Page 82 of Broken Heart
I grinned.
Then I reached into my bag, pulled out next month’s book club pick, and shared it with the group. To say everyone was excited would have been an understatement. I could only hope it was going to be a good choice.
With the meeting over and the next one set, I spent the next few minutes thanking everyone for joining the discussion and said goodbye. While the members filed out of the space and back through to the front of the store—many would often pick up the next month’s book before heading out—I gathered up my bag and books and moved them off to the side. I needed to work on getting my store rearranged and back in order.
But before I could get too involved in that, three smiling faces approached me, and my heart swelled. “What did you think?”
“I’ve never really been a big reader, so I wasn’t quite sure I’d enjoy this, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself,” Ivy answered.
“Same here,” Rhea added. “I’ve read the occasional book, but I think I was reading the wrong stuff, because I’ve never been so engrossed in a book before this one. I can’t wait to read more.”
“I love baking, but there was a part of me that wished I wasn’t dealing with needing to go through my pastry program for the last few weeks. I was taking every available second I had to read, even if I could only manage a handful of pages each night.”
The smile on my own face grew. I loved this.
After learning more about my book club when we were at the lake house for the 4th of July, Rhea, Ivy, and Jules had decided to take part in the month’s book club with me. I got them copies of the book, and after tonight’s meeting, it was clear they’d enjoyed it.
Not only was I proud to know they were eager about reading now, but I also liked that I was able to create a deeper connection with these women in Cooper’s family. It meant the world to me.
“I’m so glad the three of you enjoyed this. Do you think you’re going to participate next month?” I asked.
“Absolutely.” Ivy didn’t hesitate.
“We were actually thinking of browsing the store for a few minutes to grab a couple of books before we leave, if that’s okay,” Rhea declared.
I nodded furiously. “Of course. If you want more like we just finished reading, head over to the shelves along the wall on the left side of the store. If you want to try something different, the shelves are labeled by genre. I’m more than happy to help you select something, but if you need help finding something, you can also ask Joan. I’m just going to get this put back in order here.”
“Do you want some help?” Jules asked.
Shaking my head, I insisted, “No. No, I’ve got it. Go look for books, and I’ll catch up with you in a few minutes.”
“Are you sure? We don’t mind helping,” Ivy offered.
“I’m good. I promise. It won’t take me more than just a few minutes, and I’ve got it down to a science now,” I assured her.
With my determination to handle the cleanup on my own, Ivy, Rhea, and Jules took off to peruse the store for some books. I intended to join them as soon as I was finished with getting everything back in order.
When it came to my store, there was little I would ever want to change. I loved the location, the size, and the patrons. But I’d have been lying if I said I enjoyed how I always had to spend the time moving shelves, pulling out chairs, and rearranging things to accommodate the monthly meetings.
And while I knew I could have easily moved the meeting to a local library, coffeeshop, or even a bar, I just didn’t think there was any place better than a bookstore for it.
So, even if it wasn’t necessarily the fun part, I was willing to rearrange a small section of The Next Chapter to make it happen.
I’d gotten about halfway through moving the chairs out of the space when I heard, “Skye?”
My body instantly tensed.
I should have known. Things had been going so well over the last five weeks.
In every facet of my life, there had been an improvement.
The biggest change was obviously my newfound relationship with Cooper. I wasn’t sure there were enough words to describe just how much that alone had impacted me. Ever since he came into my life, particularly since we’d made things official between us, everything seemed to be going right.
Tonight’s book club meeting felt like a prime example. For the first time ever, we’d had a unanimous vote that the book we’d read was one everyone should read. Granted, that probably really didn’t have anything to do with Cooper and was likely just pure luck, but I was telling myself he was partly responsible.
He and I had been having a wonderful summer together. Though things had been very busy for him at work—the amusement park expansion and the plans for Jules’ bakery were keeping him with a full schedule—Cooper always made time for me.
It worked well for us. Because I still had time to myself to do my own thing. And I’d gotten more of that time to myself when I decided to hire a part-time employee to give us a bit more wiggle room in the schedule. So, I had more free time now, a good chunk of which I spent on my own and thoroughly enjoyed, but I would have been lying if I said that I didn’t prefer being with him more.