Page 12 of Hot Girls Read Book Club

The simple observation lands harder than sympathy ever could.

“Yeah,” I say softly. “It kinda is. But I guess that’s what happens when your boyfriend dumps you and you flee halfway across the country, right?”

Jax stiffens across from me, shoulders rising to his ears and staying there on a held breath. He blows the air from his lungs slowly, holding my gaze.

“Well,” he says finally, leaning forward to steal a pickle off my plate, “whatever kind of idiot let you go better be smart enough not to ever step foot in Bellewood.”

I blink. “Why?”

He crunches into the pickle.

“Because I’d really hate to have to explain the body.”

“Jax.” I huff out a laugh, staring at him incredulously.

“What?” He shrugs. “I’d feel bad about it afterward. Maybe… Probably not.”

I roll my eyes, folding my lips against the smile spreading across my face. I wrap my arms around myself, trying to hold all my feelings inside. Even though it’s only been a couple of weeks, Jax Mason might be the best friend I’ve ever had.

THE NEXT BOOK we read together is called If It Makes You Happy by Julie Olivia. By the time I finish it, I don't think Lily picked this one by accident.

The story lives in the same neighborhood as First-Time Caller—a small-town setting, stubborn people fighting feelings neither of them knows what to do with. The kind of love story where everybody can see what’s happening except the two idiots living it.

If I were a betting man, I’d say that’s a little too on the nose to be a coincidence after the not-a-date at Miller’s and the all-day text conversations Lily and I have been having for the last two weeks.

Hell, I even swung by the library during the town’s summer readathon to bring her coffee—two hazelnut creamers, three Sweet’N Lows, as always. The way her eyes lit up after the first sip made every smart-ass comment from the guys at the garage worth it.

Tonight feels different.

We don’t set out the book club sign or any of the little notebooks that go unused every time we meet.

Lily doesn’t order a huge carafe of coffee from the café. Instead, she walks in carrying two cups and a box of oatmeal raisin cookies tucked under one arm because they’re my favorite.

Somewhere along the way, this stopped feeling like a book club and more like us making time for each other.

She takes the seat next to me, instead of across the table.

Usually, I’m not good at talking. Definitely not good at sharing my feelings. But Lily makes it easy. I spend half the meeting talking about how much I liked the story, especially how I never knew whether Michelle and Cliff were actually going to be brave enough to cross the line.

“In romance, you can pretty much assume they will,” Lily says with a laugh, propping her chin on her hand. “That’s the contract between author and reader. You get a happy ending.”

I smile at that.

Everyone getting a happy ending sounds nice, even if that’s not how real life works.

Maybe that’s why people read these books.

Lily looks beautiful tonight. She has another sundress on this week—pink with a small cherry pattern across the fabric. As we talk, she pulls out the messy bun at the top of her head. Her deep chestnut hair cascades over her shoulders in silky waves. I wonder what they would feel like between my calloused fingers.

The box of cookies is almost empty by the time Lily snaps her copy of the book shut, jarring me from my thoughts. Without thinking, I reach out and gently tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. My fingers just barely graze her cheek. She ever so slightly leans into the touch, warmth spreading in my chest at the contact.

For a minute, we are both frozen in the moment. Neither one of us moves, like if we shift too fast, we’ll break whatever quiet thing just settled between us.

Lily clears her throat first. “Okay,” she says, voice lighter than it usually is. “We should probably call the Bellewood Gazette. I actually finished the whole thing on time for once.”

“Miracles do happen,” I say, pushing my chair back.

She laughs softly, standing alongside me.