Page 10 of Hot Girls Read Book Club

Noah points at me. “Oh, my God. You actually did it.”

“Did what?”

“She texted you, didn’t she?” He laughs.

Sean appears from somewhere behind me.

“She told you to jump and your ass asked how high.”

I push to my feet so quickly the rolling stool shoots backward across the concrete, snap the book shut, and toss it on top of my toolbox. Annoyed that these two idiots won’t let me read, I head toward the door.

“Both of you can shut the hell up.”

ALEX WARREN CROONS through my earbuds about a love so extraordinary that even the angels above are crying out in jealousy as I shove through the cracked door of the library’s community room at quarter to seven.

I stop dead in my tracks.

Jax is already inside, adjusting chairs around the table. Unlike the last two meetings, he isn’t dressed in his mechanic coveralls but a pair of jeans that hug the curve of his thighs in the best way, and a fitted black T-shirt. The ink crawls down his bicep, swirling and dipping along flexing muscles as he moves.

“Oh,” I gasp out a breathless laugh. “You scared me.”

“Sorry about that.”

His expression shifts as his eyes travel over me, and suddenly I’m smoothing my hands over the fabric of my navy blue and white sundress.

Stepping up to the table, Jax has already set out the book club sign, little notebooks, and pens that I keep in a basket on my desk at the front of the building. The carafe of coffee I had delivered from the café is already set up with a stack of paper cups and lids.

“I was off today, figured you deserved a day off from handling set-up,” he says with a small, guarded smile. He walks around the table, grabbing a coffee cup already topped with a lid and handing it to me. “Two hazelnut creamers. Three Sweet’N Lows.”

I stare at the cup before dragging my eyes to meet his gaze. He’s studying me carefully, gauging my reaction. Slowly, I take the cup from his hands, sniffing the steaming beverage through the opening in the lid.

“How’d you know that?”

He shrugs casually. “You do it every meeting.”

My heart dips, then soars at his words. He knows what I put in my coffee? I don’t think anybody has ever known how I take my coffee before, not even John, and we were together for five years! He slides past me, and I breathe in deep, the scent of fresh laundry, dark coffee, and something a little smoky filling my lungs. A powerful combination that makes my insides hum.

I bring the cup to my lips, blowing softly and taking a sip.

It’s perfect.

“Well, I guess my secret’s out,” I say, with a nervous laugh, as I set the boxes of store-bought cookies on the table. I bite my lip, finally making eye contact with Jax. “I don’t actually bake the cookies.”

His eyes dance in the light, and then, he laughs.

It’s deep and unrestrained, and I realize it’s the first time I’ve heard him truly laugh. But it’s also rich and boisterous and melodic, and I want to hear it again and again.

“Darlin’, that was no secret. But a smart man knows better than to bite the hand that feeds him.”

Heat floods my cheeks, and I know I’ve just gone at least three shades pinker than I was a minute ago. Not because he caught me buying store-bought cookies, but because Jax Mason just called me darlin’.

“Oh, hush,” I say, batting toward him with my hand.

His grin widens, but he just inclines his head, silently letting me off the hook and giving me a free pass. We settle into our seats and don’t even wait for anyone else to show up before we dive into conversation.

As expected, Jax connected with this story a lot more than the why-choose. Which isn’t surprising. Underneath the gruff exterior and almost-permanent frown lines, he’s the kind of man who still believes in one great love. In soulmates and perfect matches.

His ears flush pink when we talk about the building tension between Lucie and Aiden at the arcade, and the steamy kiss in the supply closet. I loved this book the first time I read it, but watching Jax discover it—with all his earnest opinions and pink ears—might be even better.