Half Empty (First Wives, #2)(22)
Lori turned her whole body in Shannon’s direction and her back to Trina. “Funny, but it looked to me like Wade Thomas wanted to lick the cherry right off the top of Trina’s ice cream sundae.”
Shannon laughed and made eye contact with Trina. “He was salivating.”
“Y’all are barking up the wrong tree. I’m not interested in Wade Thomas. Or any man right now.”
The room went silent for several seconds.
“Y’all?” Avery said slowly.
“I’m living in Texas, cut me some slack.”
“Okay, okay . . . let’s get on to the subject that brought us here.” Lori stood and crossed to the small kitchenette. “First Wives Club meeting is called to order. Which means wine.”
Trina moaned. “I’ll have water.”
“Fine.” She went through the motions of opening the bottle while talking. “Since we’ve been picking on Trina already, let’s start with you, Shannon.”
Their normal method of operation during these meetings was to talk about what they were doing, or not doing, in their dating lives. What worked and what didn’t. They also spent a good amount of time discussing what they were doing with the money they’d made from their temporary marriages.
Shannon accepted the wine and relaxed on the sofa. “I signed a lease for a studio.”
“That’s fantastic news,” Trina said. “Do you have any clients yet?”
Shannon had a semisuccessful career as a photographer that she wanted to expand postdivorce. But when she was no longer the first lady of California, she ended up closing her business, since the majority of people requesting her services were members of the press searching for a story. Or worse, the activists and lobbyists of the general population that thought she could plead their cause with her ex-husband.
“I do. An engagement party and two weddings.”
“No more lurking jerks walking through the door?” Avery asked.
“Not yet. I’m sure I won’t escape them forever. But I think the public finally realized I’m no longer Mrs. Paul Wentworth.”
“What about you?” Lori asked. “Have you realized you’re no longer married to him?”
Shannon shook her head. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
Avery tucked her feet under her in the chair she sat on. “So you’re dating, then?”
Silence.
Yeah, Trina didn’t see Shannon dating anyone when she had fallen hard for her temporary husband.
Unfortunately, the feeling hadn’t been mutual.
“It’s hard to meet men.”
Avery laughed. “Dating apps, bars, clubs, walking on the beach, Uber drivers, waiters—”
“Uber drivers, really?” Trina asked.
Avery answered with a smile.
“Please, I can’t pick someone up at a bar,” Shannon said.
“You’re right. You have to actually go into the bar before you can pick someone up,” Lori told her.
“I go to bars.”
“The no-host bar at a wedding reception doesn’t count,” Avery exclaimed.
Shannon didn’t deny Avery’s claim. “Well, dating apps are out.”
“Yeah, those suck. Half the guys on there aren’t real, anyway.” Trina had tried those things before she married Fedor. It wasn’t her pace.
“Good for hooking up, but that’s about it,” Avery said.
“Have you ever considered taking up bowling, or sailing . . . something like that? Something that has tons of testosterone around by default. Football games, anything?”
“Sports aren’t my thing.”
“It doesn’t have to be your thing, it has to be their thing.” Avery was like a dog with a bone.
Shannon passed glances around the room. “Maybe I’ll try sailing. I love the ocean.”
“Okay, then. That’s a direction, at least.”
Trina could almost hear Lori tapping a gavel on a desk with her statement.
“Anything new with you and Reed?” Avery turned her attention to Lori.
Lori slowly smiled, as if the mere mention of her boyfriend warmed a part of her soul. “He’s a good man. He cooked stir-fry for us last Tuesday.”
“Reed can cook?” Shannon asked.
“No. It was awful. Took three days for the soy sauce to leave the back of my throat.”
Trina chuckled. “So what was good about it?”
“He wore an apron.”
They all stared at her.
“And nothing else.”
“Ahh, so, sex in the kitchen,” Avery said.
“Any wedding bells yet?” Trina asked.
Seemed like every time they all got together, they asked if Reed had hinted at the next step.
“He is taking me out of town for our anniversary. I think maybe . . .”
“Let us know as soon as he pops the question.”
Shannon lifted her glass. “I’ll be your wedding photographer.”
“I’ll help plan the wedding. I love that stuff,” Trina said.
“Hold up, guys. He hasn’t asked me yet.”
“It’s only a matter of time. That man adores you.” Avery unfolded from the couch to refill her glass. “So now that we have the obligatory ‘Is Shannon dating’ questions out of the way, and ‘Where is Reed on the commitment meter’ conversation behind us, I think maybe it’s time to dig into what is eating at Trina that made her ditch us.”