Zoe cleared her throat. A deep blush covered her cheeks—she must have overheard whatever Jase had said to Bree.
“Denise, if you’re looking for new book recommendations, you should follow Mr. Romance’s blog.”
Tim frowned. “Is it really a guy?”
Zoe’s gold-flecked gaze met his. “Yes, he’s a librarian in New York.”
“Huh.”
“Why do you say it like that?” Her voice carried an edge of annoyance.
“I don’t know any guys that would admit to reading romance.”
“Maybe you need to meet better guys.” She took a sip of water while staring at him.
He made a note to himself not to make any disparaging remarks about romance books.
“I’ve read a couple of romance novels,” Chris said.
“Really?” Gabby asked.
“After I woke up to Denise bawling her eyes out one night, damn straight.”
“Seriously?” Denise asked. “You couldn’t have said you read them out of curiosity?”
“I was curious why you were crying about a book. Getting some pointers from the sex scenes didn’t hurt.” He took a bite of food and smirked as he chewed.
“Are you always like this?” Gabby asked.
“Like what?” Bree asked.
“Pretty much,” Tim said at the same time.
Someone’s phone pinged and everyone glanced at their screens. Gabby swore under her breath and shoved her phone back into her purse. “I’m sorry, I need to go. My adult husband is apparently incapable of handling the duties of parenthood by himself.”
She stood and eased out from between Chris and Tim. Swinging her purse over her shoulder, she walked around the table to Zoe and kissed her on the cheek. They had a short conversation in Portuguese that made Denise choke into her hand and Gabby left.
Zoe pursed her lips and looked under the table. “Tim, can you hand me the bag of t-shirts she left under her seat?”
Sure enough, Gabby had left the bag of shirts on the floor. He handed her the bag. “Did she pay you for them?”
“Of course not.”
“Did she do that on purpose?”
“There’s no telling with Gabby. She was always the one causing the trouble but never getting into trouble when we were growing up.”
Tim looked at Jase. “Sounds like someone else I know.”
Jase pointed his fork at him. “I got my butt spanked plenty, big bro. Don’t even try it.”
“I should probably be going as well,” Zoe said. “I still have some boxes to unpack and I want to have the house ready before I have to start on the store.”
“I still can’t believe I know someone who’s opening a bookstore,” Bree said. “I’m so excited!”
“Let us know if you need any help, especially if you need recommendations for books to order,” Denise added.
Zoe laughed. “I will. Thank you for the offer. I’m going to say goodbye to Elba. It was very nice meeting you all.”
