Page 46 of Captiva Book Club

He shrugged. “I don’t know. I haven’t decided. I’m thinking I might go, but…I don’t know.”

“Well, I’d check the RSVP date, because since you’ve already waited a while, you might have missed your chance.”

“I’m not worried. If I’ve missed the date, I’ll just call her on the phone and let her know I’m coming.”

“You’re going alone?” she asked.

Luke smiled. “Maybe not…we’ll see.”

Luke walked out of the Key Lime Garden Inn with more energy in his step than he had earlier. Whether Katie had anything to do with it, Ciara couldn’t be sure.

Regardless, the stress associated with match-making was too much for her, and she was certain Maggie would agree with that sentiment.

“Thank you all for coming to our first Captiva Book Club meeting,” Claire said with a warm smile.

She waited for the round of applause to subside before continuing.

“And a special thank you to Maggie for hosting this inaugural gathering. The food is amazing, and I think it’s wonderful that we’re all so eager to dive into this book. Just a few things to discuss today. As I mentioned earlier, we won’t be discussing the book itself—that will come at our January meeting at my house. Today is all about welcoming everyone, sharing ideas, and getting a sense of how we want to run these meetings.”

“Are we going to have this much food at every meeting?” Grandma Sarah asked.

Claire laughed. “Good question! I’m going to suggest we keep it a bit simpler than today’s spread. After all, not all of us have a chef at our disposal.”

“That’s for sure,” Millie chimed in.”

“If I can add my perspective on reading this book?” Maggie interjected. “There are several questions for readers at the back of the book. I think it would be helpful to consider those questions as we read. Rather than reading the entire book and then answering them, it might be helpful to keep each question in mind as we go along.”

“Good idea, Mom,” Sarah agreed. “It will help us engage more deeply with the story and make the discussion richer when we meet.”

“Absolutely,” Iris added. “I like the idea of approaching the book with those questions in mind. It might also help us notice themes or details we’d otherwise overlook.”

“This sounds like homework,” Grandma Sarah added. “I thought this was supposed to be fun. I don’t remember homework being fun.”

Claire smiled. “You’ll be surprised how much fun it is.”

“Give it a try, Mom, and then in January, if you don’t like answering the questions, maybe you could make up a few of your own?”

“We’ll see. At least the book isn’t very big. It might not be so bad,” Maggie’s mother added.

“I think it’s a great approach. We can give that a try this month and re-evaluate when we meet again. And don’t feel pressured to answer all of them—just the ones that resonate with you.”

Grandma Sarah seemed pleased about Claire’s last statement.

As the women continued to discuss the logistics of the book club, Maggie noticed Katie looking at her watch.

“How long will these meetings go for? I only ask because I travel a lot for work, and while I’m filling my calendar, I want to allocate the appropriate amount of time for these book club meetings.”

“I think two hours is a good amount of time to enjoy the food, discussion, and planning for the next meeting. What does everyone think of that?”

There were murmurs of agreement around the room, with Claire adding, “Two hours sounds perfect—long enough to dive into the book without feeling rushed, but not so long that it takes up the whole afternoon.”

Katie nodded and wrote something in her appointment book.

Maggie could tell Katie was a perfectionist. It was evident in the way she sat up straight, her long, shiny, dark brown hair parted in the middle, and her nails meticulously manicured.

Maggie could tell there was little time in Katie’s calendar for romance, but if Maggie and Ciara had anything to say about it, Katie’s days would soon be spent with Luke Powell.

“Great, let’s plan on two hours for each meeting then. We’ll try to start on time and keep things moving, but of course, we can be flexible if the conversation really gets going.”

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