Page 38 of Happily Ever After

Maude gave Gigi points for that. “Yes. You know what she’s like.”

Gigi’s eyes softened. “She does tend to take over.”

Maude rested her forearms on the table, fingers loosely laced. “I wanted to ask you something,” she said. “And I want to be clear about how it’s going to go from the start.”

Gigi straightened a little. “Oh?”

“It’s about our book club,” Maude said. “You know the deal, I imagine. We meet once a week, same group of women. It’s been that way since the start.”

Gigi nodded. “I know. I’m sorry I barged in on you all that way. I thought…I thought it would make a big impression. Show you how eager I was.” She shook her head. “Big impression, not so much. At least not the kind I was hoping to make. More like a big miscalculation.”

Maude smiled. “That kind of apology goes a long way.”

Gigi shrugged. “Doesn’t matter now.”

“Well, it kind of does.” Maude held her gaze. “I’d like to invite you to join us. Not as a permanent thing right away. You’d sort of be on probation. But that gives us both a chance to see how it feels.”

Gigi blinked. “Really?”

“Yes,” Maude said. “But I want to be upfront. Because, yes, it’s provisional, but there are no expectations on either side. You wouldn’t be walking into a room where you have to prove anything, except that you can be one of the group.”

Gigi let out a breath she hadn’t quite managed to hide. “I appreciate you telling me that.”

Maude continued. “We talk about the book, but we also talk about our lives. Sometimes those conversations get honest. Sometimes they get uncomfortable. What’s discussed in book club, stays in book club. If you can’t do that or if that’s not something you’re looking for, that’s fine.”

Gigi glanced down at her coffee, then back up. “And Darcy?”

Maude didn’t flinch. “She won’t be there. Ever. Not after what she did to Paige. Paige started this group. She’s in charge of it. She hand-selected all of us. You have to respect that.”

“Of course. And she knows you’re asking me?”

“She does. Everyone does. We discussed it.”

Silence settled between them. Not tense, just thoughtful. The coffee shop continued to hum around them.

After a moment, Gigi spoke. “I don’t want to feel like I’m choosing sides.”

“I’m not asking you to,” Maude replied. “This isn’t about sides. It’s about whether you’d like to spend time with us. If you come once and decide it’s not for you, that’s the end of it. Same on our end. No hard feelings.”

Gigi considered that for a few seconds. She smiled, tentative but genuine. “I’d like to try,” she said. “At least this once. See how it goes.”

Maude nodded. “That’s all I’m offering.”

Gigi reached for her latte and took a sip. “Thank you,” she said. “For being so honest with me.”

Maude picked up her iced coffee again. “It seemed like the right place to start.”

They sat there a while longer, and Maude filled her in on the book they were reading. Gigi promised to get it and have it read before the meeting.

Maude felt something new inside her. Relief, yes. But also the sense that something had been handled exactly the way it needed to be. A little pride, maybe? She looked forward to telling Ollie about it later.

Whatever happened next, book club was sure going to be interesting this week.

Chapter Sixteen

Paige had checked her phone far too many times today, and that wasn’t counting the group text Maude had sent to say Gigi would be attending the Thursday meeting with them.

In fact, the phone was in her hand now. She took a quick look, then set it face-down on the coffee table.