Ten
JAX
Tonight, we’re out of chairs at the table.
I balance a folding chair under one arm as I shoulder through the library door.
The community room is already buzzing with conversation.
Lily brought her signature store-bought cookies.
Somebody else brought brownies. There are romance novels scattered across every available surface, and somehow Noah and Sean are standing in the corner arguing with three women about whether a certain fictional hockey player qualifies as quality book boyfriend material.
I stop just inside the doorway and stare.
“You’re smiling again.”
I glance over to find Lily looking up from the sign-in table.
“What?”
“That thing you’re doing, with your mouth.” She points at my face. “It’s called smiling, and if you’re not careful, you’re gonna give everyone a heart attack.”
My grin widens, and I press my palms against the surface of the table, leaning closer to her.
“Lily Caldwell,” I drawl low. “Are you flirting with me?”
A pretty pink blush creeps across her cheeks.
“No!” She immediately protests. “I was trying to make a joke that everyone is going to be shocked that you’re smiling this much!”
“Hm,” I hum, flicking my eyes up and down her frame. The tragedy of the cooler months sliding in is that her sundresses have been put away for the year. Still, she’s beautiful in a dark gray sweater dress layered over black leggings and boots.
“All I heard was that my smile is a heart-stopper.”
Lily rolls her eyes, blowing out a breath.
Noah sidles up next to her, slinging an arm around her shoulders. It’s funny because I would’ve bet my truck that Noah Miller would never voluntarily attend a romance book club. But here he is, fully present and taking it way more seriously than I ever expected.
“Don’t worry, Lil. Sean and I will have you razzing him like a pro before you know it. You just gotta find the right buttons to push.”
A bark of laughter rips out of me.
“Good luck with that,” I say with a wink.
Lily blushes even more while Noah laughs.
Seeing the two of them become friends does something fuzzy to my chest. Not because Lily needs more friends. Clearly, looking around the room here proves she doesn’t need help in that department. But because both parts of my world are blending together seamlessly.
A year ago, I would’ve laughed in your face if you told me this where I’d end up.
Noah is back to debating romance novels.
Sean is flirting with Becca by pretending he hates the book.
Rachel is arranging snacks into categories for reasons nobody understands.
Lily is standing at the sign-in table, smiling as she welcomes another member through the door.
And somehow, against all odds, I belong here among them.
It’s crazy where life can take you if you let it.
“Okay, everyone,” Lily claps her hands to get everyone’s attention. “We’re going to get started here in a minute, so grab some snacks and take a seat wherever you want.”
I slide into my usual spot—the one across from where Lily sits at the center of it all like she’s holding court. One of the women Noah was arguing with earlier takes the seat next to me, smiling.
“Jax, right?”
I nod, returning her smile.
“It’s so nice to meet you, I’m Holly,” she says, extending her hand toward me. I reach out, engulfing her hand in mine as we shake. “I’ve heard so much about you.”
Holly’s in her mid-twenties, with long auburn hair pulled into a clip at the back of her head. She has a splatter of freckles across her nose and wide green eyes that catch the light. Her smile is a friendly curve of her lips.
She’s pretty—I can see why Noah was drawn to her.
Recognition clicks into place at her name.
Earlier this week, Lily came to the garage excited that the library had qualified for a grant, which allowed them to hire another part-time librarian to focus on building community programs for adolescents and adults with special needs.
“Don’t believe all of it, only the good things are true,” I tease without thinking.
Warmth spreads through my ribs at the realization of how far I’ve come in that sense.
I’m not worried about what rumors still simmer about my past. Hell, even Becca and Rachel have warmed up to me, and I’d never have thought that was possible.
Maybe I held a grudge against this town just as much as it held one against me.
“All good things, no worries.”
Holly reaches forward, grabbing one of the little notebooks from the center of the table. She opens to the first page, jotting down the title of our current book club read and the date.
“How long have you and Lily been together?” She asks, not taking her eyes off her careful penmanship.
A montage of memories over the last three months flips through my mind. I roll my lips inward against the smile, flicking my eyes up to see Lily taking her seat.
“Depends. You counting from the first book club meeting or when she climbed me like a tree next to my truck, like we were living out a scene from one of these books?”
I shoot a wicked smile at Lily, who has crossed into beet-red territory instead of a delicate pink blush. She scoffs, a choking sound that might be a laugh, launching a pen in my direction and nailing me in the chest with it.
“Okay, enough of that.” She chastises, but there’s no bite in it. I wink back at her because she knows it’s true, and it was one of the best damn moments of my life.
The table erupts in laughter. I smile to myself, settling back in my seat and watching Lily thrive in this little community she carved out for herself here in Bellewood.
She tosses her head back, laughing at something Sean says, dark waves tousling over her shoulders.
Her eyes flick to mine and hold, a million thoughts wordlessly passing between us, before she breaks the spell and focuses her attention on the woman at the far end of the table who has launched into a TedTalk about the love triangle in our current book.
An array of feelings floods my chest as I sit here, taking in my friends and a woman who has breathed life back into me in a way I never thought possible.
And all because I stumbled into the library looking for the town hall meeting and accidentally joined the Hot Girls Read Book Club.
I came looking for a meeting.
Somehow, I found a home instead.
My gaze catches Lily’s again from across the table.
She smiles at me, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.
Maybe life isn’t about finding what you’re looking for. Maybe it’s about stumbling into something better when the time is right. I’ve never been more grateful for a wrong turn.
Oh yeah, and the fact that hot girls really do read.