Fake Summer Wife

I was surprised at how deeply wonderful it felt to put jewelry on this gorgeous girl. Everything was happening out of order with us, but hopefully it wouldn’t matter once we got settled into this new relationship.

Claudia already drove me crazy in every possible way. She was sexy and sweet, light and charming. Nobody could possibly ask for more in a wife.

I already knew that once we spent a lot more time together and our lives became entwined, it wouldn’t be long before I was giving her a ring that we picked out together, not something that I borrowed from my mother’s safety deposit box.

Chapter 7

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Claudia

An hour into the event, my “Claudia the waitress” personality had been repurposed into my brand new “Claudia the sweet bubbly wife who is so proud of her new husband” personality, if admittedly a little less sassy.

I wasn’t used to this much attention, but all of the other well-dressed couples seemed so eager to get to know us. I completely understood what Vaughan meant now. The couples were all gathered in a group, and single people weren’t exactly shunned, but they were definitely on the fringes of the conversations.

Mayor Robert Bennett and his lovely wife Ellen were incredibly sweet to me, introducing me to everyone in the high-powered group. It was all the people who ran the city in the same room at once. It was a little intimidating, but it was also downright fascinating.

The entire time, Vaughan held my hand or kept his arm wrapped around me. It was impossible not to notice the way he glared at any man who let his eyes linger below my chin. I’d never been treated like this before. As if I were someone truly special.

My body was still tingling from the explosive makeout session in the car. The heat we had together felt almost dangerous. Plus, being that intimate in semi-public was definitely a naughty thrill.

As much as Vaughan had shown me his physical desire for me in the car, now he was showing me how much he was emotionally invested in this budding relationship as well.

I loved how he was careful to make sure I got a few bites of food every twenty minutes when the servers circled by, and how he always made sure I had a fresh glass of champagne, while at the same time reminding me to take tiny sips and not drink it too quickly.

That was easy to remember, since I was already drunk on his affection. The way his fingertips meandered along my shoulder and arm. The way his fingers grasped mine. The way he slipped his thumb down the back of my neck, then down my spine, making me shiver.

At first, I had been nervous that this dress was cut quite low at the back, but it kept Vaughan touching me at all times.

Jeanette’s advice had been absolutely on point. I was dressed perfectly. Definitely in the top ten percent of the hundred or so women wandering through the lobby and open areas of the new wing.

While Vaughan talked to the Mayor for a moment, I pretended to sip my champagne while looking around at all of the other guests.

Then I saw a flash of nearly blinding fuchsia.

As the woman tottered in, clasping a thin, pale man’s arm for dear life, I already had my suspicions of who it might be.

Every single thing about her seemed to be calculated to garner the most attention possible. Brassy bleached blonde hair, styled high with a smattering of gold clips. Her almost neon dress was cut both far too low and far too high in certain places while being far too tight everywhere else.

Glancing down, I could see why she was holding onto that man’s arm so desperately. Her heels were so high I was genuinely shocked that she could walk at all.

Vaughan followed my stare and gripped my hand. “Yep, that’s her.”

I almost couldn’t believe that Vaughan had ever been interested in such a woman. If she were dressed more appropriately, she might be pretty enough, I suppose.

But the expression on her face turned her appearance from pleasant to foul. Jessica was glaring daggers at every single person in the room while holding her head up as if she were some sort of deranged queen.

“Have I mentioned how grateful I am that you came with me tonight?” Vaughan asked, leaning down to nuzzle my ear. “I really am.”

“I’m just glad that she has moved on and will stop trying to annoy you,” I said. “A lot of women are desperate to marry a doctor. Apparently, she’s landed one. Good for her.”

Vaughan’s jaw dropped, then he burst into laughter. “Damn, gorgeous, I’ve never heard you be catty before.”

“I’m glad you caught that. I try not to let it out very often.”

As we laughed together, I could almost feel Jessica’s eyes on us but refused to look. I waited until the Mayor and his wife spun back around to tell us about their recent trip to Bermuda.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see a flash of pink, then a blonde head swivel. I’d never felt so observed before, yet tried to keep the conversation flowing naturally. After a while, Jessica appeared to have wandered into one of the other rooms. At least the garish color made it easy to keep an eye on where she was.