As the sun warmed my skin, I thought about how lucky I was to be here. Yeah, I’d prefer not to be staying at the same hotel as my ex, but I still had a lot to be thankful for.
I pulled out a chair and sat down.
Ben followed soon afterwards, clutching the latest book I’d left for him to read, which was a romance set in different European cities.
If I was being completely honest, I liked the book but didn’t love it, so it was probably a mistake to give it to him. Then again, he liked to travel, so I thought he’d enjoy seeing how the protagonist finds love abroad.
He sat on the opposite side of the table and I wondered how I was even going to concentrate on reading with his scent wafting around me. I’d survived the train, plane and taxi journey, but I didn’t know how much more I could take.
I quickly opened my book, desperate for a distraction.
As we both sat and read, it dawned on me how nice this was. Some women dreamt of their soulmate whisking them off to romantic locations for a candlelight dinner. But I’d alwaysdreamt of coming home after a long day at work and curling up on the sofa with my boyfriend and a book.
We’d snuggle up under a warm blanket with a steamy mug of tea and some snacks and just read.
And every now and again we’d stop to discuss what was happening, because of course in an ideal world we’d love the same books.
I knew that sounded like I was asking a lot, but it wasn’t impossible. That was the kind of relationship Jess had with Theo and the kind of relationship that I craved.
Maybe Theo was an anomaly, though. Let’s face it, many of the men I’d encountered were like Ben. They had a low opinion of romance books, so the chances of them doing a buddy read with one were low.
That was the thing, though—they didn’t have to love romance. Even if they enjoyed a completely different genre butrespectedromance, that’d be fine.
I really wished this was real.
I shook my head and returned to my book. I was readingOffice Delightfor what must be the tenth time.
To people who weren’t bookworms, that probably sounded crazy. But I knew that this weekend would be difficult, and whenever I was going through challenging times, I always reached for my comfort reads. Those ten-star books that always promised to make me feel better.
Being with characters that I knew and loved was so calming.
Of course, I adored reading and discovering new novels and authors, but opening a book and knowing with absolute certainty that I was guaranteed to lose myself in the story and love everything about it, including the ending that’d leave me kicking my feet with delight, was priceless.
My stress levels were already going to be high, so I couldn’t risk reading anything that could put me in a slump.
And I knew that whether this was the tenth or twentieth time I read this novel, it wouldn’t be the last.
‘How’s the book?’ I asked Ben. Although I was aware that speaking to someone when they were reading was a cardinal sin, I couldn’t help myself.
‘It’s okay.’ He sighed. ‘To be honest, I was hoping your recommendations would get better, but I’m sorry to say that they might be getting worse.’
My stomach twisted. I’d never had anyone trash my recommendations before. I hated to fail. Especially when it came to something that meant the world to me, like books.
If I was being completely honest, the novels I’d given Ben weren’t ones that I’d typically recommend. They were decent, of course, but they weren’t my top-tier books. I was getting on much better with Ben, and if I recommended those and he talked shit about them, I wouldn’t be able to speak to him again.
And maybe in some kind of weird way, I thought he didn’t deserve to read them? Like he wouldn’t appreciate them.
Maybe once we were back in more neutral ground at the library, I’d give him one of my faves to test the water. But if this weekend was going to go to plan, I couldn’t risk getting annoyed with him because he slagged off my favourite novels.
‘What are you reading?’ Ben asked. ‘Is it second-hand? Or maybe tenth-hand? It looks incredibly worn.’ He raised a curious eyebrow.
‘Office Delight!’ My eyes brightened. ‘It’s my favourite book of all time.’ I was going to add that this was my tenth reread, but I knew he’d just ridicule me.
‘So why haven’t you recommendedthatto me?’
Just as I was about to explain that I wasn’t willing to take the risk, the room phone rang, piercing the air.
I put my book down on the balcony table, then went inside to answer it.
