“I’m so sorry that happened to you,” Harper finally says. “What a dick.”
You have no idea.
“So he’d be pretty pissed if he knew you were doing this, I assume?” Ava asks.
“Oh, beyond pissed. Actually, I wouldn’t go in the first place.”
“But you’re no longer together,” Harper clarifies.
I shake my head.
“Then you have nothing to be nervous about.” Ava reaches back to lay her hand on my arm. I don’t even flinch at the touch.Not that Justin ever physically hurt me, but he rarely touched me, either. “You know most of these people, and we have a great time.”
“Okay.” My response is quiet, and with their pep talk in the front of my mind, we get out of the car and walk into the store.
Billie has arranged the chairs in a circle. There’s a folding table set up nearby that has wine, soda, and water, along with platters of some chocolate goodness from Jackie.
“This is thebestbook club ever,” Billie says as she immediately throws her arms around me and hugs me close. My nervous system comes down a notch, taking me from fight or flight to simple butterflies. “I’m so happy you’re here, Jules.”
I’m still damn nervous.But this welcome has helped considerably. I take a deep breath and grab a bottle of water from the table before I find a seat.
Harper immediately sits to my right, and Ava sits on the other side of her.
“What are you reading right now?” Harper asks me.
“I just finished a Mafia romance calledHis Tesoroby Emilia Rossi. I loved it so much, I might read it again.”
“Holy shit, I need that,” Ava says, pulling her phone out. “There. Just downloaded it. Mafia is my jam.”
“It’s a marriage of convenience story, and the heroine has medical challenges that made me love her even more. And the hero? Holy shit, I swooned.”
“Sold,” Harper agrees.
“Billie carries it,” I tell them.
“I heard my name,” Billie says as she sits to my left. “What did I do?”
“His Tesoro,” I tell her, and she immediately nods.
“Yes, everyone needs to read that one. Highly recommend.”
And that’s how the evening goes. We discuss books, specifically the Laura Pavlov novel we all read, but it segues intoother books as well. I love that I’ve read many of the books talked about and added others to my list.
I recognize so many of the people here, and no one looks at me weird. No one tells me I don’t belong.
“I’m happy you came tonight,” Skyla says later when people have broken up into little groups, just naturally forming little conversation groups as the meeting winds to a close. “And I love your restaurant.”
“Oh, thanks.” Skyla’s gorgeous red hair is braided, and I could listen to her speak with her Irish accent all day long. “It’s a relief that it’s going well.”
“I’m sure it is,” she replies with a soft smile. “But you’re an excellent chef, and the restaurant is cute as a button. Will you have the fajitas on the fall menu?”
“I think I’m going to switch it up,” I tell her.
“Wait.” Harper turns her head and glares at me. “You’re not taking away my salad, right?”
I snort, and Skyla giggles next to me. “No, your salad is safe for all of eternity.”
“Thank fuck.” Harper sighs and rubs her tiny baby bump.
