“There’s only one rule to this book club and if you don’t agree to it, you can’t be a member,” Paige said.
That got everyone’s attention.
With a smile, she said, “What happens at book club, what gets discussed here, stays here. All of it. I don’t want this just to be a book club. I want it to be a safe space. Is everyone good with that?”
Blaise quickly said yes and the rest of the women followed.
“Fantastic.” Paige balanced her plate on the arm of her chair. “Then let me officially welcome you to the Queen Bees Book Club.”
Maude stuck her hand up. “What about new members? And what about the woman who couldn’t make it?”
Paige smiled. “I love your enthusiasm, and your forward thinking. We can talk about new members when we get to that point, but one or two more people is really all I can comfortably fit into this living room. For now, I’d like to reserve that space for Althea, if she decides to join us once her husband’s health is no longer a concern. Everyone all right with that?”
They all nodded. Blaise thought it was going well.
“Why don’t we all go around and introduce ourselves? I’ll start, since I’m the one who made you come. I’m Paige Wheeler. I love to read and talk about the book afterwards, but since my divorce, which was incredibly hard, I’ve gone through a lot of change.”
She cast her glance downward a moment. “It’s like I’ve become a different person. All good, I assure you. I’ve made a whole TikTok channel about it and have nearly forty thousand followers who like my posts.”
“That’s more than my stepdaughter,” Essie said. “And she thinks she’s a big deal.”
Paige quickly smiled. “I wouldn’t say I’m a big deal. But it’s been a great outlet. What it hasn’t done is help me make friends. All the changes I’ve been through really have been good for me. But it’s left me without the kind ofclosefriends I crave.”
She took a breath, the sudden lines around her mouth making her look nervous. “In the interest of full disclosure, I invited you all here because I need friends. How’s that for honesty? I thought books would give us some common ground. I hope that doesn’t make me sound desperate.”
“No,” Essie said immediately. “It makes you sound honest. And I love honest. I think you’ve been very brave. I’d like some friends, too.”
“Yeah,” Maude said. “Seriously brave. I don’t have many friends, either. My own fault, I suppose. What fifty-five-year-old moves into a retirement community? I mean, really? I don’t care about age, I just wanted a decent, affordable place to live, but I’ve seen the way some of the other women here look at me. Like I’m out to get their husbands.”
She rolled her eyes and snorted. “I’ve made it this far in life without one. Why would I change that now?”
Cece’s mouth came open. “You mean you’ve never been married?”
“Nope,” Maude said with pride. But there was something in her eyes that put a defensive shine on the word.
“Marriage isn’t for everyone,” Paige said. “Maude, tell us more about yourself.”
“Well, I have my own business. I create and maintain websites. Most of my clients are spread out around the world, but I do the one for Beechwood Bakery in town. And I run my mom’s website for her stained-glass business, Glasslights. My parents live in the Keys. I spend as much time as I can on the beach, I love to read, and I stay up late playing video games. Oh, and I have a betta fish named Pixel, who is the most beautiful fish in the world.”
She laughed. “I’m kind of strange, I guess.”
Blaise smiled. “I don’t think that’s strange at all. I think you sound pretty interesting. I’d love to see your fish.”
Maude’s grin was genuine. “Thanks. Not as interesting as being a supermodel, though.”
Paige nodded. “Come on, Blaise. We’re all dying to hear about you. Tell us about yourself.”
Blaise took a breath. “It’s true, I was a model. I will readily admit it was a privileged life. Hard at times, in ways that seem superficial now. It’s how I met my late husband, who was the love of my life.” Nerves crept over her at the words that waited on the tip of her tongue. “And I suppose it’s also how I ended up losing nearly everything I worked for.”
Chapter Twelve
Cece immediately thought about how Blaise hadn’t wanted to be interviewed. She could only guess that this was why.
No one said a word. They all seemed to be holding their breath.
Blaise took a sip of her drink before continuing. “I don’t mean it to sound like my husband had anything to do with me losing my money. He didn’t. Jay was amazing in every possible way. He was my soulmate. My heart. But I was in such deep grief after he passed that I made some foolish decisions. Including believing a man who said he could help me with financial planning.”
Essie made a soft, sympathetic sound.
