Page 38 of The Best Book Boyfriend
“She’s here giving me two thumbs up,” she laughs, “and thrusting her hips like a sex fiend.”
“OK, I’ll take that as a yes.”
I text him when I get in the door.
Kara:You got plans tonight?
Luke:Book, beer, bed. You?
Kara:It’s girls night, but we’re celebrating things, including book club. Would you like to join us?
Luke:Sure, what can I bring?
Kara:Just you. Come at 7. We’re ordering Thai, so let me know what you like.
“Wow, I never knew you liked books this much. Why didn’t you say?”
Luke stands with his hands in his pockets while he browses the bookcases that line one wall of my living room. He looks gorgeous in dark grey trousers and a green sweatshirt, his hair a little more styled than usual. I couldn’t bear to greet him in my usual Friday night uniform of pyjamas and no make-up, opting instead for a light blue shirt dress. Thankfully, the girls are wearing proper clothes too and nobody dares acknowledge the effort we’ve all made.
“So this is the famous Kara Wilson Interiors house.”
I love my home. I’ve made a genuine effort with every month that passes to make the place feel like my own rather thanmine and Adam’s. Once I realised he wasn’t coming back, I moved some things around, painted over the pale grey living room walls with a deep green, and replaced all the artwork Adam had chosen with things more to my taste. I’m pleased Luke is seeing it like this. All me.
“It is,” I say, laying the dining table with plates, cutlery, and napkins. “Are you going to be weird about it? Are you going to take selfies while I’m not looking, or steal things and try to sell them online?”
“God no. I’m still getting to grips with all that social media stuff. In fact, I’ve been expecting a bollocking for not updating the cafe account often enough.”
“Well, let’s not ruin this lovely evening with a fight. I’ll bollock you tomorrow.” When I throw him a smug grin, his gorgeous smile spreads across his face. I wonder what else makes him smile like that.Get your mind out of the gutter, Kara.
“Why are we sitting at the dining table?” Hattie asks as we gather around it.
“We have a guest, so I thought it would be more comfortable.”
“Where do you normally sit?” Luke asks, taking a seat at one end.
“On the floor around the coffee table,” she says, as if that’s the most normal thing in the world.
“Like goblins,” I laugh.
“Ooh, someone is trying to make a good impression,” Hattie smirks, and I extend my leg to give her a not-so-subtle kick under the table.
Luke’s presence is a little awkward at first. Megan and I are more reserved than usual, and Hattie is a touch louder as she asserts her dominance. She can’t help herself. In her eyes, all men need to be put in their place and she wastes no time making sure they know she’s the boss.
Over dinner I tell them all about my new project, and I’m mortified when Megan makes a fawning speech and tells everyone to raise their glasses to me. After we all take a sip of bubbly, I bat the attention away with a toast to Luke and to Sunshine Book Club, pleased I have an opportunity to thank him properly for letting me run it.
In time we relax into being four instead of three, and we enjoy our food and more fizz, while Hattie fills us in on her latest conquests.
“Do you have any hot single friends, Luke?” she turns to ask him.
“Pfft,” scoffs Megan, “As if them being taken has ever stopped you!”
Hattie throws a prawn cracker across the table, hitting Megan square in the forehead. “Hey, that’s mean. You know fine well that very little is off limits, but cheating is a no go. It’s not my fault if they aren’t honest about their relationship status.”
Luke looks baffled, so I throw him some clarification. “It’s true. During our many book discussions, we have often agreed that a romance hero can be brooding and withholding, they can be domineering and controlling, they can even kill people to prove their love for a woman. But a cheater? No. Immediate ick. Unforgiveable.”
“Are you serious?” he asks.
“Morally grey sex gods are in,” Megan laughs. “We know it doesn’t make sense. Be glad it’s just fiction.”
