Besides Joey and Mitch, I never had friends. But each woman welcomed me with open arms, never pushing me further than I wanted to go. They were all close, but they didn’t seem closed off like a lot of the girls I’d known in high school.
This didn’t feel like a clique. It felt like a family.
“So,” Jade said, leaning in. “I hear you’re a writer.”
“Kelsey, huh?” I asked. I had a feeling she’d told them about what was going on with Theo too, but they hadn’t brought it up.
“Yes. She texts us sometimes, and we’re still trying to get her to join our girls’ night.”
I nodded. I could tell she liked it here, but she didn’t want to get attached. I only hoped she found a place shedidwant to get attached to eventually.
“I’m an author. I write romance books.”
“Does the library stock them?” Mollie asked. “They stock nearly everything.”
“They do.”
“What’s the name?”
“Danielle Pepper.”
Mollie went to write it down, but Wren tipped the room into chaos. “First one to get them gets to check them out.” Then she darted out the door.
The rest of the women tripped over themselves racing out of the room. I laughed and let them go. A few minutes later, they were back, each of them holding a different one of my books in their hands.
“This is you?” Wren asked.
“Yep. They are.”
“You’ve written so many!” Mollie added.
“The covers are so cute!” Grace said.
“Thank you. I don’t get to choose everything about the covers, but my publisher does it well.”
“Holyshit.” Jade was already nose deep in her book. “These are smutty as hell!”
“And there’s that too.”
Mollie, Wren, and Grace all huddled together to read the scene. Their jaws dropped simultaneously.
“Damn, girl. Is this based on your life?” Jade asked.
“People can write about different things that aren’t their lives,” Grace gently reminded her.
“I’d like it to be my life,” I said slowly. “But I’m very much single. And a virgin.”
I fiddled with my nails as I waited for them to laugh at or judge me. Most did. It was either that or pity.
None of it happened. No one missed a beat.
“Damn, I wish I was this good at writing sex when I was a virgin,” Jade said. “Congratulations. Are you trying to stay one or are you eager to get rid of it?”
“Wow, what a question,” Mollie said with a laugh. “You can tell us if you’re uncomfortable, by the way. We’d never make you answer.”
I shook my head. “It’s fine. I’m not shy about it. And I’d love to not be a virgin anymore. But it’s a little hard with the touching thing.”
Unless I went for the one person I could touch. If he even wanted to talk to me.
