“Oh, please.” Gwen snorts. “You started with an alien romance. I think you’ll be just fine.”
“Brave to dive into that first.” Willa giggles.
Gray’s embarrassed grin is adorable. “I was curious about the special attachments the girls mentioned. I can understand the appeal now.”
All six of us laugh at that, knowing exactly what he’s talking about.
“Should we go around for introductions? I know we’re all familiar with each other, but it still would be nice,” Gwen says.
“Seeing as I’m the odd man out, I can start. I’m Willa. Pronouns are they/she/her. I’m twenty-eight and moved to Pine Creek Falls last summer. I grew up here until I was a preteen—before my family moved to Denver.”
“I am obsessed with your store,” Gia says, and I agree. Not only are Willa’s flower bouquets gorgeous, she also sells all-natural remedies and essential oils. Her store has the coolest apothecary vibes that make you want to hang out there all day.
Willa smiles proudly at her. “Thank you. It’s been a crazy ride opening it up, but I’m grateful everyone has welcomed me with open arms.”
Charlie goes next, with the help of Gwen. “I’m Charlie. My pronouns are they/them. Reading has always been myfavorite way to escape, so I’m excited to share that with others.”
“Snaps for escapism,” Willa says. We all nod in agreement. Lord knows I used romance books to cope with the mess my life turned into after Alex went to prison. Then I just kept reading because I loved them.
The rest of us go after Charlie, sharing little tidbits about ourselves. Those lead to deeper conversations and allow us to get to know each other. A few hours go by in a flash, and now the six of us are even better friends than when we started.
We decide to wait to pick a book, and Gia comes up with the perfect way to narrow it down. “So, for next month, everyone’s okay with bringing two recommendations that we’ll put into a bowl to draw from? I feel like it would take us an hour to find a good one if we don’t come prepared.”
“What if we’ve read the book already?” Willa asks.
“Good question,” Gwen says. “Is anyone against rereading?”
“Only if I had to DNF it,” Gia says. “That’s a rare occurrence though, so it probably won’t happen.”
“What’s DNF mean?” Gray asks her.
“Did not finish.”
“Ah. That sounds fair to me.”
We wrap up our first meeting by scheduling the next one before parting ways. I immediately head over to Gwen and Gia’s house, parking in their driveway ten minutes later.
I’m handed a glass of red wine the second I walk in the door, and it makes me laugh. Gia gives me an expectant look once we’re settled on the couch.
“What?”
She scoffs. “‘What?’ she asks, as if she doesn’t have a shit-bag ex potentially hunting her down.”
I cringe. “Ah, that. There’s nothing to report. My house islocked down, thanks to Knox, and I haven’t seen anything out of the ordinary.”
What I don’t say is I’ve spent almost every night of this past week with a gun in the drawer of my side table. It hasn’t really helped me sleep, but it does make me feel safer knowing it’s there.
Knox has gone out with me every evening for target practice and self-defense lessons. I’m not perfect, but I can absolutely hit the target I’m aiming at, which is all I need to be able to do. I have yet to get the drop on Knox, but he’s a whole lot bigger than Alex, so I’m pretty confident I could go up against him.
“I hate that he just gets to walk around a free man after what he did to you.” Gia growls. “If he even sets a toe in our town, I’ll castrate him myself.”
I grin at my best friend. “I appreciate your bloodlust, but now that I’ve had a little time to come to terms with this, I’m not sure if he will try to find me. Wyoming to Colorado is a long way to go when finding a new victim to con would be a whole lot easier for him. And he was all about doing what was easiest.”
“I can see the logic in that, but still, you got the upper hand. Narcissists don’t care much for that sort of thing,” Gwen says.
I agree. “You’re definitely right about that. And I’m keeping an eye out, but I refuse to put my life on hold just because he might come find me. I already bent myself out of shape for this man once—I’m not going to do it again. I’ve done what I can to protect myself, and now I’m going to keep living.”
Gia lifts her wine glass. “Hear, hear. Now, I have beendyingto know how things are going with you and Knox.”
