None that had sex in them, much less the kind of things Cassidy and Grandma described.
Pet play was people actually pretending to be pets.Crawling around on hands and knees, acting like animals, and wearing plug tails.Audrey decided not to ask what a plug tail was.If it was what she was picturing, that was not a discussion she wanted to have with her grandmother.She could ask Cassidy later.If it wasn’t too awkward to ask the woman, she was pretty sure would be her future sister-in-law.
“Great.Okay.”Book club with her grandmother talking about kinky books.Sounded… interesting.
“Claudia and Naomi have joined, too,” Cassidy told her, a little smile on her face like she knew what Audrey was thinking.She probably could guess pretty easily.“Brenda is still working on trying to get Ashley and Jennifer to join.”
“Who else is in it?”
“Some of my friends.”Grandma smiled serenely.“They’re fun, you’ll like them.”
“Great.So, um.What was the name of the book again?”Audrey pulled out her phone to order it.It turned out it was part of a series, though she was reassured she didn’t need to read the whole series to jump into that one, which was good because it was a long series.
As she was putting her phone away, the front door opened, and Mason walked back in.Alone.His gaze scanned the room and clashed with hers, and Audrey’s traitorous heart did a little flip.
Dammit.
He’s taken, stop it.
Tearing her gaze away, she looked over at the dining room.It was definitely time for a cupcake.
ChapterFive
Audrey
Cupcake acquired, Audrey found herself pulled into conversation with Naomi and Claudia, who were thrilled Audrey would be joining them for book club.Her grandmother had apparently already run around telling the rest of the women that Audrey would be joining them.Which meant she really had no choice but to read the hucow book.
“I’ve never really read romance before,” Audrey admitted, though she didn’t tell them why.She felt too embarrassed about being a grown woman who cared about her mother’s opinion of her reading choices.
As she spoke, her gaze drifted over to where Mason was looking at the desserts, which meant she caught the exact moment he saw all the baklava.Did her heart do a little flip again as he began to load up his plate?Yes, yes, it did.
“Neither had Claudia,” Naomi said, snickering as she cast a glance at the bossy brunette, who didn’t seem bothered by Naomi’s amusement.
“I still don’t know what I’m doing as part of this club; these books make no sense.”
“The hucow thing?”Audrey asked, jerking her attention back to the other two women and away from Mason, who had just taken a bite of baklava and was just standing there with his eyes closed, chewing.She turned toward Naomi so she couldn’t see Mason anymore.Watching him was going to give her heart palpitations.
“No, the heroine thing.”Claudia scowled at Naomi’s answering snicker and focused on Audrey, who knew her confusion was showing on her face.“These heroines make no sense.I started getting book suggestions I’d never gotten before, thanks to book club, and some of them sounded pretty good, so I figured I’d read them.”
“The fact that you like the smutty parts has nothing to do with it,” Naomi quipped, skillfully stepping sideways as Claudia reached out to poke her.
“That doesn’t hurt, but the heroines.”Claudia threw her hands up in the air, one more gently than the other since it was holding her drink.“They drive me nuts!”
She pointed a finger at Audrey.
“If you were drowning in debt from your mother’s medical bills and she needed another procedure done, and your billionaire boss was dating you and wanted to pay for your meals and clothing and give you a place to live, wouldn’t you be relieved?Wouldn’t you say yes?”
“Um… probably.”Audrey had a feeling that was the right answer.And it did make sense.“Does he know I’m drowning in debt from my mother’s medical bills?”
“Sometimes.”Claudia waved her hand.“It doesn’t really matter either way.The number of heroines who refuse to let this crazy rich man pay foranythingfor them, even if they’re only eating one meal a day, is freaking unrealistic.If I was dating a rich guy, he’d be paying foreverything.”
“Sure he would,” Naomi murmured, winking at Audrey and ignoring Claudia’s glare at her.Which was impressive because it was a really intimidating glare.
“They don’t let the hero take care of them.Ever.He usually has to force his way into her rundown apartment with a shoddy lock so he can care for her when she’s too sick to stand, much less cook for herself and eat it.But oh no, I’m Miss Independent woman.”Claudia snorted.“And that’s just the beginning of the too-stupid-to-live actions.”
“Yes, because you’re such a joy and so cooperative when you’re sick.”
Claudia waved off Naomi’s remark.
