PEYTON
Wednesday afternoon, I slice the packing tape on the last of my boxes with a cutter and crouch next to it to riffle through the content, my back sore. The label says “kitchen,” written in the same foreign handwriting that has guided me through unpacking my life for the past three days.
I remove the few mugs and bowls that weren’t Matt’s, setting them in the cabinets, and slap my dry-erase magnetic board onto the fridge. How did Liam’s guy even know what to get? Did he make Matt follow him around the house and point at everything that was mine?
At the bottom of the box, I discover a velvet-lined hard case that I don’t recognize. I lift the lid, and a laugh bubbles up from my chest. It’s Matt’s chrome-plated, fancy wine opener.
I turn it over in my hands, the weight vindicating.
Liam got it for me just because I asked. It’s so petty. So unnecessary. It’s the sweetest thing a man has ever done for me.
My belly responds with an inconvenient flutter.
I stand up, hugging the opener to my chest and grinning like an idiot. I set it on the counter, where it gleams under the spotlights as a shiny middle finger to my past life.
The digital clock on the oven reads 6.45p.m. I have to eat earlier tonight to go to my first book club meeting.
I don’t know what time Liam will be back, and I’m not about to text him asking,Hey, honey, should I wait for you for dinner?Like a normal wife would.
I pull out the chicken casserole Mrs. Gable and I made this morning and heat a portion in the microwave.
I eat at the island, scrolling through Instagram with my free hand.
When I finish, I rinse my plate and load it into the dishwasher. Then I grab the marker from the magnetic dry-erase board and write instructions to reheat the casserole, adding underneath that I’ve gone to the book club.
I sign the note with a simple “P.”
The drive to Main Street takes only ten minutes, but it’s enough for my low-key anxiety about meeting a bunch of new people to spike into full-fledged panic. What am I doing? Should I be setting roots in this town when I know it’s only temporary? Three to five years… and I’m calling it temporary, so I don’t have to want anything for myself. Have no expectations, no desires, nothing that’s purely mine. It’s how I’ve lived since getting with Matt. That ends here, in a place where nobody knows me, and I can be someone new.
I’ve been downtown only once—if I don’t count my grand entrance in bridal wear—yesterday morning to get a feel for the place. I’ve started learning the roads, where everything is. Blue Crescent Harbor is small enough to memorize quickly, charming enough to make the memorizing pleasant.
I park across from Shelf Indulgent. Except for the diner in the corner, the bookshop is the only place still open.
A few women are already inside, chatting and laughing.
My stomach does a nervous flip.
I’ve never been great at inserting myself into established groups. I’m not super extroverted or naturally charming.
But Lila said they’re nice people, so maybe not acting weird will be enough.
I get out of the car before I talk myself into driving back to Liam’s glass fortress.
A brass bell chimes overhead as I push through the door.
The shop is a maze of tall wooden shelves with quirky labels—Swipe Right Romances, Thrills & Chills, Staff Picks (Trust Us)—but in the corner, a space has been reserved for a circle of mismatched armchairs and a velvet loveseat.
“Hi there!” Behind the counter, a woman with a sleek, dark bob and lips painted a bold shade of matte red smiles at me. “Are you here for the book club?”
“I am.” I step further in. “Lila invited me. I’m Peyton.”
“Ah yes, Lila mentioned you might be coming. We’re excited to have you. I’m Rory.” She gestures to a station on the side. “Can I offer you anything? A hot chocolate? Tea? A glass of wine?”
“A hot chocolate would be amazing.”
Rory fills a mug from a metallic dispenser, the chocolate thick and dark, and hands it to me.
“Let me introduce you to the early birds.” Rory rounds the counter and guides me toward two women already settled in the circle. Natalie, a fitness instructor at Gym and Tonic, and Rebecca, a cute brunette who works on her family’s ranch.
