The Love Conspiracy: An Age-Gap Lesbian Romance

THE LOVE CONSPIRACY AN AGE-GAP LESBIAN ROMANCE J.J. ARIAS Copyright © 2023 by J.J. Arias All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. CONTENTS By JJ Arias Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40 Chapter 41 Chapter 42 Chapter 43 Chapter 44 Chapter 45 Chapter 46 Chapter 47 Chapter 48 Chapter 49 Chapter 50 Chapter 51 Chapter 52 Chapter 53 Chapter 54 Chapter 55 Chapter 56 Chapter 57 Chapter 58 Chapter 59 Chapter 60 Chapter 61 Chapter 62 Chapter 63 Chapter 64 Epilogue FREE Short Story About the Author For my wife. BY JJ ARIAS Standalone Contemporary Lesbian Romance The Single Matchmaker Objecting to Her Undercover Madam Whipped Body Check Crossing the Line Guava Flavored Lies Destination You Contemporary Lesbian Romance Series Goode Girl Series Paranormal Lesbian Romance Series Dusk Queen Series YA Fantasy Magic Unseen CHAPTER 1 Sweat gathered above Veronica’s micro-bladed eyebrows as she contorted her stiff body into upward facing dog. “Be sure to lift your knees off the mat.” Allison, the yoga instructor, demonstrated the pose from her raised platform at the front of the airy, sun-drenched studio. She moved like water, making it look effortless. Veronica refused to let her arms tremble as she held herself up and mimicked Allison’s movements. The instructor’s twenty-something body might be tighter and stronger than Veronica’s forty-year-old one, but no one had Veronica’s discipline. No one could rival her sheer force of will. She refused to struggle. Even if breathing and holding herself up were proving difficult to do in unison. “If your neck can handle the stretch, I want you to gaze at your third eye. Trust your body. By lengthening your spine, your head will lift naturally. No need to force it. Keep your jaw nice and loose.” Allison tossed her head back, her long, elegant neck exposed while her light brown ponytail fell over her muscular back. “Bringing balance to your third eye will improve your intuition, your deep inner knowing. It will help clear any confusion and depression and that hazy cloud that builds over us without our notice.” Veronica’s jaw tensed as she glared up at the vaulted shiplap ceiling. It wasn’t possible for her to see things any more clearly. For the first time in twenty years, her eyes were completely open. She saw everything — and everyone — for what they were. “Draw your shoulder blades toward one another and feel that wonderful stretch in your chest and your abdomen.” She let out an indulgent sigh like a ripple of warm satisfaction was rolling over her body. All Veronica could feel was the pressure on her wrists. The yoga mat threatening to slip out from under her. The growing tension in the back of her neck. She definitely wasn’t borderline orgasmic with relief. God. She’s so young. I didn’t expect her to be so young. She’s practically a tween. A kid. A fetus. “This is an amazing way to counter the office slump. Release your lungs and your heart.” Allison said it like the dozen people copying her had any power over their internal organs. “We spend so much time curled in on ourselves. Doesn’t it feel so good to open up?” Her voice grew breathier and further away, like her lips were pressed against the shell of her lover’s ear. Like she was whispering a silky promise. A hot spike ripped through Veronica’s stomach, angry and violent, but she resisted the overwhelming urge to sneer. “Lengthen your tailbone. Imagine it reaching toward your ankles.” Lengthen your tailbone. Rolling her eyes, Veronica pressed her lips together. Now she wants us to coerce our bones into growing. The tremble in Veronica’s upper body, the pull in her quads, the strain on the top of her bare feet, were almost at a breaking point when Allison called for them to transition into downward facing dog. Slowly, Veronica repositioned herself. With her hips high in the air and her head hanging between her arms, all the blood rushed into her brain. When Veronica rolled onto the balls of her feet, the burning in her muscles eased a fraction. Relief only lasted a moment before her physical discomfort was replaced with something more heinous. The Miami morning was bright, and all of it was streaming in through the wall of windows overlooking a lush Zen garden. It was a Broadway spotlight illuminating the diamond solitaire ring hanging from the delicate gold chain around Allison’s neck. Veronica had guessed the ring was there as soon as she walked into the six a.m. class, but it had been tucked into Allison’s sports bra. When she bent forward to get into downward facing dog, her hands splayed on her black mat, the ring came tumbling out of its hiding place. Clear and fiery, the large solitaire diamond caught the light and scattered it in a dazzling spectral display. Veronica watched it sway like Gollum trying to keep a grip on jealous passions. It was taunting her. Mocking her. The sight of it was nearly enough to send her scrambling to her partially numb feet, but she kept her composure. Fifteen years of being a trial attorney cemented her poker face in place. She wouldn’t show her cards. Not yet. “This is meant to be a restful and restorative pose.” Allison eased to her feet before tucking the engagement ring back