Page 29 of Right With You
Actually, that was a lie. I always looked forward to book club and I loved snuggling into this cozy room with my dearest friends and talking books and fictional troubles. It was the perfect escape from my actual problems and it reminded me I wasn’t alone. I didn’t often see all of these friends unless we were purposeful, so other than Friday evenings for an hour or two, it was this—the Silver Ridge Romance Readers Book Club.
Dove eyed me as I bustled in, feeling oddly refreshed considering how hectic the week had been. Having a man I was trying to get to know so I could fake-be-engaged-to-him was demanding enough, I’d started to understand why Luc had wanted to pay me. Of course I wouldn’t accept anything for my time, and thus far, he’d insisted on feeding me at any chance he got, so I’d convinced him that was enough. Well, we also had the Callum angle, which was a tangible benefit at this point.
Jo popped the cork on some prosecco while Nikki and Winnie set trays of small finger foods on the table in the middle. It all looked fantastic. Catherine grabbed a small savory tart-looking item and popped it into her mouth, eyes shutting and a light groan of satisfaction sneaking out as she chewed.
“Sorry. I forgot lunch and I’m so hungry. I did two houses in The Ridge today.” She sank back into the loving arms of the chair she always sat in and sighed.
“Two! Woman, what on earth are you doing working that hard on a Saturday?” Dove asked, eyeing her with disapproval.
“That’s the pot calling the kettle black if I’ve ever heard it,” I said just loud enough so Dove could hear me.
She grumbled. “Oh, yeah? Well you, too, are a pot… or a kettle. Or whatever it is when a third thing is saying a thing that’s like two other things.” She scrunched up her face in a scowl.
I chuckled under my breath, then gasped when Jess walked in looking radiant and so far from the sick, sad version of herself she’d been these last few months.
“Holy crap, hello pregnancy glow-up,” I said, delighted to see my friend beaming.
She posed, letting her tiny protruding belly show.
Winnie clapped and Nikki let out a whistle. Jo laughed with so much happiness it practically oozed from her pores, and Dove had tears in her eyes.
“I feel human again,” Jess said, eyeing the bottle of prosecco. “I would toast to myself and this baby if I could.”
Jo popped up and moved to the small fridge behind the sitting area, producing a variety of carbonated flavored waters for her. “Your selection, Madame.”
Jess smiled, plucking up a cran-raspberry flavor and surveying the food. “We’ve gotten fancy lately. Are we all pitching in for this?”
“Ooh, so we have mushroom bourguignon tarts, goat cheese and red pepper mini tartines, a roasted spring vegetable medley with crumbled feta in endive, and… shoot, let me see what else he said it was.” Jo swiped at her phone.
“He? Who made these?” Dove asked, sliding one of each of the delights onto a small plate Jo had set out.
Jo didn’t look up. “So the last two are a cheddar and spring herb gougère and a mini white pizza with asparagus and peas, and then he gave us a sample of desserts.”
“Seriously, who made all this? Did you pay for them?” I asked, biting into the mushroom thing and wanting to cry, it tasted so good. Savory umami partnered with buttery crust to form the perfect bite.
Jo’s expression went cagey, and since she was essentially the worst liar of all time save the whole secret identity thing she somehow pulled off for the first year she was here, she wasn’t fooling anyone when she said, “I’m not sure.”
Jess rolled her eyes. “Jo. That’s nonsense and you know it.”
Winnie agreed. “What if we want to hire this person? The food is”—she took another bite of whatever she had sampled as though compelled, chewed quickly, and finished—“amazing.”
Nikki and Catherine agreed, their mouths full.
Dove had slumped back into her seat, bliss written on her face as she chewed with her eyes closed.
“I can’t tell you. He made me promise not to. But I’ll convey your approval, if that’s the message you want sent.” Jo slid a few items onto her own plate and smiled down at them.
“Approval, yes. Absolutely,” I said, taking a bite of the gougère.
So. Good.
Catherine nodded eagerly. “Completely delicious and I’m just sad there isn’t more.”
Winnie echoed her thoughts, as did Jess, who still eyed Jo like she might be able to see through her to who’d supplied the goods. Dove had taken another bite and grinned as she said, “Tell him I’ll trade my maidenhead for a chance to eat this food regularly, how about that?”
I coughed, prosecco nearly shooting out of my nose.
Catherine must’ve inhaled something because Winnie had to pat her on the back as she sputtered, her face bright red, while Nikki covered her mouth and Jo’s fell wide open. Finally, Jess burst out laughing and we all joined in.
