The Wives of Beverly Row 1: Lust Has a New Address by Abby Weeks Read Free Book Online Page A

she’d originally noticed. On the surface Veronica was prim and proper and looked like the perfect wife, but underneath, she was a whirling mess of emotion and desire. And she wasn’t being satisfied.
    Veronica leaned over and whispered in Ariel’s ear.
    “I probably shouldn’t even say this, but what I want more than anything is to be taken in the ass by a man who wants me so badly he’s ready to explode! That’s what I want and I want it so bad it hurts.”
    “You want butt sex!” Ariel said, laughing out loud.
    “I want it so hard I can’t walk the next day!”

IX
    “M OM, WHERE ARE THE SHORTS we bought last week?”
    Ariel rolled her eyes. Becky had been fretting about getting ready for over an hour. She always got like this when her dad was coming to see her. She got so excited. Ariel was happy for her but sometimes she worried. She knew how it felt to be let down by Gabe and in the back of her mind she knew that he would let Becky down sooner or later.
    “They’re in your closet, honey.”
    She heard Becky run across the landing to her bedroom.
    “Thank you.”
    “You’re welcome.”
    The doorbell rang.
    “I’m not ready, mom. Will you get it?”
    Ariel breathed deeply. She’d seen Gabe on numerous occasions since the divorce and he’d always been polite and friendly. Still, she couldn’t help feeling a little apprehensive as she went to the door. She stopped at the mirror and examined herself. She’d already touched up her makeup but she brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
    “Darling,” Gabe said when she opened the door.
    “I’m not your darling.”
    “Oh, I know, honey, but you know what they say about old habits.”
    “That they’ll kill you?” Ariel said, dryly. She made her way back to the kitchen and Gabe followed her.
    “Nice spread,” he said.
    “It’s amazing what a couple of million dollars will get you these days,” she said. Gabe looked embarrassed when she said that but she didn’t care. It was all money that he’d purposely hidden from his own family for years. “Your daughter will be down in a minute.”
    “Mom,” Becky called from upstairs. “Can I wear your lipstick?”
    “You don’t need lipstick. It’s not a date, honey.”
    “Please.”
    Ariel sighed. She looked at Gabe. “It’s a date,” he whispered from across the kitchen.
    Ariel called up the stairs. “Just a little, honey. And hurry along. I’m sure your dad’s anxious to get going.”
    Gabe was giving her his charming, boyish smile. It was the same smile she’d fallen for when she was eighteen and he’d gotten her pregnant. He’d always had a way with her and he knew it.
    “So what are you going to see?”
    “I don’t know. We’ll just go down to the Chinese Theatre and see what’s playing.”
    “You’ll be back by ten? It’s a school night.”
    “Sure. Has she eaten dinner?”
    “No, she wanted to eat with you.”
    Gabe smiled. He looked at Ariel. She knew he still found her attractive, even after all the years and all the things they’d been through. She found him attractive too but she’d been through so much with him that she didn’t allow herself to notice.
    “Ariel,” he said.
    She looked up at him.
    “Thanks for making this so pleasant.”
    She nodded. “Of course,” she said.
    *
    B ECKY WAS THRILLED TO BE sitting in the front seat of her dad’s jeep, next to him. He had a way of making her feel special that no one else in the world seemed capable of managing. When she was with him, everything seemed to be a game, a great big fun game that the whole world was in on.
    “What do you want to see?” he said to her.
    She looked up at him and smiled. “I don’t know. Whatever’s in the Imax?”
    “That’s my girl.”
    “I was taught by the best.”
    “Yes you were,” he said and put his arm around her.
    “Have you been to the movies lately, dad?”
    “Without you? Perish the thought.”
    She laughed. “Me neither, so pretty much any movie’s up