thursday for dinner, unless something important came up, but so far at least two of us had been able to make it every week. We took turns choosing the restaurant and so far hadn’t gone back to any place twice.
It was fun and exciting, kind of a dining adventure, and I looked forward to Thursday as soon as I woke up on Friday.
Today we were trying a new Peruvian place.
“How’s your week been?” I asked Whitney, lowering my voice so as not to disrupt Margo’s call.
“Good,” she said, taking a sip of wine. “Silas’s lacrosse team had a tournament last weekend, so we pretty much spent all of our time there, but it was fun. You should have heard Luca screaming his head off like a soccer mom. It was great.”
“Sorry,” Margo said as she disconnected her call. “What’d I miss?”
“Nothing yet,” I said, barely able to contain my excitement. “I almost couldn’t wait to show you guys … This guy popped up on my “for you” page of the app and I’ve been dying to talk to you about him.”
“Someone you’re interested in?” Whit asked.
“Yeah,” I said, pulling out my phone and bringing up the app. “I haven’t touched the app since he popped up. I didn’t want to click yes on his profile until I showed him to you and got your opinion. Plus, I guess I’m a little nervous too. I mean, what if I like his profile and then he doesn’t like mine back?”
“Let’s see,” Margo said, holding out her hand.
“Okay, but don’t press anything,” I warned as I handed her the phone with the profile opened.
“Noah,” Margo read aloud. “He’s cute, in a bookish, professorish kind of way.”
“He is,” I nearly squealed. “He’s a professor and it says he loves books.”
“It does … and he loves dogs, sitting in the rain, and playing Words with Friends.”
“This guy is your type?” Whitney asked, looking a little baffled.
I knew people looked at me, a petite blonde with big boobs and a small waist, and figured I’d be a gold digger who went after older men with sports cars and AmEx black cards, but Whitney wasn’t trying to put me in a box like that. She’s asked me a few months ago to tell her my type so she could set me up and Noah was the opposite of what I’d told her.
“Oh, yes, he is … just look at him. With that floppy brown hair and those adorable glasses. Don’t you just want to eat him up?”
“I wouldn’t kick him out of bed,” Margo said, passing me the phone back right as I reached for it.
And when I grabbed it, my thumb accidentally pressed the no button, and his picture was gone.
“Nooooo,” I cried, trying unsuccessfully to swipe him back into existence.
“What happened?” Whitney asked.
“He’s gone.”
“Can’t you get him back? Search up his name or something?” Margo asked.
“No, there are no last names, and you can’t search by name. I pressed no, so I don’t know if he’ll ever pop up in my algorithm again,” I explained, looking at my phone sadly. “He’s gone.”
Trophy Wife - Preorder Now
Acknowledgments
To my kids, first and foremost. We have had a very difficult year, but have come through the other side stronger. I love you with all of my heart. Thanks for your love and support!
To my mom, Ann, and to Raine, for Alpha reading this as I wrote it and helping me when my writing wasn’t necessarily objective. Thanks for going on this journey with me!
To Allie, for another gorgeous cover. I love what you’ve come up with for the Jilted Wives Trilogy.
To Kristina, my editor. Thanks for sticking with me over all of these years!
To Ali, Jennifer, Lyn, and Jeanne, for Beta reading Starter Wife. Thanks for your honest feedback. I appreciate you reading and letting me know your thoughts.
To Jessica and Inkslinger PR, thanks so much for helping me get the word out about The Jilted Wives Club and for all of your help with promotion.
To my ARC Team, thanks for loving my books and these characters. I so appreciate your early feedback and enthusiasm!
About the Author
Bethany Lopez is a USA Today Bestselling author of more than thirty books and has been published since 2011. She's a lover of all things romance, which she incorporates into the books she writes, no matter the genre.
When she isn't reading or writing, she loves spending time with family and traveling whenever possible.
Bethany can usually be found with a cup of coffee or glass of wine at hand, and will never turn down a cupcake!
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www.bethanylopezauthor.com
bethanylopezauthor@gmail.com
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Young Adult:
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Ta Ta for Now!
xoxoxo
Ciao
TTYL
Stories About Melissa Books 1 - 4
With Love
Adios
Young Adult Fantasy:
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New Adult:
Friends & Lovers Trilogy
Make it Last
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Indelible