![\"The](\"https:\/\/jennytrout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/The-Boyfriend-cover.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThere is no pre-order, which I know drives people batty, but way too many authors I know have had issues with KDP’s pre-order system. Smashwords, however, continues to be amazing. Keep up the good work.<\/p>\n
The Boyfriend<\/em> will be available on Tuesday, November 13th, from Amazon and Smashwords, with other platforms to follow. I do not have details on any foreign language or audio versions at this time.<\/p>\n Now, please, enjoy the part of this post that pretty much all of you skipped over the rest to get to. Here’s chapter one of\u00a0The Boyfriend<\/em>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The morning I\u2019d been dreading my entire adult life started with my husband leaping from the bed and screaming, \u201cJesus bloody Christ!\u201d<\/p>\n I startled awake and clutched the sheet to my chest because the duvet had apparently sprinted across the room with Neil. I couldn\u2019t see if that was the case because a giant store-bought birthday cake with rapidly melting candles in the shape of a three and a zero took up my entire field of vision.<\/p>\n Trying not to expose myself, I scrambled backward. \u201cWhat the fuck, Mom?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, calm down,\u201d my mother said, blowing out the candles. \u201cYou\u2019re gonna set the bed on fire.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSophie!\u201d Olivia, Neil\u2019s three-year-old granddaughter, flung herself against the bed and struggled to climb up. When she failed, she settled for jumping and slapping the mattress. \u201cHappy birthday!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRebecca, get out!\u201d Neil barked.<\/p>\n My mother made a tsk-ing sound. \u201cOh, come on, guys. I knew you were asleep. I listened at the door.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGross!\u201d I shouted over the top of Neil\u2019s, \u201cLeave!\u201d<\/p>\n She shook her head. \u201cFine. I\u2019ll take this to the kitchen. There\u2019s coffee on.\u201d<\/p>\n Olivia toddled to my side of the bed and raised her arms. \u201cHelp me, Sophie.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat on earth was she thinking?\u201d Neil fumed, holding the duvet around his waist as he stalked to the walk-in closet.<\/p>\n I lifted Olivia up and patted the happy panda on the butt of her footie pajamas as she crawled over my legs and toward the center of the bed.<\/p>\n \u201cThank god we didn\u2019t leave anything interesting out last night,\u201d I called to him, retrieving his discarded t-shirt from beneath the sheets and maneuvering it on. The thought of my mom finding freshly used sex toys or bondage gear in our bedroom was…ugh. No thank you.<\/p>\n Neil emerged in sleep pants, which gave him more mobility to toss his arms around as he complained. \u201cSophie, I am sorry for shouting at your mother but\u2014 No. No, I am not sorry. It is not unreasonable to have a basic expectation of privacy in one\u2019s own bedroom. If she and Tony are going to continue to live in the guesthouse, she has to respect the fact that I don\u2019t want her walking through our door, let alone our bedroom door, whenever she wishes!\u201d<\/p>\n I understood where he was coming from, but I\u2019d tried to explain, more than once, how hard that particular habit would die. My family didn\u2019t have great boundaries when it came to stuff like not just bursting into each other\u2019s homes. \u201cYou\u2019re right. We\u2019ve had more than a few close calls. But she knows how much I\u2019m hating this birthday. She just wants to make me feel better.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe wants to make you feel better by sending your blood sugar through the roof?\u201d he demanded. \u201cHas she forgotten your diagnosis?\u201d<\/p>\n I couldn\u2019t blame her if she had. Sometimes, I forgot it. \u201cThanks for the reminder of my mortality. Is that my birthday present?\u201d<\/p>\n Neil shook his head in frustration. \u201cI still do not understand why thirty is such a terrible age.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBecause that\u2019s the age\u2014\u201d I began, preparing to repeat the reasoning I\u2019d stated over and over for the past six weeks.<\/p>\n I didn\u2019t have to, because Neil did it for me. \u201c\u2014\u2018when everything falls apart.\u2019 Yes. I know. And as I\u2019ve stated many, many times, that is ridiculous.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIs it really that ridiculous?\u201d I asked, gesturing to my thighs. He couldn\u2019t see them because the sheet covered them, but I\u2019d had a massive crying jag just days before because I\u2019d found the rising blue threat of a varicose vein on the outside of the left one. I didn\u2019t want to bring it up too specifically in front of Olivia because she didn\u2019t deserve to inherit the weird body hang-ups the women of my family had been passing down for generations.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s not the issue here. The issue is your mother barging in whenever she pleases. If we\u2019re going to continue discussing\u2026\u201d he hesitated, glancing at Olivia. \u201c…What we\u2019ve been discussing, then this must be addressed.\u201d<\/p>\n That thing we\u2019d been discussing was the possibility of our boyfriend, El-Mudad, moving in with us. We rarely talked about it when Olivia was around, but plans had hesitantly been forming over the past few visits. She loved El-Mudad, and we didn\u2019t want her to become hopeful for something that might not happen.<\/p>\n She gave me a look copied directly from her late mother. It was eerie how many of Emma\u2019s mannerisms the kid possessed, despite having been less than a year old when her parents died. \u201cThis is not in front of Olivia?\u201d<\/p>\n Neil\u2019s anger reluctantly faded to a fond smile. He sat on the edge of the bed. \u201cDon\u2019t worry about not-in-front-of-Olivia. It\u2019s Sophie\u2019s birthday today. And I love that you helped wake her up with such a beautiful cake. Did you and Rebecca pick it out?\u201d<\/p>\n Olivia\u2019s preschooler mind still didn\u2019t follow conversations well, despite how mature her phrasing could sometimes be. \u201cYou were funny, Af\u00ed.\u201d<\/p>\n I tapped her on the shoulder. \u201cWhy don\u2019t you go to the kitchen and find Rebecca, and we\u2019ll be along in a minute, okay?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOkay!\u201d She climbed down from the mattress and charged toward the door.<\/p>\n \u201cNo running!\u201d Neil called after her. I had a feeling it fell on selectively deaf little ears. He got up and closed the door then leaned back on it with a long exhale. \u201cSophie. Really, now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know.\u201d I dropped my head into my hands in frustration. \u201cI\u2019ve talked to her. I have. But she\u2019s my mom. I can\u2019t stand to hurt her feelings.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHer feelings shouldn\u2019t be hurt over a request like, \u2018please don\u2019t barge in on my husband and I while we\u2019re in our bedroom.\u2019 And she of all people, considering what you\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n One hand shot out to shush him. \u201cNo. You don\u2019t get to take me back there.\u201d<\/p>\n Walking in on my mom having sex with our limo driver was not an experience I felt like reliving. Especially since he was about to become my stepfather.<\/p>\n \u201cLook, I\u2019ll talk to her again, okay? And I\u2019ll be really firm about it, too,\u201d I promised, rising up on my knees and shuffling toward the end of the bed. \u201cBut it\u2019s only until June. After the wedding, they\u2019re moving out.\u201d<\/p>\n Neil came back to meet me, taking my hand to put it on his chest, over his heart. He covered my fingers with his and squeezed. \u201cI\u2019m sorry. I just…I so very much want this to work. I\u2019m tired of one of us being missing.\u201d<\/p>\n I leaned my head against him. \u201cYeah. Me, too.\u201d<\/p>\n There was more keeping us from being the happy threesome that we wanted to be than just my mother\u2019s lack of appropriate boundaries. El-Mudad had two children and joint custody with his ex-wife. We had yet to meet Amal and Rashida, not because he didn\u2019t feel we were permanent enough to be a part of his daughters\u2019 lives, but because we collectively had no idea how to approach explaining our relationship to them. We didn\u2019t know if we even should.<\/p>\n It was difficult enough for us with Olivia. She knew El-Mudad was our good friend and that he visited us for long periods of time, but we were careful not to display any kind of romantic affection toward him when she was around. Neil had reasoned that unless we wanted to be out to everyone, we\u2019d have to keep our relationship secret until Olivia was an adult, at which point she would be either unsurprised after having figured it out years before or scarred for life at the thought of her parental figures hooking up with a lifelong family friend.<\/p>\n In a perfect world, El-Mudad would be there for my birthday, to say some cornball thing that would sound meltingly romantic coming from him. We had second-best plans for that night. \u201cHey, at least we get Skype sex!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMmm, and we have a surprise planned for you, as well.\u201d Neil lifted my hand and kissed it.<\/p>\n I shivered at the thought of what that surprise might be. My Sir and Monsieur could be very inventive.<\/p>\n Neil opted for a quick shower while I dressed and headed to the kitchen. Mom was there at the kitchen island, plating slices of cake while Olivia clumsily added scoops of ice cream on the side. Our housekeeper, Julia, stood by giving sidelong glares and wiping up spills and crumbs. Mariposa, Olivia\u2019s nanny, carefully tried to supervise the ice cream part of the operation.<\/p>\n She looked up, a spiraling black curl falling from her bun and into her tan face. She gave me an apologetic grimace, then came to my side to say quietly, \u201cI\u2019m so sorry. Your mother wanted\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n I waved my hand. \u201cYou\u2019re not in trouble. What were you supposed to do, hold Olivia hostage?\u201d<\/p>\n Mariposa\u2019s shoulders visibly relaxed. I had a feeling everyone would be more at ease once my mom lived…elsewhere.<\/p>\n \u201cOlivia?\u201d I called, and she looked up, tangled blonde curls dipping into the ice cream. \u201cYou need to go with Mariposa to get ready for the day.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, thank you, please,\u201d she said breezily, depositing another chunk of ice cream on a plate and wiping it from the spoon with her finger. Then she licked her finger and the scoop.<\/p>\n The entire container was a vector for disease.<\/p>\n \u201cOlivia,\u201d Mariposa began, gentle and stern like Mary Poppins. \u201cSophie told you to do something. Do you want to get a dot this early in the morning?\u201d<\/p>\n I didn\u2019t exactly know how the dots system worked or what the consequences were if she got too many. I did know that the threat of getting one of the round stickers on her discipline chart was usually enough to motivate her. This time was no different. She held up both hands and said, \u201cOkay, okay! I\u2019m coming. Jeez.\u201d<\/p>\n I covered my mouth and nose to try and contain my snort of laughter. As Mariposa led Olivia from the kitchen, I heard the former firmly scold the latter about her tone.<\/p>\n Mom shook her head fondly. \u201cI remember when you were that age. You were a handful.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJulia, can you give us a minute?\u201d I asked the housekeeper, who tossed her rag down as though I\u2019d just ordered her away from helping bleeding accident victims on the site of a grisly crash. She left the kitchen door swinging vigorously in her wake.<\/p>\n Mom sighed. \u201cOkay. Neil is pissed off at me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo. We\u2019re both pissed off at you.\u201d I sat on one of the stools across the island from her. \u201cWe\u2019ve already talked about this like six hundred times.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou’re my kid. It\u2019s your birthday. I wanted to surprise you,\u201d she said with a shrug, as though I were making way too big a deal about it.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not a kid, though. I\u2019m a grown woman with a husband, and you might have been the one who got surprised. Need I remind you about the great Denim & Co. tragedy?\u201d One of my mother\u2019s QVC orders had accidentally been left at the main house. I\u2019d walked it down to the guesthouse and let myself in, only to catch my mother mid-coitus with her now-fianc\u00e9. \u201cAnd in my defense, I didn\u2019t even know you had a boyfriend. You\u2019re fully aware that you could be walking into your worst nightmare.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI told you, I listened at the door\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot better! Actually, way, way creepier!\u201d I pinched the bridge of my nose and squinted my eyes shut. Wow, that really helps. No wonder Neil is doing that all the time.<\/em> \u201cLook, it\u2019s not just that. It\u2019s the fact that you come in here without knocking\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou gave me a key!\u201d she protested.<\/p>\n \u201cYes. To use when we\u2019re not home. When we\u2019re here, please, just give us our privacy, okay?\u201d As I finished the sentence, Neil came into the kitchen, his hair wet, wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants to deliberately annoy my mother, who hated them.<\/p>\n Mom shook her head. \u201cBack home, we always left our doors unlocked and came and went as we pleased. Have you ever once rung the doorbell at your grandma\u2019s house?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t live in Calumet, Rebecca, and some of us grew up far differently than you did,\u201d Neil said tersely. \u201cI appreciate that you wanted to surprise Sophie for her birthday, but privacy is essential to me and, frankly, being woken by my mother-in-law while I\u2019m stark naked in bed isn\u2019t something I should be expected to be comfortable with.\u201d<\/p>\n She sighed like we were asking her to make the biggest sacrifice ever. \u201cFine. Do you want me to go?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, I just don\u2019t want you to see my genitals!\u201d Neil snapped back.<\/p>\n Mom pushed the lid back on the ice cream container. \u201cThen don\u2019t wear sweatpants everywhere!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh my god, both of you, just stop!\u201d I threw my hands up in the air. \u201cThis is my fucking birthday! And it\u2019s starting out like this? With both of you screaming at each other about genitals?\u201d<\/p>\n The house phone rang, and I went angrily to the handset on the wall. \u201cHello?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c…is this a bad time?\u201d El-Mudad\u2019s voice instantly melted away my tension, replacing it with the butterflies that never stopped fluttering when he was with me, even over the phone.<\/p>\n \u201cNot at all.\u201d My gaze flicked to Neil. I mouthed, \u201cBe nice,\u201d gave my mother a warning look, and left the kitchen for somewhere more private.<\/p>\n If such a place existed.<\/p>\n \u201cDo you know how much I treasure this day, my love?\u201d El-Mudad asked.<\/p>\n I smiled to myself. \u201cThursday?\u201d<\/p>\n He laughed softly. I could imagine his face, his fond smile, the endless depths of his warm brown eyes. My heart ached, reaching out to him over the thousands of miles between us. \u201cYour birthday. The day you were born to be with me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re going to make me cry.\u201d I blinked back my tears. \u201cAre you still in Paris?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWith the girls, yes. We\u2019ve been shopping. Enthusiastically.\u201d He chuckled again. \u201cBut we will still be together\u2026well, I suppose it will be tonight, for you, won\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd almost morning for you,\u201d I said, worrying my bottom lip with my teeth. \u201cAre you sure you won\u2019t be too tired?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the only way I\u2019m guaranteed time alone,\u201d he said. \u201cTime when no one will be banging on my locked door.\u201d<\/p>\n I snorted. \u201cYeah, we\u2019ve got some of that going around here, too.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRebecca?\u201d he asked. I knew Neil had complained to him more than once.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ll be moving after the wedding.\u201d I took a deep breath. \u201cAnd we were thinking maybe we could discuss our…arrangement more at that time?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOf course. And I thought I might bring the girls along. To Christmas. If that was all right with you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, um.\u201d How did I respond to that? We\u2019d planned to spend Christmas together at Langhurst Court the year before, but plans had fallen through when Olivia and Neil had both come down with a truly wretched case of the flu. \u201cI\u2019m sure Neil won\u2019t mind. My family will be there, as well. Obviously, we\u2019ll have to figure out some of the details\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I wouldn\u2019t wish to do that tonight, of course,\u201d El-Mudad said quickly. His voice lowered to a deep, intense tone. \u201cTonight will be all about you. Your obedience. Your pleasure.\u201d<\/p>\n My pussy went all silky and tingly, and a breathy, \u201cOui, Monsieur,\u201d broke from my throat.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been needing to hear those words for a long time.\u201d His voice was almost a groan of relief.<\/p>\n \u201cCan we just do this right now?\u201d I wheedled, knowing I wouldn\u2019t get what I wanted. Making me wait was part of the fun for him and Neil.<\/p>\n \u201cLater, my love. Right now, I just wanted to hear your voice and remind you how thankful I am that you\u2019re alive. And you\u2019re mine.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOui, Monsieur,\u201d I answered automatically.<\/p>\n He laughed again. \u201cIs Neil there? May I speak to him?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, he\u2019s in the kitchen. I\u2019ll go get him,\u201d I said. Then I remembered my mom was in there and I couldn\u2019t say goodbye properly in front of her. \u201cI love you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I love you. Don\u2019t let Neil forget to give you the present I sent,\u201d he said, adding, \u201cAs if you ever would forget a present.\u201d<\/p>\n He was right. I loved presents.<\/p>\n There was a giddy skip in my step as I sprinted to the kitchen. Since I could still hear Mom and Neil talking, I knew they hadn\u2019t killed each other. So, that was good.<\/p>\n I held the swinging door open with one hand. \u201cNeil? It\u2019s El-Mudad. He wants to talk to you.\u201d<\/p>\n Neil had just taken a sip from his coffee mug. He set it down quickly and reached for the phone. \u201cThank you, I\u2019ll take it in my study.\u201d He shot a look at my mother. \u201cAlone and undisturbed.\u201d<\/p>\n I took a plate of cake and melting ice cream from the island and went to the kitchen table so I could face the big windows that overlooked the sea. I glanced over my shoulder at my mom. \u201cDo me a favor and don\u2019t ever mention that you can see my husband\u2019s junk through his sweatpants ever again.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI admit, that was unfair.\u201d She made a pained face. \u201cAnd gross. And creepy. Sometimes, I have a hard time remembering he\u2019s my son-in-law because he\u2019s so much older than I am.\u201d<\/p>\n I rolled my eyes. \u201cOkay, he\u2019s not \u2018so much older\u2019 than you are. He\u2019s like six years older than you.\u201d<\/p>\n The age gap between my husband and me was a big issue for my mom. He\u2019d turned fifty-four in March, and I\u2019d just hit my…thirties.<\/p>\n I choked on my cake.<\/p>\n \u201cSophie!\u201d Mom ran over just as I coughed up a mouthful of crumbs.<\/p>\n I waved my hands in the air the way my grandma had taught both of us to do. When I could stop hacking, I gasped, \u201cIt just went down the wrong way!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll get you some water,\u201d she said, bustling toward the island, her silk caftan fluttering behind her.<\/p>\n Neil returned to the kitchen, phone in his hand. \u201cDamned call cut out\u2014\u201d His eyebrows shot up in alarm, and he dropped the handset on the floor to run over to me, despite my frantic head shaking and attempts to explain. He\u2019d nearly dragged me from my chair for a Heimlich before my mom managed to get through to him.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s fine, she\u2019s breathing.\u201d Mom nudged him out of the way and handed me a tall glass of water.<\/p>\n The drink I took helped. When I was finished hacking, I gasped, \u201cOh my god. I could have died. I could have choked to death and died. On my birthday.\u201d My eyes filled with tears as I looked up at Neil and bleated, \u201cAnd I\u2019m thirty.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, honey,\u201d my mom said.<\/p>\n Neil struggled to hold back a smile. That was wise of him.<\/p>\n \u201cSophie, you\u2019re making Rebecca and me feel very old,\u201d he said, petting my hair back from my forehead.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sorry!\u201d I wailed. \u201cHow unfair of me to be freaked out about my mortality on a milestone birthday that has been nothing but one disaster after another when I haven\u2019t even been awake for a full hour yet!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSophie\u2026\u201d Neil began. Then with a heavy sigh, he asked, \u201cWould a present make the morning any better?\u201d<\/p>\n I sniffled. \u201cI think it would.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOf course it would,\u201d Mom said with a shake of her head. She\u2019d dealt with my materialistic self for a lot longer than Neil had.<\/p>\n He offered me his hand and pulled me to my feet. \u201cCome along. Rebecca, could you excuse us a moment?\u201d<\/p>\n I followed Neil out of the kitchen. \u201cSo, it\u2019s something you can\u2019t give me in front of my mother?\u201d<\/p>\n He rolled his eyes. \u201cNo, it\u2019s just in my study.\u201d<\/p>\n Our house is huge, so it took us a few rooms and a couple of hallways to reach his study. Though the former occupants had used the space as a second formal dining room, it was too far away from the kitchen to be practical, and the built-in bookshelves, all painted white, made more sense in a library. The gauzy drapes over the tall windows brushed the wood parquet floor. His desk stood in the center of the room, with a comfortable armchair and chaise, both of which Neil insisted were for long afternoons of reading, at the far end of the room. I\u2019d only ever seen him nap or play on his phone on those, though. Today, a signature forest green Harrods box rested on the soft gray leather.<\/p>\n I hopped up on my toes to kiss him on the cheek. \u201cYou had help.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI did,\u201d he admitted. \u201cI called your personal shopper in London. She said this was a little out of season but that you\u2019d love it, anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n I hurried over to the box and wiggled the lid off. Multi-colored sequins sparkled through the paper.<\/p>\n \u201cIs this\u2026\u201d I gasped, lifting the dress from the box. \u201cIt is!\u201d<\/p>\n Jenny Packham\u2019s amazing sheer white gown spattered with a rainbow of multi-colored sequins of different sizes and shapes that drifted down the nearly transparent skirt like confetti.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought you might wear it for New Year\u2019s Eve,\u201d Neil suggested. \u201cThough it\u2019s a long way off.\u201d<\/p>\n I held the gown awkwardly against my chest and twirled as much as I dared without stepping on it. \u201cDo we have plans I don\u2019t know about?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot yet. But I\u2019d like to make some soon. Some…grown-up plans. Maybe leave Olivia behind this time?\u201d He sounded almost guilty.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s perfectly fine to leave your kid\u2014grandkid\u2014at home on New Year\u2019s Eve. That\u2019s an adult holiday. But do you think you\u2019d be okay to\u2026\u201d I didn\u2019t want to finish the sentence. I didn\u2019t like tiptoeing around his addiction issues, but he didn\u2019t want me to treat him like a child, either. We\u2019d rung in the past few New Year\u2019s quietly at home.<\/p>\n \u201cOh, don\u2019t worry about that,\u201d he said with a wave of his hand. \u201cI\u2019ve been sober so long that I\u2019ve honestly forgotten.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLiar,\u201d I said with a sad smile.<\/p>\n \u201cAll right, perhaps I haven\u2019t quite forgotten,\u201d he admitted. \u201cBut I\u2019m not going to lose control of myself. And I would have you and hopefully El-Mudad as a support system.\u201d<\/p>\n I had an idea so good, I dropped my birthday present. I scrambled to pick it up. \u201cSorry. I just had a thought. What if we spent New Year\u2019s…in Venice.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh.\u201d Neil blinked.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve never been there,\u201d I reminded him. \u201cAnd how long has it been since you\u2019ve even visited it? You\u2019ve got an apartment in Venice, and you\u2019ve been there, like, what? Twice?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOnce. My honeymoon with Elizabeth,\u201d he said, clearing his throat reflexively at the mention of his ex-wife.<\/p>\n \u201cThen let\u2019s make it like a new honeymoon!\u201d We hadn\u2019t had one with El-Mudad, yet, but there was no reason we couldn\u2019t, just because we weren\u2019t all officially married. Moving in together was pretty much the same when there wasn\u2019t any way we could make our union official. \u201cWouldn\u2019t it be amazing to go back there? The three of us together?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNew Year\u2019s tends to be very popular there,\u201d Neil mused. \u201cAnd I know El-Mudad is fond of the city.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGood. That\u2019s settled.\u201d I sighed happily. \u201cHe said he sent you a present for me?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe did,\u201d Neil confirmed with his half-smile. \u201cBut I\u2019m not to give it to you until this evening.\u201d<\/p>\n I clucked my tongue. \u201cIs it a sex thing? It\u2019s a sex thing, isn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot strictly. But he knows how you are about presents and told me to make you wait as long as I possibly could.\u201d Neil gestured for me to come to him, and I obliged, leaving the dress on the longue. He wrapped his arms around me and leaned down for a kiss. A small moan mewling from my throat as his tongue traced the curve of my lower lip. He grabbed my butt and boosted me up, and I wrapped my legs around his waist. I was just considering telling him to close and lock the door when I heard the slap of bare feet in the hallway. Neil heard it, too, and put me down just as Olivia burst into the room.<\/p>\n \u201cCome on, Sophie! Cake!\u201d She ran to me and grabbed my hand, pulling me toward the door.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re not really going to hide in here from my mom, are you?\u201d I asked Neil as Olivia dragged me along.<\/p>\n \u201cCake, Afi! Cake!\u201d Olivia urged him, with a passion for sweets that only a toddler could summon. \u201cLet\u2019s go!\u201d<\/p>\n He sighed. \u201cAll right. I\u2019ll go. But Rebecca has to be nice to me.\u201d<\/p>\n I turned and glanced down. \u201cMaybe…go put on some real pants.\u201d<\/p>\n * * * *<\/p>\n Because my birthday fell on a weekday\u2014and because I so was not into the idea of an opulent celebration to remind me of my fading youth\u2014the only plans we\u2019d made had been for a quiet dinner at home with some of my friends.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can\u2019t make it.\u201d<\/p>\n I frowned at the phone on the counter and almost burned myself unwinding my hair from the curling rod. \u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTeething.\u201d My best friend Holli and her partner, Deja, had welcomed a gorgeous baby back in April, but that gorgeous baby always seemed to be a shrieking hellspawn of snot and fevers these days. Occasionally, I wondered if they used Piett\u2014so named for the admiral, due to Deja\u2019s total Star Wars<\/em> nerdery as much as for gender neutrality\u2014as an excuse to not see me. It had been weeks. Of course, just thinking that made me feel guilty. We had a full-time nanny, but we usually took care of Olivia when she was miserably ill. I\u2019d canceled plans because of her more than once as a result.<\/p>\n \u201cThat sucks.\u201d I was so glad we were past that nonsense with Olivia. \u201cI\u2019ll miss you guys. You know you\u2019re always welcome to bring zir.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd dump zir on your nanny?\u201d Holli said dryly.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not monsters. We\u2019d call the agency and get another sitter.\u201d<\/p>\n Holli sighed. \u201cThanks, but zie\u2019s so miserable. It just wouldn\u2019t feel fair. And it\u2019s such a long car ride.\u201d<\/p>\n I would have offered the helicopter, but I didn\u2019t want to be too pushy. \u201cI\u2019ll miss you. But take care of that baby.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNah, I thought I\u2019d leave zir on the side of the road.\u201d Holli sighed. \u201cI really am sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t be!\u201d I forced some cheer into my tone. \u201cIt\u2019s not a big deal.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s your thirtieth birthday,\u201d she protested. Just when I\u2019d thought we\u2019d had enough arguments over my lack of party, she launched into another. \u201cI can\u2019t believe we aren\u2019t doing anything to celebrate it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI am doing something. I\u2019m having a perfectly lovely dinner with my family.\u201d And my husband\u2019s best friend.<\/em> So…basically, we were having a regular old dinner with one of our occasional, ordinary guests.<\/p>\n I glanced at the clock. Yeah, five-thirty on the day of was the wrong time to decide I wanted to overhaul my plans and have some epic birthday blowout.<\/p>\n \u201cAnyway,\u201d I continued, \u201cAren\u2019t you happier that you\u2019re not missing out on an awesome rager?\u201d<\/p>\n She scoffed. \u201cPlease, we haven\u2019t had a real rager in years. Unless we count your bachelorette party. And even that was tame, by Vegas standards.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd Neil\u2019s fiftieth doesn\u2019t really count, does it? It was a little too\u2026\u201d I hated to say the word. \u201cPosh?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, no, I\u2019m talking the old days. I\u2019m talking pushing furniture off the fire escape,\u201d she said wistfully. \u201cAnd I wasn\u2019t at your husband\u2019s fiftieth. The Dark Time, remember?\u201d<\/p>\n My stomach clenched. Holli and I had been best friends since our second year of college, but a few years ago, we\u2019d had a nearly friendship-ending fight over her wife\u2019s involvement with the competition for one of Neil\u2019s publications. Things had gotten considerably better, though, especially since Neil had retired, and work didn\u2019t take up ninety percent of his life.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, you didn\u2019t really miss anything,\u201d I lied.<\/p>\n \u201cPrince Harry was there,\u201d she responded dryly. \u201cI could be the Duchess of Sussex right now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut you\u2019re the princess of my heart,\u201d I consoled her.<\/p>\n I could hear her eye roll.<\/p>\n \u201cSeriously, though, I\u2019m sorry I\u2019m missing your birthday. I\u2019ll make it up to you by taking you out for dinner somewhere fancy that you pay for,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n I laughed. \u201cI love you. Kiss the baby.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWill do.\u201d<\/p>\n We hung up, and I gave myself a second to feel bad before I went to the kitchen, where Neil was already working on dinner. I\u2019d requested my favorite dish that he made, a standing rib roast with a b\u00e9arnaise sauce that was like something out of a fancy renaissance painting. Even though we had a housekeeper, Neil preferred to cook most of our dinners. It gave him something to do, which was necessary for a guy who\u2019d taken early retirement but still desperately needed to have something stressful going on. He\u2019d always been a good cook, but now that it was a serious hobby, he\u2019d really leveled up.<\/p>\n He pushed some buttons on the oven as I entered. \u201cNow it just needs to rest for two hours\u2026\u201d He checked his watch. \u201cAha! Timed it just right.\u201d<\/p>\n My mouth watered at the savory aroma coming from the slightly-open oven door. \u201cThat smells so good. Are you a witch?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo sorcery involved.\u201d He glanced over at me and grinned.<\/p>\n \u201cHolli and Deja aren\u2019t going to make it,\u201d I said with a sigh, joining him at the island. \u201cTeething.\u201d<\/p>\n Neil grimaced in sympathy.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah.\u201d I leaned over the counter. \u201cSo, it looks like tonight is going to be just\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou, me, Rudy, Tony, and your mum,\u201d Neil finished, looking up to the ceiling and blowing out a long breath. \u201cOh, Sophie. I\u2019m so sorry your birthday is turning out this way.\u201d<\/p>\n I traced spirals on the countertop. \u201cIt\u2019s okay. Really, I didn\u2019t want to make this a big thing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThirty is a milestone,\u201d he protested. \u201cIt should be a \u2018big thing.\u2019 But joyfully. You\u2019re ready to climb into a coffin and pull the dirt on top of yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s kind of dramatic.\u201d I was getting a little sick of being told how to feel about my own damn birthday. \u201cBesides, it\u2019s just not that important to me to celebrate.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s important to me. It\u2019s the day you were born. I want to celebrate it because even though I didn\u2019t know it at the time, it was one of the most important days of my life.\u201d He reached for my hand and stroked his thumb along my knuckles. \u201cI know you don\u2019t want anyone to make a fuss over you because you view things differently. But I hope you understand that this day is better than Christmas and Le Mans to me.\u201d<\/p>\n I dipped my head, my cheeks flooding with heat. \u201cYou know, it\u2019s really unfair that you can come up with such romantic stuff. I\u2019m totally defenseless.\u201d<\/p>\n He lifted my hand and gave it a kiss, then released me to turn his back to take something from a utensil drawer. I watched him in silence, thinking about the first night we\u2019d spent in this very kitchen, sitting on the hardwood floor and eating supermarket baguette. Neil was terrific at big, romantic gestures, but his ability to turn mundane moments into something wonderful often shocked me most of all.<\/p>\n He faced me again, bracing his hands wide on the edge of the counter and leaning slightly forward. One of his palms pinned a long-handled wooden spoon against the brown marble. He regarded me with a glint of amusement in his eyes for a long moment, the lights above us casting shadows on his face and gilding the silver edges of his hair.<\/p>\n I squeezed my thighs together.<\/p>\n \u201cCome over here.\u201d<\/p>\n My knees trembled a little as I obeyed.<\/p>\n \u201cBend over the counter.\u201d<\/p>\n I glanced around, an uncertain sound sticking my throat. What if Olivia\u2019s piano lesson wrapped up early and Mariposa brought her to the kitchen for a snack? What if my mom just busted into the house again? What if Julia had forgotten her purse and\u2014<\/p>\n \u201cSophie, don\u2019t make me ask you twice.\u201d He kept his slow-blinking eyes on me.<\/p>\n I faced the island and leaned down, pressing the side of my face against the cold marble. \u201cI thought I wasn\u2019t going to get my birthday spankings until later.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhich is why I will not be giving you the full thirty right now.\u201d He and El-Mudad had apparently been planning my birthday sex for weeks. It had been the only bright spot to look forward to. Neil gave the seat of my jeans a little pat. \u201cPull them down.\u201d<\/p>\n I reached between the counter and my body and unfastened my fly, then wriggled the pants down my legs. I hoped he hadn\u2019t been expecting something devastatingly sexy beneath; I wouldn\u2019t be wearing anything special until I changed after dinner.<\/p>\n He ran his fingers along the seam where the black cotton brief cupped my bottom. \u201cThese, too.\u201d<\/p>\n I complied with a giggle. \u201cAnything else you\u2019d like me to do?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d like you to keep that smart mouth shut,\u201d he said, and the spoon hit my ass with a loud slap.<\/p>\n I stifled my purr of pleasure and arched my back. He jerked the shoulder of my scoop-neck t-shirt down and palmed my breast, grinding against me briefly before giving me another solid smack with the spoon. He cupped me from behind, two fingers gliding effortlessly into my wet, anticipating cunt. I moaned and rocked against his hand.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s the enthusiasm I want to hear tonight,\u201d he whispered in my ear, his body trapping me against the countertop.<\/p>\n Then he released me, leaving me unsatisfied, on shaking legs with my pants around my knees.<\/p>\n I straightened and fixed my clothes. \u201cWell, I\u2019ll have to change my panties, now.\u201d<\/p>\n He shrugged. \u201cOr, you could skip them all together.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTempting.\u201d Except it wasn\u2019t. The last place I wanted to do sexy, no-underwear things was at a family dinner with my mom.<\/p>\n \u201cOur date tonight is at ten o\u2019clock sharp. We need to be sure to be there on time,\u201d he warned.<\/p>\n \u201cBe there? Are we leaving the property?\u201d I\u2019d thought we\u2019d be spending the night in our secluded recreation Pavillon Fran\u00e7ais, a ridiculous folly built by the previous owners and refurbished into a tiny palace of depravity by my husband. We never used the space for anything but our games of domination and submission; just stepping through the doors could instantly arouse me.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, but we have specific plans.\u201d He kissed me on the nose. \u201cDon\u2019t bother dressing to impress tonight. We\u2019re just going to ruin it.\u201d<\/p>\n My birthday was looking way up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It’s November! You know what that means… IT’S TIME FOR ANOTHER SOPHIE SCAIFE BOOK! There is no pre-order, which I know drives people batty, but<\/p>\n