The Trophy Wife by Evie Baxter

Thirty-Five

Isat in the pub garden with Jacob, each of us sipping a cold pint of beer on a perfect summer’s day. “Everything sorted?” I asked.

“It’s done. All the paperwork has been approved. It’s a done deal, my friend.” He grinned at me.

“And Lisa and Claudia have done what they said they would?”

“Stop worrying, man. Of course they’ve done what they said they would. They’re over the moon. All they ever wanted was Tori to be happy. You’re making that happen so those two will bend over backwards for you.”

“Thanks. I’m hoping she doesn’t freak out that I’ve done this. Shit! What if she hates the idea?” I took a big gulp of my beer.

“Shut up. She’s going to love it. Just finish your beer and go tell her. It’s all good. I promise you.”

“5pm,” I stated.

“Yes, I know. 5pm. It’s all set. Go home, Bastian. Stop worrying.”

I downed the rest of my drink and rose from the table, reaching over to shake Jacob’s hand. “Thanks for everything. I really appreciate it.”

“Glad to have you as part of our inner circle. I’m looking forward to many more pints with you.” He raised his glass to me, and I smiled then turned away, walking through the village back to the house. Now all I had to do was act normal, like nothing in particular was going on. Not a problem.

“What is going on with you today?” Tori looked at me, her brow wrinkled in question. “You’re so jumpy.” She had just walked into the sitting room and spoken to me without me realising she was there. I had near leapt out of my seat because I had been so deep in thought.

“Nothing is going on with me,” I gave her a look of pure innocence. “You just startled me. That’s all.”

“Whatever you say,” she shrugged. “But I still don’t believe you. You’re up to something.”

Tori bore no more physical signs of the accident. Even the plaster cast had been removed. She had a regime of exercises to do to strengthen her wrist again, but that was it. The guarded woman I had met so many months ago was gone. She woke each morning with a smile of her face and seemed to glow with happiness throughout her day. It was like nothing could upset her anymore. She had been through trials by fire and come out the other side stronger and more confident.

Robert had survived his injuries, but he was still in a rehabilitation facility. The police said that charges were pending but they would wait until Robert was physically capable of standing up and defending himself in a court of law. I doubted that would happen because, by all reports, the man was broken. David had been to see him and said that his father was a shell of a man who looked like he had aged twenty years in a matter of months. General consensus was he had survived the accident but that his years were limited now.

Tori said she didn’t need to see him prosecuted, that he had caused his own demise in all ways but his actual death. And that she had the ultimate win because she had Isla and me and a good life. She was a far better person than I was because I fought a daily urge to visit Robert and end his miserable life once and for all. The only thing stopping me was the knowledge that I wouldn’t do anything that would put my girls’ happiness in jeopardy.

“Do you want to go for a walk?” I asked. “You, me and Isla. It’s not so hot out now. We could always stop at the pub on our way back for a cold drink, if you wanted.”

She shrugged. “Why not? Dinner is leftovers so I have nothing to do other than reheat it.” She left the room, calling to Isla to come down and put her shoes on. I rose to my feet, smiling to myself. It was time.

“What’s going on over there? That’s Lisa and Jacob’s land. Someone has been messing with it.” We were on the outskirts of the village, Isla between us, each holding one of her hands. Tori pointed over to the left of where her friends lived on land that bordered farmland.

“I don’t know. What are you talking about?”

“That field, Bastian. There’s stakes in it, like the ones builders put in when they are marking ground to start digging foundations.”

“Let’s go look.” I started walking over and the two of them followed.

“Seriously?” Tori seemed upset. “Lisa said they were never selling that field because they didn’t want neighbours there. But those are most definitely signs of a new build.”

“Maybe they needed the money,” I suggested.

“Nope. Jacob works with his dad in their own construction business. They’ve never hurt for money. I’m going to ask Lisa about it tomorrow when I see her. I can’t believe they sold it to someone.”

I opened the gate to the field, letting Isla and Tori precede me. “It’s a good sized plot,” I noted.

“Too right it is. It’s over an acre. You know how big their garden is. This is about the same sized field as the one they built on.” Tori stood, hands on her hips, lips pursed.

“Lucky sods who got it then. Look, they’ve marked the ground with orange spray paint too.” I strode over to where the grass had been stripped back to reveal the topsoil.

Isla ran over and jumped a painted line and landed in a drawn section. “Is this going to be a house here?” she asked.

“I think so, Isla. Come on,” I pulled at Tori’s hand, drawing her closer to the orange lines. “Look, someone has painted words too. Let’s see.”

“If this wasn’t Lisa and Jacob’s land, I wouldn’t be doing this,” she informed me, but still followed along.

“Stop being so chicken.”

“I’m not chicken! I’m just saying, this is someone else’s land now probably. We shouldn’t be on it really.”

“No one’s here. Look, it says entrance there,” I pointed to where a section of the drawing jutted out from the rest in a space approximately ten foot square.

“All the rooms are marked. It’s going to be a big house.” Tori was curious now. She walked in the supposed front door and moved into the part that was marked hallway. “Sitting room.” She pointed to the large space to the left. What’s this say?” She stepped to the space marked out on the right. “Bastian’s office.”

Her head came up and she looked at me with wide eyes. “Bastian! What have you done?” She looked down again, as if she had read it wrong. Then back up to find me on one knee before her.

I smiled at my woman, loving her shocked expression. I slipped my hand into my front pocket and pulled out the ring that had been waiting for this moment when I could finally give it to her. “Tori Belmane, you are my other half, and I can’t picture my life without you in it. Would you do me the greatest honour by becoming my wife and making me the happiest man alive?”

Her hands flew to her mouth as she gave a startled cry. Then she stepped closer, dropping to her knees in front of me. “Yes. I would love to make you the happiest man alive. If you’ll make me the happiest woman. I can’t think of anything I’d like more than to be your wife.”

I was slipping the aquamarine and white gold ring on her finger. I had spoken to her mother, and knew that Robert had made her wear an ostentatious diamond that Isla had loathed, so I had wanted something completely different to give her.

“What are you doing?” Isla came running over, her eyes as wide as her mother’s. “Why is Mummy crying?”

Tori put out her arm and pulled her daughter close. “Happy tears, baby. Bastian just asked Mummy to marry him.”

Isla’s mouth went into a round O of delight but before she could speak, I did. “I have a question for you too, Isla,” I said to the five year old.

She nodded at me, incapable of words for once in her life.

I put my hand into my other pocket and pulled out a necklace, white gold with an aquamarine pendant hanging from it. “Would you do me the honour of being my daughter and letting me be your daddy? Isla, I’m not sure you’ll understand this, but once your mummy and I are married, I’d like to adopt you so that I am your real daddy in all ways. Would you like that?”

She burst into tears and threw herself in my arms. As I was still balanced on one knee, I fell backwards, taking her with me. I lay on the warm earth, on the land where I wanted to build our future home, and held the world in my arms when Tori lay down beside me, tucking herself close.

Eventually, Isla stopped crying and pulled away from me slightly. “You’re my real daddy?”

“Absolutely, baby girl.”

She laughed out loud. A proper belly laugh. “This,” she informed us, “is the best day ever!”

There was a bellow from across the field. “Did she say yes then?” Lisa’s voice carried over to us.

“Of course I said yes,” Tori hollered back.

Someone let out a whoop and there were cheers coming from the other side of the fence. Soon after, we were surrounded by people giving us congratulatory hugs and Colette was handing out champagne glasses whilst Jacob and Robert produced a wheelbarrow full of ice with bottles of champagne, and sodas for the children. Corks were popped and drinks poured.

When things had quietened down a little, I took Tori’s hand and walked her around the layout of the house. “I know your house is lovely, but I want a place that we build together. One that is completely ours. And bigger. We need more room. Space for me to work from home as much as possible. And rooms for our babies to have.”

“Babies?”

“You do want more babies, don’t you?” I looked at Tori worriedly. I would take her any which way and if she said Isla would be our only child, then so be it. But I yearned to see her belly grow large with a child. To witness all those stages I missed out on with Isla.

We stood in the space that would be our future kitchen, Tori’s head on my shoulder, my arm around her. “I would love to have babies with you, Bastian Locke. As many as you want.”

I smiled down at her. “There’s a barbeque waiting for us at Lisa and Jacob’s. Then we are going home to practice baby making, all night long.”

Tori smiled up at me, bit her lip and said, “I think we need to eat our dinner very, very fast and get home quick.”

A Little Note From the Author

A huge thank you for reading The Trophy Wife. I hope you enjoyed it. If you find the time, please leave a review. Reviews are always hugely appreciated by authors, especially new authors like me.

I have a big supportive team of family and friends behind me, cheering me on in my writing career. But I’d like to take the opportunity to thank Mary, Francine, Sue and Rhonda for reading, critiquing, typo checking and being my beta readers from the very first book I wrote. I couldn’t do this without you all.

My biggest thanks goes to you, my reader. Thank you for taking a chance on a new author and I hope you feel inspired to come back and read some of my other books. You can find my other books on Amazon, all available on Unimited.