Page 30 of Finding Romance
Me: I think I want to come to this men’s book-club thing.
Gray: You won’t regret it.
Drew: Oh? Do tell.
Me: I just think…it’ll help me figure out how to help Piper with this dating-lesson thing.
Bray: How many lessons are we talking about?
Hutch: Did she fail lesson one?
Me: No. I just told her we could have another practice date. You know, build up her self-confidence.
Drew: Right. Anyhoo, it’s tomorrow night. So, go read the book.
A minute later, he emails me a link to a book and I download it. I grab a shower and climb into bed after checking my work email.
The main character is fucking a man on vacation on page five and holy shit. I can’t put this book down. I’ve got to know if the main characters will end up together. I slap my forehead. Of course, they will. God, I’m an idiot. How is Roxy not a millionaire? Because I am most definitely going on a spending spree in her shop tomorrow. This shit is addictive.
“He should have done that tongue thing the first time,” Hutch says dramatically, waving his hands in the air as if he’s discovered a magic world that we all need to see.
“What? No way. He can’t give away all his good tricks right away. There has to be a buildup,” Bray protests.
“Build up to what? We know they’re getting together by halfway through,” Gray states.
“No. It’s a slow burn,” Drew explains with a roll of his eyes.
“Slow burn my ass. They did it on page five,” I laugh.
“They didn’t know each other. The rest of the book is a slow burn. Page five was a vacation fling,” Drew protests.
I start laughing. If someone had said even a day ago that I’d be arguing over a couple in a romance book with my closest friends, I’d have said they had lost their minds. Yet, here I am, arguing about this very topic with my friends. And to top things off, we’re sitting in a circle of chairs in the back of Roxy’s bookstore, surrounded by countless books with half-naked men on them. She has wine, beer, cheese, and crackers sitting on a small table in the middle of the circle.
“Did you like the overall story?” she asks me.
I look over at her. “No offense, Roxy, but why are you at the guys’ book club?”
“Oh, we hold it here once a month. You know, to get a female perspective,” Gray explains.
I narrow my eyes as I consider this. Shrugging, I grab a slice of cheese. “So, the woman in the story seems needy. And the guy seems oblivious. Are all romance books like that?” I ask.
Drew starts laughing. “Damn, Kase. Don’t beat around the bush.” He winks at his innuendo and I groan, but look back to Roxy.
“Nope. Every book in here is different. They all come from a different author’s perspective or that author’s perspective at a different time. That’s what I love about the genre. There’s something for everyone,” she says with such confidence that I’m silent for a beat.
“I see,” I finally say.
“Like, for instance, what is your favorite genre to read?” she asks.
I shrug. I’m not a huge reader nowadays, but I was as I kid. “I guess fantasy,” I offer.
She nods and gets up and I watch her walk across the store, grab a book off a shelf, and bring it over to me. She holds it out and I accept it, reading the back cover.
“This is a great romantasy. It’s based on Greek mythology. If you like a real classic fantasy story with a prominent romance story, this is a good one to start with. The world-building is fantastic. Consider it a new-customer gift. And let me know what you think,” she says as she sits back down next to Gray, who places a hand on her thigh possessively. Damn, when did he become so whipped? He looks like he’d slay a dragon for that woman.
“I will,” I reply as I turn the book over to study the cover.
“OK, so what are you guys reading next?” Roxy asks as she takes a sip of wine.
