Page 51 of The Midnight Book Club
“Aurelia, you’re late!We’ve all been waiting for you.”
David’s voice had a false cheer to it.She bit down both a tart response and her instinct to flee and turned to James and Oliver, who had stood to greet her.
“Hi, James,” she said, kissing his cheek and staring daggers at him.
James slid his eyes toward David, a clear sign that this was all David’s doing, and she squeezed James’s arm in solidarity.
“You remember Oliver?”David asked innocently.
“Of course I do,” Aurelia said, plastering a smile on her face.“Good to see you again.”
“You too,” Oliver said, adding, “Don’t tell me… You’re surprised to see me?”
Aurelia looked at him and saw that his lips were working to keep from laughing.She let out a laugh of her own then, relieved he’d recognized David’s plotting.When Oliver’s laughter joined hers, she felt that fluttery feeling—the one she hadn’t felt since the last time she’d seen him.
“What?”David asked.“What’s funny?Have you two got inside jokes already?”he added hopefully.
Aurelia pointedly ignored him and moved to the only empty chair which, by David’s design she was sure, was next to Oliver.As she took her seat, she couldn’t help but notice that Oliver was once again wearing a jacket and an oxford shirt with just one button undone.He didn’t seem to do casual.She started adjusting her hair but an instant later scolded herself for caring.This wasn’t a date, regardless of David’s desperate intentions and the fact that Oliver looked as good as she’d remembered.He smiled at her as he caught her looking and she felt that flutter in her stomach materializing again.She smiled back, but then tried to play it off by looking around the restaurant, hoping he might think her eyes had just happened to land on him even though she suspected he was smarter than that.
“I thought it’d be nice if we all got together,” David explained, “seeing as how we’ll be off on our separate ways for the holidays.”
She hadn’t seen Oliver in weeks and likely wouldn’t have seen him ever again, holidays or no, if David hadn’t kept forcing them together, but she decided to wait for a private opportunity to correct him.As it happened, it didn’t take long.Oliver excused himself to go to the restroom once they’d ordered.
Aurelia and David stared each other down as Oliver walked away.
“This was all David,” James said as soon as Oliver was out of earshot.
“I gathered as much,” Aurelia said coolly.
“I’m sorry, I am, but… Okay, I’m not,” David admitted.“You’re writing again and the shop’s doing well.I just want to see you get your love life back in order too.”Aurelia glared at him, and he added, “You’re my best friend and I want you to be happy.”
That took the edge off her irritation at him and she gave a dramatic sigh.She wasn’t any less annoyed by his incessant matchmaking, but it was hard to be too angry with him when she knew his heart was in the right place.
“But I told you I wasn’t interested in Oliver,” Aurelia reminded him.
She was about to add that Oliver had made it perfectly clear he wasn’t interested in her either, but the memory of his visit to the shop still stung.
“Maybe so, but he practically begged me to invite you tonight!”
“Well, if I remember correctly, and I do,” James interjected, “his exact words were, ‘Is Aurelia coming along?’”
“Begged?” Aurelia said, looking back at David with a raised eyebrow.
“Alright,” David conceded, “but when I said I could ask you, he said ‘Sure.’”
He spread his hands out, as though Oliver’s eagerness to see her again was obvious.Aurelia rolled her eyes at him.She was certain that Oliver had simply asked after her out of politeness.He clearly didn’t know David well enough yet to realize he was capable of making a mountain out of the tiniest speck of sand.
David leaned toward her, his tone softening as he said, “I just think you two are right for each other.And maybe you both need a little push to realize it.”
“Oh, David.I love you, I do, but…” Aurelia trailed off as she spotted Oliver walking back toward the table.
“Oliver,” David prompted as soon as he’d taken his seat.“Did Aurelia tell you?She’s writing again and working on something new.”
“Are you?”Oliver asked.
“Yes—yeah,” she said, self-conscious to be at the center of David’s change of subject.Apparently, the pushing portion of the evening wasn’t over yet.
“What are you writing?”Oliver asked.
