Chapter Thirty-Six
Two Weeks Later
“Okay, the first official meeting of the First Wives Club is coming to order.” Avery needed a gavel. Lori made a mental note to buy one for her and have it engraved.
“Didn’t our first meeting happen in Spain?” Shannon asked.
“Okay, our second official meeting of the First Wives Club,” Avery conceded.
They were in Avery’s condo, having a wine and cheese meeting. Trina had flown in, happy to spend a weekend in LA.
Shannon poured wine and handed everyone a glass. “What is on our agenda tonight?”
Trina laughed.
“We have two very important items to discuss, and we need to start our bylaws.”
Shannon leaned over, pretended to talk quietly, when everyone could hear her. “Man, she’s taking this seriously.”
“I’m learning from Trina, our resident student of business.”
Trina lifted her glass in acknowledgment.
“Okay . . . rules.”
“We have rules?” Shannon asked.
Avery rolled her eyes. “Everything we say here is confidential unless otherwise stated.”
“I like that,” Lori said.
The other two chimed in.
“We meet every quarter.”
Trina leaned lifted her glass. “If the wine is always this good, we should meet more often.”
“Every two months?” Avery amended and wrote it down.
“We vary the locations, with one meeting each year over a long weekend or a week.”
“I apparently have a home in Costa Rica on a beach, and another one in Germany,” Trina added.
Avery looked at Lori. “Who says stuff like that?”
“Like what?”
“Apparently I have a home in Costa Rica and Germany!” Avery’s snark was full of laughter.
Trina grinned. “I do. I think I’m going to sell the house in New York.”
“Not for a year,” Lori warned.
The two of them started chatting, and Avery slapped her hand on her knee. “No work. Not during our meeting.” She started to write the rule down.
“We aren’t voting?” Shannon asked with a laugh.
“I’m the president this year, so I’m pulling executive order.”
Lori sat back, tucked her legs under her. “We need to vote in an executive order,” she said with a laugh.
“No, we don’t.” Avery started laughing, sipped her wine.
“Why?”
“Because I said so.”
They all laughed.
“Enough rules,” Shannon said. “What are our discussion items?”
Avery put her pen down. “Lori brought us all together in Spain so that we could help pull each other along after our marriages. To help find out where we fit next, in life and with men.”
“Right.” Shannon patted Lori’s knee.
“Seems like we need to repay the favor.”
All eyes turned to Lori.
She slowly lowered the glass from her lips. “What? I fit, my life is fine.”
Oh, no . . . she could sense the glow of an intervention coming on.
“How is your love life?” Avery asked, already knowing the answer.
Her lips pushed together. The image of Reed in a wheelchair flashed before her.
“Quick, who did you just think of?” Avery asked.
Lori wasn’t sure she liked this game. “Reed. But we all know how that turned out.”
“I’ve been thinking about that,” Shannon said. “I think you need to give that another try.”
Lori’s jaw dropped.
“I agree,” Trina said.
“He really is genuinely sorry for his douchebaggery,” Avery added.
“And you would know this how?” Lori asked her.
Avery looked at the faces around the room. “I might have had a couple conversations with the man since he messed up.”
“You’re talking to him?”
Shannon raised her glass. “I’m guilty, too.”
“Oh my God.”
Trina lifted a finger but didn’t make eye contact.
“Seriously, guys. He made a fool of me, of all of us.”
“Do you love him?” Shannon asked.
She started to deny it.
“Do you miss him?” Avery asked.
Lori lifted her chin but didn’t answer.
“Would you be happier with him in your life?”
Lori looked at Trina, and her resolve started to crumble. “The point is moot. He hasn’t even tried to contact me.”
“Would you give him a chance if he asked?”
“A chance would depend on what he said. This hurts too much to go through twice.”
“If he messed with you twice, we would run him out of town,” Trina teased.
“This isn’t Texas.” Shannon cut off a chunk of cheese and stood. “But I’ll endorse that rule.”
Trina took her glass, which was sitting on the table, and stood.
Next, Avery unfolded from her chair and put her pen and paper down.
“Where are you guys going?”
Avery pointed toward her front door. “Out . . . side. I heard a knock, did you hear a knock?” she asked Trina.
The three of them scrambled to the door.
Reed.
His hair was too long, and he’d grown out the hair on his chin and lip just enough to . . . just enough to make her heart skip a little more than it usually did when she saw him. He wore a button-up shirt, slacks, and a splash of humility as he leveled his eyes to hers.
She set her glass down before she dropped it, and wiped her hands on her jeans.
Avery moved past Reed. “Make it count.”
He nodded and thanked all three of them before closing the door.
“You orchestrated this?” she asked.
“I had to try something. I can’t close my eyes without seeing you. I swear I hear your voice ten times a day. I stare at the pictures of you on my phone while I’m at stoplights.”
Lori felt a smile inch onto her lips.
“It’s not funny . . . I’ve gotten two tickets for distracted driving just this week.”
Now she laughed.
He dodged a grin and dropped to his knees in front of her. He placed his hands on her legs, the warmth caught her breath. “I screwed up, Lori. What I did was unforgivable. No matter how I pushed the facts around in my head, I never came out on the side of right. And I know I don’t deserve you.” His voice cracked.
Moisture filled her eyes.
He caught her hands in his. “But I love you. And I can’t breathe another day without trying to get you back. I started with Avery. She seemed the most against me. Then I called Trina. My apology to Shannon might have resulted in some kind of blood pact to name my firstborn after her.”
Lori smiled through her tears.
“I love you. I’m not giving up until you give me a second chance to prove we belong together. If you tell me to leave, I’m just coming back tomorrow, and the next day. I’ll start leaving notes and flowers.” He smiled into her eyes. “I’ll probably be taken to jail for stalking you, but it will be worth it if you give me a chance. One chance, please.” He kissed the backs of her fingers.
She released his hand and brushed aside his hair.
He leaned into her touch, and she leaned in with her lips.
Reed caught his breath and gasped before wrapping both hands around her head and sealing their second chance with a soul-shattering kiss.
Lori leaned back, took a breath. “One.”
He kissed her again.
She pulled back again. “Complete honesty.” She stared into his soul through his eyes.
“Deal.”
“All right.” She smiled.
He lifted her off the couch until her body was molded to his. “You won’t regret this, Lori. We’ll be fighting over turkey legs when we’re seventy.”
She choked on a laugh. “A turkey has two legs.” But good Lord, how she wanted to plan on growing old with this man. Tears ran down her cheeks.
“What is it, baby?”
She tried to hold in her tears. “I w-want to fight over turkey legs.”
Reed pulled her into his arms and let her cry. “Then we’ll throw one away and fight over the one that’s left.”
With her head buried in his shirt, she clawed at the back of him, soaking him in. “I don’t even like turkey.”
Reed’s chest started to quake until his laugh took on its own life. He picked her off the ground and spun in a circle.