Page 136 of The Romance Library

‘Grey tracksuit bottoms? Why grey?’

‘No idea, man! All I know is Mia goes wild when I wear them. Same with the backwards cap.’

‘Right.’ I rubbed my jaw with confusion. ‘And I thought it was the billionaires in smart suits that women loved, like Nico?’

I remembered that Rocco in Office Delight was a rich and powerful billionaire and Jess couldn’t get enough of that book.

‘Nah.’ Liam shook his head. ‘Nico’s not like the billionaire alpha-holes in a lot of the romance novels. He’s more like a cinnamon roll.’

‘Cinnamon roll, as in the pastry?’ My face was now more creased than a tumble-dried linen jacket.

‘Or is it a golden retriever? I can’t remember,’ Liam said.

‘So in romance novels men are either like dogs or pastries?’

I’d read about half a dozen romance novels since I’d left Sunshine Bay, and whilst one or two had pets, the only mention of pastries I remembered was in a book where the character worked in a bakery. But she made cupcakes, not cinnamon rolls.

‘It’s not literal!’ Liam chuckled. ‘Cinnamon roll or golden retriever heroes are just ways to describe the men that have layers and are sweet on the inside or have that kind of golden retriever happy energy, you with me?’

‘Ah, right. Got it. I thought I was getting a grasp on the romance terminology, but clearly I still have so much to learn.’

‘Don’t worry, man,’ Liam said. ‘We’ll help you.’

‘Thanks.’ Sounded like I needed it.

‘Wait!’ I sat up straighter. ‘I’ve thought of something. For the grand gesture.’

‘Well, come on, then! Spill!’ Liam shouted.

As I told them my idea, Nico and Liam’s faces broke into large smiles.

Yes. The more I thought about it, the more I was convinced that Jess would love it.

And if I also needed to wear grey tracksuit bottoms and growl like a hungry bear, I’d do that too.

Anything to win Jess back.

44

Jess

‘No way!’ I jumped up from my desk so quickly I almost knocked my laptop on the floor.

‘What’s happened?’ Jane’s head jerked up from where she was sat at the other end of the desk in my bedroom, checking through the library’s website.

‘I got another email from Mia Bailey!’

‘That’s amazing! Isn’t it?’

When I’d received the first email from her a week ago, I was half expecting her to say, ‘Thanks for asking but, no, I’m far too famous now to open up a little library in a tiny town hardly anyone’s heard of.’

But she hadn’t.

She’d said she’d love to help.

Mia went on to say that as a female business owner, she knew how hard it was to get a new company off the ground and she remembered how difficult it was to get the publicity she needed. And now that her matchmaking agency, Soulmate Connections, was thriving, she wanted to pay it forward and help other like-minded women.

Of course I replied straight away and fangirled like an idiot. The email was so embarrassingly gushy that I probably offered to name my first-born child after her.

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