Page 13 of Can We Skip to the Good Part?
“See? I like her, too,” Ariana said to the room. “I like you, Ella.”
“Thank you. The feeling is mutual. It’s sealed, and you’re not gonna be able to get rid of me.”
“The lovefest is palpable,” Em said with an edgy glint. Ella also liked that edge. It made her skin tingle in all the right places.
Olive leaned in. “Let’s talk about the way Zoe likes to tell Jolene how she tastes when they kiss … and otherwise. Who else had a big reaction? I had to set the book down and revel.” Her words were spicy, but her conservative delivery was reminiscent of a librarian, creating an intriguing dynamic.
“Oh, you’re going for it,” Stevie said, nodding. “The passion fruit soda reference for one. I needed to stand in front of my freezer.”
“Same,” Ella said. “It showed me that she was a detail-oriented woman. I liked that.” She felt Em watching her as she spoke, and a shiver went down her spine. And when the room moved on with the conversation, Em didn’t look away. What was she supposed to do with that? Instinctually, Ella turned and mether gaze, and something noteworthy, something unnameable, locked into place. For a moment, they stayed just like that, quietly watching each other as the volume in the room seemed to fall away until it was just them.
“Sorry. Was that too personal? Just smack me with a frying pan.”
Ella froze. What had she missed? A frying pan?
“Um, Ella, you there?”
Someone was speaking to her. That’s why it had gone quiet. They were waiting for her response.
She blinked and turned to the room filled with expectant stares. “I’m the one who’s sorry. What was the question?”
More looks were exchanged, smiles suppressed. Had they caught her and Em having a staring contest? That’s what it had been, hadn’t it? Her skin was sensitive, and her mind felt like a merry-go-round, so it had to have been something. A moment. She liked the term.
Ariana straightened, attempting to smother a smile. “I just asked if there was a Mrs. Ella in your life? Or one in the running.”
“Oh! No. I just moved to Everly Springs from Tulsa. Single. Unemployed. Ready to start over. I sound like such a cliché when I hear it out loud, but I’m definitely in transition.”
“You’re from Oklahoma!” Stevie exclaimed. She seemed intrigued. The news made everyone sit right the hell up. “I wondered why none of us had ever encountered you before.”
“Oh, wow,” Morgan said, placing a hand over her heart. “Right in the center of the country. You’re like our own personal Dorothy. At last.”
“Who knew you’ve been waiting for one?” Olive said.
“I get how it would seem that way,” Ella said with a laugh. “Tulsa isn’t as sleepy as it sounds, though. I promise. Like eighty million Starbucks.”
Em smiled. “You’ll bring a new perspective to our discussions. Very cool.” They shared a soft smile before Ella focused on the wineglass in her hand, anything to ground her. They pressed on, turning over the intricacies of Parker Bristow’s cleverly woven romance. The more they talked about the story, the more Ella felt herself pulled into the world. The other women in the group made her think about so many angles that she’d missed on her read, which energized her all the more. In fact, she planned to read the book a second time starting that very night. She’d always enjoyed romance novels, and the rediscovery of a lost love was honestly just what she needed.
“So, will we see you next week? We’re trying an enemies-to-lovers,” Olive said. She quickly rushed to explain the trope, remembering who she was dealing with.
“Sounds fiery.”
“They’re the best,” Olive said with a ferocity Ella hadn’t expected.
“Down, girl,” Em said with a grin.
“Yes, I’ll be back. I just need to swing by Doug’s Books for the new read.”
Stevie stepped in. “Sweetheart, I already gave him a list of our next five or six selections. You can scoop ‘em up all at once. But don’t get too far ahead or your feelings won’t be fresh when we meet.” Ella appreciated how important the discussion seemed to be to this particular group. Nothing like the clichéd book club reputation that had women skipping the reading part to drink wine and gossip. Not that she wouldn’t enjoy that, too.
“Perfect,” Ella said, more pleased with tonight than she would have expected.
As everyone began to pack their belongings and break off into side conversations, she surveyed the room. Empty wineglasses littered the surfaces. The charcuterie board Stevie had made for them had been demolished, with only a straysweet pickle, two cheese cubes, and a lonely slice of round salami remaining. A sure sign of a successful meeting. Both bottles of wine had been killed, and a third had been retrieved and opened, with about a glass remaining. The decibel level in the room had surely tripled since they’d kicked off the meeting, and six of them now talked over one another comfortably, all formality abandoned. Laughter had been a highlight of the night and continued freely. Ella’s face hurt from smiling so much. She ruminated on one of her favorite moments.
“Stop it. I can’t believe you thought her housekeeper was some kind of voyeur!” Ariana had yelled with tears of laughter glistening in her eyes. She waved her hands in front of her face as the rest of them fought the same battle. Stevie was doubled over. Em wiped her eyes. Ella struggled for air.
“What?” Morgan asked in defense, though she was laughing so hard her eyes had misted, too. “She kept watching their exchanges throughout the whole middle section. What was I supposed to think?”
“That she was bored and interested in their conversations!” Stevie called out, up on her knees now. “Not that she wanted to watch them get naked!”
