Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 102361 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 512(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102361 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 512(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
Chapter Five
JULIET
“Thanks for the ride, you guys.”
Ava grins at me through the rearview mirror. When they heard I had to take my car to get fixed—again—Harper and Ava offered to pick me up on their way to book club, which was so kind, and I was not about to pass it up. There aren’t exactly a lot of rideshares around here. I usually have one of the girls from work do it and pay them an hour's wage for it, but this way, I didn’t have to bother them.
“Why do you take it all the way to Silver Springs?” Ava asks. “Even my brothers won’t go to that shop. They use Brooks. He’s right down the street from you.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not exactly welcome there.”
Ava frowns. “Why?”
“History.” I shrug, and Harper sighs. I don’t know how much either of these girls knows about my history with Brooks. I assume that Blake has told Harper all about what went down and why we broke up. “I wish I could afford to replace that stupid car. It would have been cheaper than all of these damn repairs.”
“I bought my car from Brooks,” Harper says. “It’s not pretty, but it runs great.”
“Well, hopefully, this will be the last repair for a while.”
“I hope so, too,” Harper replies. “Your dress is adorable, by the way.”
I glance down at the red sundress that I splurged on earlier this summer. We’re having some warm late summer days, and I decided to break this out for book club since I don’t get to wear it to work and haven’t had any other occasions to get a little dressed up.
“Thanks. You guys … I’m a nervous wreck.”
“Why?” Ava frowns at me in the mirror. “Didn’t you read the book?”
That makes me laugh. “I read it. I loved it. Thanks to Billie’s recommendations, I really enjoy Laura Pavlov’s stories. No, that’s not it.”
“Then what?” Harper asks as Ava turns down the main street to the bookstore.
“I’m not good around people,” I finally admit, and even that makes me nervous. Boy, I was conditioned more than I realized. “I was in a relationship with someone who restricted who I could talk to and interact with. I haven’t had friends since college. So being social isn’t easy for me anymore.”
Ava parks, but none of us gets out of the car for a minute. Damn, what are they thinking? Did I say too much?
“I’m so sorry that happened to you,” Harper finally says. “What a dick.”
You have no idea.
“So he’d be pretty pissed if he knew you were doing this, I assume?” Ava asks.
“Oh, beyond pissed. Actually, I wouldn’t go in the first place.”
“But you’re no longer together,” Harper clarifies.
I shake my head.
“Then you have nothing to be nervous about.” Ava reaches back to lay her hand on my arm. I don’t even flinch at the touch. Not that Justin ever physically hurt me, but he rarely touched me, either. “You know most of these people, and we have a great time.”
“Okay.” My response is quiet, and with their pep talk in the front of my mind, we get out of the car and walk into the store.
Billie has arranged the chairs in a circle. There’s a folding table set up nearby that has wine, soda, and water, along with platters of some chocolate goodness from Jackie.
“This is the best book club ever,” Billie says as she immediately throws her arms around me and hugs me close. My nervous system comes down a notch, taking me from fight or flight to simple butterflies. “I’m so happy you’re here, Jules.”
I’m still damn nervous. But this welcome has helped considerably. I take a deep breath and grab a bottle of water from the table before I find a seat.
Harper immediately sits to my right, and Ava sits on the other side of her.
“What are you reading right now?” Harper asks me.
“I just finished a Mafia romance called His Tesoro by Emilia Rossi. I loved it so much, I might read it again.”
“Holy shit, I need that,” Ava says, pulling her phone out. “There. Just downloaded it. Mafia is my jam.”
“It’s a marriage of convenience story, and the heroine has medical challenges that made me love her even more. And the hero? Holy shit, I swooned.”
“Sold,” Harper agrees.
“Billie carries it,” I tell them.
“I heard my name,” Billie says as she sits to my left. “What did I do?”
“His Tesoro,” I tell her, and she immediately nods.
“Yes, everyone needs to read that one. Highly recommend.”
And that’s how the evening goes. We discuss books, specifically the Laura Pavlov novel we all read, but it segues into other books as well. I love that I’ve read many of the books talked about and added others to my list.
I recognize so many of the people here, and no one looks at me weird. No one tells me I don’t belong.