by Sara Rider
“You never did tell me what you thought about the porter,” he said as they stepped outside her front door.
She bit her lip again. “Um, it wasn’t bad…”
He laughed. What else could he do? God help him, he was falling for a woman who hated beer.
8
Every time Nora’s nerves threatened to flood her with self-doubt during the ride to the Holy Grale, all she had to do was sneak a glance at Eli. Just looking at that man filled her with the kind of serenity that was only supposed to be felt on tropical beaches and massage tables. It was a strange puzzle she couldn’t quite tease out. Just a few weeks ago, she was plotting ways to make his stereo spontaneously combust in the middle of the night. Now, he was the person who’d made her feel safe. Calm. Loved.
Nope. Not going there. Good sex was not love. It wasn’t even a precursor to love.
She toyed with the seatbelt strap across her chest that suddenly felt too tight, running her fingers along the rough, sharp edge. God, what was she doing? Sleeping with Eli again was a dumb decision, no matter how good he made her feel. It didn’t change the fact they had next to nothing in common, it just made that truth harder to see.
She’d watched her parents’ marriage dissolve around the same time her own had fallen apart. If anything, she ought to be grateful that a man as demanding and dedicated to his work as her dad and a woman who couldn’t hold an interest longer than the length of a single television commercial lasted for thirty-five years before calling it quits. Her mom had put her foot down and insisted her dad retire within twelve months so they could travel the world like she’d always wanted to. When that deadline came and went, she cheated on him and then she left. Now she was living on a boat somewhere on the West Coast of Canada, signing up for silent yoga retreats and communing with the orcas, while her dad spent so much time in his office, he was starting to fuse to his leather chair.
Nora had promised herself she wouldn’t make the same mistake of falling for a guy she wasn’t compatible with.
He must have sensed her barreling thoughts, because he reached over the console and squeezed her hand. Calmness instantly settled over her and quieted the errant thoughts.
They pulled into the parking lot. “Ready?”
“No, but I think I’ll survive.”
He came around to help her out of the high truck. She slung her purse over her shoulder and took his hand. He pulled her against him as soon as her feet hit the ground, sliding his arm around her waist.
“Eli, it’s just—”
He let her go. “I get it. I promised you I’d teach you about beer and help you relax for tonight. What happened earlier doesn’t have to mean anything other than that. You didn’t promise me anything. It’s okay.”
She exhaled the heavy breath in her chest. “Thank you.”
He led her inside and up the stairway to the mezzanine level she’d admired before. The place was just as busy as it was the other night, with groups of friends, families, and Seahawks fans gathered around the wooden tables. The view from the upstairs was even more incredible, with exposed beams and huge windows, but even though the noise was more muted up here, it was still too loud to carry on a proper conversation.
Was she going to have to scream her points across the table just to be heard?
Pushing that thought out of her mind, she silently recited the information Eli had given her about the people who attended the book club, trying to remember all the thoughts and ideas she had about the book.
Eli dipped his head toward hers, lips almost brushing her ear. “It’s back here. We’ve got a couple of private rooms upstairs for events, including one specifically for book clubs.”
“Seriously?” She’d never heard of anything like that before.
“Yeah, Jake’s girlfriend is a big reader, so he built her a library room so she’d always feel welcome here.”
“A library? Geez, that’s a pretty special gift.”
He nodded. “Some people are worth it. You’ll see what I mean when you meet Clem.”
Her throat tightened. She couldn’t imagine the kind of love that would inspire a gift like that. The nicest thing Gavin had ever done for her was order pizza every Friday so she wasn’t stuck with the dishes. Heck, everything Eli had done for her since their first date—from the picnic under the stars to teaching her how to order beer without making a fool of herself—was a million times kinder and sweeter than anything Gavin ever did.
As soon as Eli opened the door, she realized just how much she’d underestimated the size of the gesture. There were books everywhere. Packed shelves lined the walls. Even the windowsills had books perched haphazardly on them. Her heart sang the moment she stepped inside. This was happiness—pure, unbelievable happiness packaged into one perfect little room.
Two sets of leather wingback chairs flanked round coffee tables at either corner of the room, and a long eight-person dining table sat in the middle.
Julia jumped up to greet them. “I’m so glad you made it.” She linked her arm through Nora’s and led her to the big table where a half-dozen people sat.
“All good?” Eli asked.
Julia waved him off. “Relax, big brother. She’s safe with us.”
Nora nodded, surprised by how much she believed Julia was telling the truth. There was a warmth and friendliness that seemed to radiate through the room. The copies of the book in various cover styles and states of wear and tear—instead of the anguish porn she’d grown accustomed to with her last book club—helped, too. But it was the tray of gorgeous cupcakes iced with little mini-fondant books that really screamed “safe, happy place.”
“Okay, I’ll be back with your drinks soon, and to act out any of the sexy scenes requiring a strong, handsome man, as needed,” Eli said.
“So,” Julia said as soon Nora sat down between her and a woman with dark curly hair. “You and my brother seem to be getting along a lot better than before.”
Nora clutched her copy of the paperback more tightly, certain that her cheeks had just heated enough to match the fuchsia color on the cover. “We figured out how to get over our differences and become friends. Just friends,” she added quickly when Julia’s eyebrows shot up. Friends who happen to enjoy getting naked with each other.
“Well, I should probably start with introductions,” Julia said. “Next to you is Clem, the inspiration for this room.” The woman with the dark curly hair offered a friendly smile.
“And across from you is—”
One of the two blond women across the table reached over and shook Nora’s hand with a force and enthusiasm that nearly pulled her clear across the table. “Clover. And this is Chastity. We’re Clem’s older and wiser sisters. It’s so nice to meet you!”
“You’re going to love this book club. It’s a blast. And I’m not just saying that because we get to leave our kids at home,” Chastity added.
“Well, maybe it’s a little bit about leaving the kids behind.” Clover laughed. “My twins are kind of a handful. This is actually my second copy of this book. The girls got ahold of the first one and covered a bunch of pages with the sparkle glue my mom bought them for Christmas. It was like they knew exactly how to find and ruin the good parts, too. I was about to read the scene where Talon and Gen bang each other for the first time on the sailboat, and bam! The pages were completely stuck together.” She blew a blond curl off her forehead with an exasperated giggle. Nora didn’t blame her for sounding exhausted. She was tired from just hearing that story.
“I’m Lisa,” said a woman next to Chastity. She was wearing a blue silk scarf that gave Nora a desperate case of envy. “It’s my first time here, too. Clem and I know each other from the library, and she finally convinced me to come.”
Nora smiled warmly, intimately recognizing the hint of nervousness in Lisa’s voice.
“And I’m Lorenzo,” said the last person—a big guy with a shaggy black beard, tattoos up his arms and neck, and super kind eyes behind thick black fram
es.
“Oh, right! The one who always asks what Hollywood stars would be cast as the main characters in a movie version?”
He let out a hearty chuckle. “Of all the things to gain a reputation over, I didn’t think it would be that.”
She winced. “Sorry. I just like to be prepared.”
“Hey, no one’s judging. Preparedness is next to godliness,” Julia said. “I’m obsessed with bullet journals and preplan my entire schedule six months ahead of time. And Clem usually has a hundred quotes and notes tucked away in her e-reader.”
Clem paused long enough from unwrapping a cupcake to say, “More like five hundred. Can you blame me? Talon’s dialogue is so swoon-worthy.”
There was something oddly familiar about the woman’s deep, raspy voice, though Nora couldn’t quite figure out what it was. “That’s impressive.”
“Don’t let her scare you,” Chastity said. “Our little sister has an unfair advantage.”
Nora had no clue what she meant by that, but the tension peeled off her shoulders. She settled into her seat and pulled her paperback and notebook out of her purse. These were the kind of people she’d been hoping to find when she moved to Shadow Creek—people who loved books and probably wouldn’t bat an eyelash at her quirks.
Who’d have thought the man who’d been driving her crazy since the first day she moved here would be the one to give her this gift?
“Okay, let’s get started,” Julia said. “Talon going down on Gen when he was all sweaty and dirty after the ATV ride. Hot or ewww?”
It turned out that talking sex scenes with a room full of strangers was actually a pretty good way to break the ice. With a vote of five to two, they agreed that sweaty and dirty was only good on paper. In real life, it would be a no-go, with Clem and Clover casting the dissenting votes. When was the last time Nora had laughed this much? Not since she was back in Toronto hanging out with Alice and Jessie.
The door opened. Nora turned her neck to see Eli walking in with a tray full of drinks. “First round’s on the house tonight, folks, but tips are always welcome.”
“Don’t eat the yellow snow,” Julia said.
“Always looking out for your big brother, huh?” Eli kissed his sister’s forehead with a loud smack before setting her beer down. He circled around the table in the opposite direction, leaving Nora’s drink last.
He surprised her by setting down a glass of red wine in front of her. She looked up, confused. Eli squeezed her shoulder, running his thumb along the back of her neck. “Hope you don’t mind—I swiped a bottle of merlot from your wine rack when you were in the shower,” he whispered. “No one drinks something they don’t like in my establishment.”
Her cheeks heated as he walked out of the room, remembering exactly why she’d been in the shower.
“So,” Clover said with a giggle. “Is this a good time to talk about the use of sexual tension in the book?”
Nora was pretty sure everyone laughed at her expense after that, but there was nothing mean-spirited about it. She took a sip of wine to clear her throat. “I loved how the tension revealed the characters’ insecurities about love.”
“I know, right?” Lisa said before diving into a thoughtful analysis of the way the characters’ backgrounds intersected to create conflict in the story. After that, Nora got lost in the discussion. Some of it was silly, some of it was intense, but all of it was completely engrossing, leaving her with a burning desire to reread the book all over again.
“Oh my goodness,” Julia said after setting down her empty glass and sneaking a glance at her phone. “I can’t believe how much we’ve been talking. This is one of the best discussions we’ve had yet. Should we do one more question?”
Clem nodded vigorously, clutching her e-reader to her chest. “I just need to know…how did this book make you feel?” Her eyes landed on Nora.
“Safe,” Nora answered instinctively. “Like no matter what kind of day I’ve had or how bad things get in the real world, there’s always a guarantee of love at the end. The characters in this book went through so much. They’re such opposites, it’s like they were on different planets. Different universes. There were so many obstacles to them falling in love—” She sucked in a breath. Everything she loved about this book was an excuse she’d given to Eli why they couldn’t be together. “But at least in this book, they get to be happy.”
“Sometimes it works out that way in real life, too,” Clem said.
Nora set her glass on the table. “Oh my god. I recognize your voice!”
Holy heck. It had taken her brain a while to catch up, but she finally realized where she’d heard Clem’s distinctive rasp before. She was a book narrator. Nora had listened to her on her morning commutes, in the lab, and a million other places while trying to keep up with all the books she wanted to read.
Clem smiled shyly.
“Don’t bother asking her for spoilers,” Chastity said. “She won’t even give them up to her sisters.”
“Wait, does that mean you narrated this series, too?”
Clem nodded.
“And The Red Zephyr books,” Julia added.
“Damn, I love those books,” Lorenzo said, running his hand through his beard. “I can’t believe I didn’t know that.”
Nora was a natural blusher, but her fair skin had never come close to the deep crimson flush on Clem’s cheeks. “I’m probably the only person in the world who’s never read that series,” Nora said, hoping to relieve some of the pressure on Clem before the poor woman burst.
Clover gaped. “But you’ve watched the show, right?”
“Everyone’s watched the TV show,” Julia said.
Nora shook her head. “It’s hard to find the time to keep up with TV with my late nights in the lab.”
“Well, that is a terrible shame,” Julia said. “And we have to fix it.”
“Fix what?” The door opened, and Eli came into the room.
Nora’s heart did a little stutter-step when he set his gorgeous smile right on her. Man, she could get used to seeing that reaction on his face every day. Which goes to show how poor her instincts were, even after having her life implode six months ago. The last thing she needed was to get caught up in a man, especially one who lived right next door.
Julia flung her arm in Nora’s direction. “Nora’s never watched The Red Zephyr. She has three seasons to catch up on before the next viewing party.”
He crossed his arms and leaned against the door. “Well, neighbor, think you can fit a little Netflix and chilling into your weekend?”
She should say no. She needed to say no.
“Yeah, I think I can.”
9
“If you miss cleaning this damn place so much, you could move back in.”
Jake ignored Eli’s quip and swept the last pile of dust into the pan. “If you needed help, you could’ve asked.”
Eli ran the dust rag over the top of his windowsill. “I did. You just didn’t notice all those longing glances across the bar. The way I pleaded for help with my fluttering lashes that day we had to unplug the toilet after those college kids made a bet they could each eat five blue cheese and bacon hamburgers. That was my heart telling you I needed you, Jake.”
Jake stopped sweeping long enough to send an unimpressed glare Eli’s way.
“Hey, man. Those bedroom eyes might work on Clem, but I’m immune to your charms.” A sponge sailed across the room, rebounding off Eli’s chest. He chuckled and finished wiping down the rest of the coffee table. “But, um, thanks. I really appreciate your help today.”
He might not be great at asking for help, but the instant he’d hinted to Jake he needed a hand finishing up this reno, his best friend was there for him. In one grueling afternoon, they’d finished installing the new vanity in the bathroom, laid the last of the flooring in the spare bedroom, and were now cleaning every last inch of the place.
“Can’t say I understand how a pristine house is supposed to convince Nora to f
all in love with you, but at least you’ll be able to walk around without tripping over these boxes and shit.”
“I’m not—” He frowned. “She doesn’t like messes.”
Jake grinned.
Eli rolled his eyes.
He’d never been the most disciplined person in the world. He relied on passion and sheer stubbornness to get him through the harder situations that came his way. The rest? Life was too short to worry about the details. Except when it came to Nora.
He liked her. Really fucking liked her. Too much to screw things up with her. And despite every instinct in his body screaming at him to go knock on her door every night, he forced himself to play it cool. Even though she’d given her body to him twice now, she’d kept her heart and her mind firmly guarded. He understood why. She was focused on making friends, not finding a lover. And after he’d caught glimpses of her laughing and enjoying herself at the Books and Brews club the other night, he couldn’t blame her. She’d spent the drive home with a wide, unbridled smile.
So instead of inviting Nora back to his place that night, he walked her to her door and left her with a chaste kiss and a promise to come by on the weekend.
“After all this work, I’m kinda thinking I should ask for a retroactive discount on the rent I paid you.”
“You didn’t pay me any rent.”
“Then you could just give me some cash.”
Eli laughed. Jake was born rich as fuck, but his parents had cut him off after he and his ex-fiancée decided they were in love with other people. Unfortunately, that family drama had occurred after Jake had borrowed a shit-ton of money to get their brewpub off the ground. Jake sold his house to pay back the money and moved in with him to get back on his feet.
Eli wasn’t great at admitting his feelings, but he’d liked having Jake around. They’d been roommates for most of their adult lives, ever since the first day of college. They’d become more than friends in that time. Jake was family.