Chapter 3
Late New Year’s Eve day, Alice went two stores down to Flowers L’Amour to pick up an arrangement for the refreshment table
for the bookstore’s New Year’s in New York party. Which had to do with the time zone rather than the city. Happily, the night
was clear, and Seattleites were ready get out and ring in the New Year. The loyal customers of HEA Books were no exception.
Because Nola and Alice were regular customers, Brittany, who owned the shop, always gave them a deal. This time it was on
a small wintery arrangement, consisting of three white roses, tucked in among fir and pine boughs and pinecones painted silver
and gold. Perfect for a New Year’s Eve party.
“It’s beautiful as always,” Alice told her. “You are a genius.”
Brittany smiled. “Yes, I am. Have fun at your book party tonight.”
“Thanks,” Alice said. She didn’t bother to invite Brittany. Reading wasn’t her thing. That was hard for Alice to wrap her
mind around, but no shade, no judgment.
She and her mother were setting food on their decorated table when Scarlet arrived, dressed in jeans, boots and a shimmery silver top. By herself.
“Don’t you think you should be celebrating with your husband?” Nola suggested.
Scarlet shrugged and set the champagne she’d brought on the drinks table. “Right now, there’s nothing to celebrate.”
Alice still had a hard time digesting the fact that her beautiful and talented sister had nothing to celebrate. What good
was being beautiful if your love life was ugly?
“You two need to sit down and talk things out,” Nola chided.
“It’s not like when you and Dad were married,” Scarlet informed her. “Men are different now.”
“Darling, people haven’t changed all that much,” said Nola.
“Yes, they have,” Scarlet insisted. “And I don’t want to talk about Mark,” she added.
Alice heard the wobble in her sister’s voice. She looked at their mother. What do we do?
Nola shrugged. We party.
Right on cue, there came their first arrivals. Lina Flores, who ran the Chili Peppers book club, blew in with her husband,
Eduardo. Lina was an influencer on social media book platforms with a growing following. She wore a scarlet party dress and
boots, and Eduardo was equally dressed to impress in black slacks, a white shirt and a red necktie.
Bettina was next. Then came two of the members of the Darkness and Dragons book club, along with their husbands. Right behind
them came Georgia Bishop with her husband carrying a plate of mini quiches.
A new Chili Pepper named Kara Bane blew in with a veggie tray. She turned to Scarlet and asked, “Where’s the hubs? Six feet
under?”
“Playing poker, smoking cigars and losing money,” Scarlet said. “Money we can’t afford to lose.”
“What’s that all about? I thought you guys were on a budget,” said Lina.
“We were until his fool friends started giving him a bad time about it. Just because I’m the one taking care of the bills
it was, ‘Dude, who wears the pants in your family?’ ” Scarlet said. “Then all of a sudden Mark decided he needed to be able
to buy whatever he . . . needed,” she finished with air quotes.
“Don’t tell me, let me guess. He’s still listening to that jerk Parker Black on the radio,” said Kara.
Parker Black again, thought Alice as she joined the circle. This man was like a ghost, haunting them.
“Parker Shades of Black,” Lina said in disgust.
“He is. And lately, thanks to him, all I hear is that I don’t need to be in charge of everything and Mark doesn’t need a mother.
I’m sure those guys are all listening to some rerun of a Parker Black podcast right now and beating their chests.”
“I’m okay with some chest beating. If Eduardo wants to get all macho and push me up against the wall—after the kids are in
bed, of course—I’m fine with that,” Lina said and smiled at her husband, who was talking to another man who had just arrived
with his wife.
“Eduardo is a sweetie,” said Bettina.
The year before Eduardo had earned good guy points when he came in the store and bought books for his wife for Valentine’s
Day. He was short and compact and walked with a swagger, and Alice suspected that swagger had a lot to do with what happened
between him and his wife in the bedroom.
“If anyone’s going to get pushed against the wall in our house it’s going to be Mark,” said Scarlet, “but it’s going to be his head pushed into the drywall.
I’m still steamed about him buying that pricey sound system for his stupid truck.
His money, he can spend it however he wants,” she said, her tone of voice mocking.
“Meanwhile, we have a budget that’s broken and a fixer-upper that needs fixing.
We were supposed to be saving to redo the bathroom this summer.
At the rate Mark’s spending we’ll wind up with the toilet falling through the floorboards. ”
“Yikes!” exclaimed Georgia.
You could say that again. Christmas had not been holly jolly thanks to the big money fight between Scarlet and Mark, and things
weren’t looking good for the New Year, either. They should have been together on this holiday night.
“So, what are you going to do about this?” challenged Kara.
Scarlet’s chin raised a notch. “I already did something. I cut up all Mark’s credit cards.”
This brought about a collective gasp.
“Oh my gosh, you didn’t!” Georgia looked shocked. “If I cut up Bill’s credit cards he’d have a heart attack.”
Scarlet shrugged. “Oh, well, Mark’s insured.”
“Scarlet,” Nola scolded from where she stood, filling a small plate with appetizers.
“Just kidding, Mom,” Scarlet said with a flick of her hand.
“When did you do that?” Lina wanted to know.
“Day after Christmas. One a.m., to be exact.”
“Good on ya,” said Kara.
“He’ll just get them replaced,” Georgia predicted.
Scarlet’s eyes turned to slits. “He’d better not.”
“Don’t you think that was a little . . . extreme?” Georgia suggested. It was the same thing Alice had said when she’d learned
about it.
Scarlet gave Georgia the reply she’d given her sister. “Desperate times call for desperate measures.”
“Men. Can’t live with ’em, can’t . . . live with ’em,” joked Kara.
“I’m living with mine just fine,” said Lina.
“Of course, you are. There’s nothing that sweet man wouldn’t do for you,” said Bettina.
“And me for him. That’s how we roll. Plus, good sex solves a lot of problems,” she added with a wink. “Speaking of sex, who
read Stocking Stuffer? I gave that book five jalapenos. That scene with the red velvet cake . . . oh, my.” She lifted her long, black hair and
fanned herself.
“I thought that scene was stupid,” Kara said.
Lina never liked being disagreed with. She frowned at Kara. “You, girlie, are hard to please.”
“That’s what my ex used to say,” Kara cracked.
The others laughed and moved on to analyze the heroine’s character and behavior.
“Some heroines are too stupid to live,” Kara said. “Any woman who lets a man get away with the stuff Noel let Ranger get away
with doesn’t deserve a happy ending.” Kara was a trainer at LA Fitness and was ripped. She once joked that her husband didn’t
leave her, he fled. Alice believed it.
“I agree. I don’t care how hot the love scenes were. Who wants to have sex with a jerk? After a while, it’s not worth it,”
Scarlet said with an emphatic nod. “Which is why I’m about to kick Mark to the curb.”
“Whoa, don’t do anything hasty,” cautioned Georgia. “All heroes are redeemable, even yours.”
“Not as long as he and his useless work buddies are listening to that horse’s rear Parker Black on the radio,” said Scarlet.
“My brother just started listening to him,” said one of the romantasy readers. “You wouldn’t believe some of the stuff he
had to say about Parker at Christmas. He actually told men not to buy romance novels for their women.”
“But why?” asked Georgia.
“He said they build up false expectations,” the woman replied. “That no man can compete with a book boyfriend.”
“You’ve got that right,” sneered Scarlet.
“I heard that he read a romance on his show today and totally dissed it,” said yet another woman. “I guess he does that a
lot.”
This produced narrowed eyes and growls.
“I heard it all started with a hockey romance,” Georgia said. “He tore the woman’s novel to shreds.”
“Poor woman,” said Lina.
“Where did he get the book?” Kara wondered.
“Not from here, that’s for sure,” said Nola, who joined them and began refilling glasses with white wine and sparkling cider.
“Somebody’s going to have to do something about him,” said Georgia. “What he’s doing is cruel.”
“Put him in his place, the loser,” added Kara.
“Did you hear he’s issued a challenge?” said another woman. “He dared someone to come on his show and explain to him why anyone
should read a romance novel. Somebody needs to take him up on that.”
“We really do need a literary Joan of Arc,” Bettina said. “Someone with influence, who can speak with authority and stop his
romance bashing. Like you and Alice, Nola. The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good women to do nothing,”
she added, conscripting a famous quote.
The others all looked to Nola, their romance Joan of Arc.
Nola wasn’t one to get involved in social media squabbles or culture wars.
They came and went. Parker Black was a coward who did his bullying from the safety of a soundproof booth.
He needed to learn a thing or two—about romance and about manners—but to learn, a person had to be willing to be taught. This man obviously wasn’t.
“A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still,” she quoted back.
“So don’t convince him, expose him,” Bettina argued. “Reading books written by women on air and publicly mocking them? Really?
Who does things like that? It’s crossing the line.”
“He’s bombing Romance Land,” added Georgia.
“And he’s getting away with it,” said Scarlet. “But that’s because he hasn’t yet met his match,” she added, looking at Nola.
“He issued the challenge. You’re the most qualified to answer it,” Bettina urged.