Fake Wife (Taming The Bad Boy Billionaire 8)

“Yes, you. I’m sorry there aren’t enough six-pack abs-having, seven-figure-income-earning alpha males around here for you.”

“Do you honestly think that’s what I’m looking for?” Marlene asked, as if insulted.

“Sorry. I forgot. You’re just looking for a big dick, right?” Phoebe retorted.

“Yeah, sure. That’s number one on my list,” she said, holding her drink up for a toast. “Cheers to big dicks!”

We all laughed and clinked glasses.

“Speaking of dicks,” said Riley rolling her eyes as she sipped her wine, “did you hear that Charlie is back in town?”

“Wow,” Suzy said. “He actually qualifies as both. He has a big dick...and he is a big dick.”

“Cheers to that!” a few of us chimed in and clinked glasses again.

“So Charlie’s really in town?”

Were they kidding with me? They loved to pull my leg. “Seriously? As in...Charlie Rowlands?” I asked as my heart pounded behind my ribcage from excitement or outright pent up rage. I wasn’t sure yet.

“The one and only,” Phoebe said.

“Shit, it’s been years. Do you remember why they called him Wicked?” she asked and waggled her eyebrows.

Marlene leaned into Tammy with a sigh. “Oh, honey, how could I ever forget? That boy is one helluva kisser.”

My friend Suzy laughed. “That one’s nothing but trouble, ladies. I wonder what he’s been up to all these years.”

“Or, probably more accurately, who he’s been up into,” Riley chimed in.

We all burst into a fit of laughter.

I wondered that, too, because I hadn’t seen Charlie since his graduation. Growing up, he was one of my best friends, and we often hung out together. When he turned eighteen, though, he just cruised right on out of town and never looked back. He never bothered to call, text, or write either, and in a Wi-Fi world where everyone I knew insisted on tweeting and posting about every little thing, right down to what they were having for lunch or what color underwear they were buying, I found it somewhat odd that Charlie didn’t share anything on social media. Until the announcement that he was back in town, I didn’t know if he was dead or alive, but of course I’d heard a lot of rumors, as small towns tended to brew those up quite easily.

I really didn’t understand how Charlie could have just taken off the way he did, left me high and dry, because we’d been so close for so many years. I didn’t really talk about it to anyone, because he had a bit of a sordid reputation, but it really broke my heart. In many ways, I considered him my best friend, and it hurt like hell to lose him, but I eventually got over it and moved on. He’s just...a distant memory, I tried to tell myself, but I didn’t really believe that one bit, especially now that the so-called bad boy was back.

“I heard Wicked’s on the prowl for a Mrs. Wicked,” Phoebe said. “Some players do eventually get married, but they never stop playin’.”

“Charlie would never get tied to a ball and chain,” I said. “Marriage goes against his DNA which is essentially to be with as many women as he possibly can.”

“Seriously!” Phoebe said, frowning. “Charlie’s looking to get married.”

Tammy cocked a brow. “Are we talking about our Charlie? On any given night, the guy can easily add three women to his ten page roster. That guy? Because if it’s him, he’ll be the running joke on all social media!”

I took a big gulp of my merlot as I pondered the thought. “The words ‘Charlie’ and ‘married’ can’t even be said in the same breath. Our little heartbreaker getting married? Yeah, I don’t believe that for a minute. Where’d you hear it anyway?”

“You know...around,” Phoebe said.

“Well, trust me when I tell you that a dick like Charlie isn’t gonna settle down at age thirty. He’s still got a lot of wild oats to sow.”

“Oh yeah? Well, he went out on a date with Julie Simmons, Miss Goodie Two-Shoes herself.”

“Seriously? That’s like a little lamb carousing around with the Big Bad Wolf. Hmm. He must have one hell of a motive, some kind of agenda. We all know he’s no damn family man, no matter how much time has passed. They call them playboys and not playmen because they never really grow up.”

Tammy nudged me, handing me a Martini. “Looks like you’ve got some Wicked investigating to do.”

“Maybe,” I said, blushing a bit. “I guess I am pretty good at it. That Jerry Meyers thought he was so slick, cheating on me like that, but I caught him, dead to rights.” I pulled the olive out of my martini and popped it into my mouth. “I guess the big mystery is why our childhood friend has wandered back to town. What’s with his sudden need to get hitched, if that’s really true?”

“If?” Tammy said with a groan and a roll of her eyes.