The Beach Reads Book Club: The most heartwarming and feel good summer holiday read of 2021! (The Kathryn Freeman Romcom Collection, Book 5)

by Kathryn Freeman

  ‘Well, well, here she is.’

  As she stepped into the café they all turned to face her and Lottie felt like a zoo exhibit. ‘I was just with Matt, checking the fusebox I put in.’ She felt the lie creep across her face and wondered why she’d bothered. She’d never been any good at it.

  ‘Is that what you call it?’ Audrey’s canny gaze settled on Lottie. ‘In my day, we called it snogging.’

  She supposed it served her right for acting like some horny teenager, yet as she faced the hyper-inquisitive group, Lottie couldn’t be sorry. Making out with Matt was worth a few seconds of embarrassment. ‘There may have been some snogging going on.’

  The second she admitted it, Sally shrieked, alarming Freddie, who began to cry, drowning out the barrage of questions Heidi and Audrey were firing at her.

  She put up her hands. ‘Flipping heck, quiet, please! This is a respectable book club.’

  As everyone laughed, Gira’s face turned from smiling to horror.

  Lottie froze. ‘What is it?’

  ‘We have a visitor,’ she whispered, eyes focused behind Lottie’s shoulder.

  Lottie turned to see and her jaw dropped. ‘Eve?’ Bloody hell, could this get any more surreal? ‘What brings you here?’

  Eve hesitated, her sharp features wary as she took in the scene in the café. Sally, trying to hush Freddie, Gira looking as if she’d seen a ghost, Amy and Heidi still chuckling. Audrey pulling a gin bottle out of her handbag. ‘I’m here for the respectable book club.’

  ‘You … what?’

  Eve straightened the pearls around her neck. ‘I heard you were running a book club from here and,’ she paused, straightening her shoulders, ‘I came to see if it was true.’

  ‘It is. This is the Beach Reads Book Club. We focus on feel-good stories.’

  Eve’s gaze skimmed over them. ‘Yet you don’t seem to be discussing a book.’

  Audrey hooted with laughter. ‘Why would we when we’ve got our own live romantic saga going on in front of our eyes?’ She waved the gin bottle at Eve. ‘If you’re coming in, park your bum and grab a glass. We’re about to grill Lottie on her sex life.’

  Okay, so she’d gone from not announcing her thing with Matt, to… She’d give it maybe a day before Eve had everyone in town knowing about it.

  ‘Thank you, but no.’ Eve gave Audrey a cool smile.

  ‘Your loss.’ Heidi held her glass out to Audrey, but her eyes remained on Eve’s. ‘You’d enjoy it if you did. Lottie runs a really fun club.’

  ‘We’ve had some amazingly good reads so far this year,’ Gira added. ‘We’re reading one of Samantha Young’s at the moment. Have you read her?’

  Eve looked taken aback. ‘No.’

  ‘You should. She writes deeply emotional love stories.’

  ‘With plenty of cracking sex scenes,’ Audrey added helpfully. ‘Might get the stick out of your arse if you did read her. Or Jilly Cooper. Or how about a bit of Fifty Shades? That’ll really loosen you up.’

  Eve’s eyes widened and her lips thinned. ‘I bid you good evening.’

  ‘Well.’ As the door banged closed behind Eve, Lottie staggered to the nearest chair and launched herself into it. ‘I need one of Audrey’s gins.’

  ‘Coming up.’ Audrey paused mid-pour. ‘And don’t think that uppity woman’s untimely interruption has got you out of the interrogation, missy. We want every detail, in full technicolour. Including the sex.’

  Lottie let out a strangled laugh. ‘You’re incorrigible. Who says we’ve even had sex?’

  She winked. ‘You’re a smart woman, Lottie Watt. No way you’d not have sex with that man-hunk if the opportunity arose.’

  ‘Okay, okay, I’ll share a few details. Of our dates,’ she added as Audrey’s eyes lit up. ‘But only if everyone else updates on what they’ve been doing over the last few weeks.’ Her gaze fell on Audrey. ‘And if Audrey promises to do something for me.’

  ‘If it’s got anything to do with the man-hunk, count me in,’ she chortled, knocking back another mouthful of gin.

  ‘Actually,’ Lottie smiled, ‘it has.’

  Matt had been in his office for an hour. Long enough for his hard-on to subside, but not long enough to get the taste of Lottie out of his mouth, the smell of her out of his nostrils.

  He was starting to become obsessed. Sex-obsessed and, well, just straight obsessed with her.

  If he listened hard enough he could hear her laughter. Whatever they were discussing, he didn’t think it was a book. Then again, the sort of books they read, maybe it was. Whisper it, but he’d started to read The Kiss Quotient and was actually enjoying it. A few smiles, moments when he’d felt a tug of emotion. He didn’t find it as engrossing as his usual reads, but after a period of heavy, it was a refreshing change to have some light.

  Maybe he was more like Lottie than he thought.

  Smiling, he rose to his feet. He’d done retreating into his office. Last month, on the beach, he’d felt left out. Tonight he was going to join them.

  His bravado slipped when he saw that whatever they were discussing now, the humour had gone.

  It slipped even further when they stopped to stare at him. Hell, what was he doing? He might have managed to convince Lottie he wasn’t always an uptight arse incapable of decent conversation, but it didn’t mean he’d totally left that side of him behind. ‘Sorry, I—’

  ‘Come for your cake?’ Lottie flashed him a warm smile, which loosened some of his tension. ‘Or we also have pizza tonight.’

  Okay, too late to bail. ‘Cake would be great.’

  Audrey waved towards the window. ‘Why don’t you fetch one of those chairs and join us?’

  His eyes met those of his sister and she shrugged. It wasn’t exactly Yay, my big brother’s here, but it wasn’t a no, either. ‘Thanks, if you’re sure?’

  Sally picked up Freddie’s hand and waved it at him. ‘Freddie says he could do with some male company.’

  He smiled and pulled up a chair. ‘Whatever you were discussing, don’t change on my account.’

  Lottie glanced at Gira, who nodded. ‘Actually, we’ve been plotting. I’ll talk to you about it after we’ve finished here, as we’d like your help.’

  Sally started to laugh. ‘Watch it, Matt, the moment we’re gone she’ll have you pinned against the bookcase again. Or was it you pinning her?’ She gave him a wicked smile. ‘We weren’t quite sure from the noises which way round it was.’

  ‘Definitely the latter.’ It was only when he heard a loud bark of laughter from Audrey, and saw embarrassment flood Amy’s face, that he realised he’d just verbalised that out loud. He caught Lottie’s eye, giving her a dry smile, and she bit into her lip, clearly trying not to laugh.

  This wasn’t him, he thought, discussing his love life with a group of virtual strangers. With his sister. And yet he couldn’t stop smiling.

  He stayed for the rest of their meeting, not really interested in the book he hadn’t read, but happy to watch their interactions. Gira was quietly spoken and to the point, Amy surprisingly vocal about what she enjoyed. Heidi smiled a lot, agreeing with everyone. Sally was loud, saying what she thought without filter, and Audrey had a wit that left him chuckling more than once to himself. Throughout there was Lottie, encouraging, making sure they all had their say, passionate when it came to giving her own views. Damn funny when she verbally sparred with Sally and Audrey.

  The more he watched her, the more she fascinated him. She was bright, bubbly, extrovert yet also a nurturer. Much like she’d taken Chewie in, she’d taken this group under her wing.

  Finally it came to an end and he began to move the chairs back into position as the group straggled out.

  ‘Don’t you young things do anything I wouldn’t do,’ Audrey shouted over her shoulder as she left.

  Lottie, who was clearing the table, looked at him and grinned. ‘I guess that leaves a lot of scope for whatever you had planned.’

  ‘I—’ He was about to say som
ething crude along the lines of finishing what they’d started by the bookshelf, then moving to his office for round two, when he realised Amy was watching them from the counter. ‘I think we can manage from here, Amy.’

  She huffed. ‘I’m not a baby, you know. I can talk about sex, I even have sex. But fine, I’ll leave you to clear up the rest. I’ll probably see Shaun tonight. Don’t wait up.’

  With that she picked up her bag and flounced out.

  He heaved out a sigh but before he could say anything, Lottie kissed him lightly on the mouth. ‘This is on me, not you. I didn’t realise she was there. She’s not upset, she’s embarrassed, probably even more so than you. It’s kind of yukky thinking about your sibling having sex.’

  He shook his head. ‘Yeah. I definitely don’t want to think about what she might be getting up to with Shaun.’

  ‘She’s twenty-four. Old enough to do what she likes without you making her feel bad. It’s your job to be there when she wants to talk, or if things don’t work out.’

  ‘Okay. I can do that.’ He gazed down at Lottie. ‘You’re really good at this. Putting yourself in others’ shoes. Looking out for them. Makes me wonder why you didn’t go into a people-focused profession – doctor, nurse, psychologist.’

  Her eyes darted away from his. ‘Electricians work with people.’

  ‘They do,’ he agreed. But they didn’t need to understand what made their customers tick, he wanted to add. It was something this otherwise remarkably open woman didn’t want to talk about though, so he changed the subject. ‘You mentioned you needed my help for something?’

  Immediately her body lost its tension. ‘Ah, yes.’ She gave him a playful push onto a chair and straddled his lap, eyes now bright and clear. ‘How do you feel about taking Gira out on a date?’

  As he struggled to get his brain around the concept, she leant forward and pressed her lips to his. Bold, confident, she kissed him until he couldn’t think about anything but the way her breasts felt against his chest, the rhythm of her hips as they writhed in his lap.

  ‘We need to take this round the back,’ he rasped when she let them up for air. ‘Before our window display takes on a whole new meaning.’

  She giggled, easing back, and he groaned as her heat left him.

  ‘What about Gira?’

  He shook his head, dazzled by her. ‘I don’t know what you’re cooking up, but you can guarantee I’ll agree to anything you want right now.’

  Laughing, she jumped to her feet. ‘Excellent.’

  Suddenly he found himself grabbing her hand and running, yes running, through his shop. He barely had the foresight to make sure the door was locked and they were out of sight before he was tugging off her T-shirt and making short work of removing her bra.

  ‘I can’t get enough of you,’ he murmured as he dipped his head to her breasts, kissing, sucking, overwhelmed with a need to bury himself inside her.

  ‘Good,’ she whispered, arching her back to help his access. ‘Because I haven’t nearly finished with you yet.’

  As he pulled down her jeans, yanked at his own, as he slipped on a condom and thrust greedily, hungrily, joyfully inside her, he wondered if he could ever see a time when he would be finished with her. She was changing him. Since meeting her he felt less uptight, happier. More the man he wanted to be. The man he felt she was looking for.

  He could only hope he’d changed enough.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Lottie ended the call from the garage and slipped her phone back in her pocket. She wanted to cry, which was utterly pathetic. It was just a van, and it was only money. She’d manage. If she cut back on anything that wasn’t essential and chased those customers who hadn’t paid her yet, it would all work out.

  A wet tongue licked her hand and she glanced at Chewie, who was sat next to her on the sofa. ‘It’s okay, buddy. I won’t skimp on your food.’ Okay, wobble time was over. She needed to pull herself together. ‘Come on, we’re due at Gira’s in half an hour.’

  She’d promised Gira she’d help her choose something to wear for tonight’s ‘date’ with Matt, though really Lottie knew Gira just wanted some moral support. It had the potential to be a big night for her… Maybe she’d find out if there was anything left of her marriage.

  Chewie leapt off the sofa the moment she reached for his lead, and started wagging his tail. ‘Yeah, yeah. I know someone who’d rather walk than take the van.’ But she couldn’t walk to all her customers, and she needed the van to carry her tools. The garage had told her the head gasket could blow any time and she really needed to get it fixed now before it did any further damage. Not in a month or so when she’d maybe scraped enough money together, but now.

  Worrying as it was though, at least she didn’t have a husband who might be cheating on her, she reminded herself as she shut the front door behind her. In fact, she had a man in her life who was proving, well… Images of what had happened in the bookshop last week flashed through her mind and she stumbled, nearly tripping over the doorstep. He was proving more passionate, and far more distracting, than she’d anticipated.

  Distracting as in she couldn’t stop thinking about him.

  Distracting as in her pulse kicked up a gear and her belly fluttered with a thousand butterflies as she anticipated seeing him tonight.

  Gira looked tense as she opened the door. ‘This is madness. Remind me again why I’m doing it?’

  ‘Because you want to see what Ryan does instead of coming home? And because now, thanks to his secretary, we know the bar near his office seems a good place to start?’

  ‘Yes, yes.’ Gira wrung her hands as she stepped back to let Lottie in. ‘But I should go there by myself. I don’t need to put you and Matt out.’

  ‘First, you’re not putting us out. We’re happy to do this. Second, if Ryan is there, what would make him realise he’s being stupid more: seeing you by yourself, come to snoop on him/to nag him, take your pick; or seeing you saunter in there on the arms of a handsome guy?’

  Gira gave her a wobbly smile. ‘My fake date is certainly that. I knew there was a reason I agreed to option 2.’

  Seeing her look so sad, so worried, Lottie wrapped her up in a hug. ‘You don’t have to do anything, you know,’ she said as she eased away. ‘You could stay at home and curl up with a good book.’

  ‘I know, but I’ve gone to the effort of taking the kids to my parents and besides, if I chicken out I’ll still be in limbo-land. At least when I know what he’s up to, I can start to move on.’ She straightened her shoulders. ‘Enough wallowing. Come and tell me what I should wear to remind him what he’s throwing away.’

  As Lottie followed Gira up the stairs her phone buzzed. When she took it out to check the messages, she laughed. Gira gave her a questioning look over her shoulder. ‘I don’t know whether this is good news or not, but Heidi’s just messaged. She wants to join us and apparently Audrey has insisted on coming too, so can we pick them up on the way?’

  Gira smiled. ‘That’s sweet of them.’

  ‘You might not be saying that when Audrey’s chatted up half the bar staff, danced on the tables and given your Ryan a piece of her mind.’

  Gira shrugged, but the misery in her eyes, the tightness of her expression, were anything but casual. ‘It might take my mind off the end of my marriage.’

  When the doorbell sounded an hour later, they’d whittled the choice down to a sexy red dress that was maybe too much for a casual drink but looked fabulous against Gira’s dark skin, or a pair of wide, flowing, black trousers and a slinky top. Chewie, who’d been waiting patiently downstairs, started to bark.

  ‘Okay, okay.’ Lottie glanced at her watch. ‘That’ll be Matt, bang on time as usual. I’ll get it while you make a decision. For what it’s worth, I think you’re a knock-out in either, but the red dress has real wow factor.’

  ‘Maybe I should let Matt decide? He is my date, after all.’

  He didn’t seem to be the sort of guy who’d have much to s
ay about female fashion. Then again, she hadn’t thought he was the type to have sex against the shelves in his bookshop, either. Lottie smiled. ‘Maybe you should.’

  The butterflies started up as she raced downstairs and flung the door open. Belatedly she thought she should have shown some decorum, perhaps not made it quite so obvious she was excited to see him. But as he saw it was her, the smile he gave her was so wide, so warm, she didn’t care.

  ‘I’m not sure of the etiquette of greeting the woman I’m dating, when she’s opened the door for the woman I’ve come to take out for a drink.’

  Lottie’s eyes rested on the two bunches of roses he was carrying, one yellow, one red, and her heart melted. ‘I’d say if you’ve bought us both flowers, you can make up your own rules.’

  ‘Good.’ He cupped her face with his free hand and bent to kiss her.

  Immediately Chewie began to growl, but this time Matt didn’t pull away. He kept right on kissing her until she felt the heat from it invade every cell in her body. When he pulled back he stared down at Chewie. ‘You’re going to have to get used to this, because I plan on kissing your mistress as many times as she’ll let me.’

  Chewie cocked his head, eyes not leaving Matt’s. Then he sat down, which Lottie supposed was some sort of truce.

  As Matt bent to pat Chewie, she took a moment to appreciate the man who was doing them a big favour. He was dressed in a brown/grey linen jacket, striped collared shirt and smart cream chinos, the combination highlighting the deep brown of his eyes, the light tan of his face. With his dark good looks and the expensive tailoring, he was like an advert for Armani. Add to that the heady smell of his aftershave and she felt a sudden pang for what she was about to miss out on.

  ‘Gira’s upstairs, getting ready.’ She nudged him. ‘You look awesome, by the way. Wish I was spending the evening with you.’