Page 9 of Hot Girls Read Book Club

“Oh my God.” Sean presses a hand to his chest. “It is.”

Within seconds, both guys are leaning over my shoulder like curious vultures.

“Who’s the girl?” Noah asks.

“There isn’t a girl.”

“Then why are you reading a book called…” He squints at the cover. “First-Time Caller?”

I shut the book, smudging the cover with grease.

“No reason.”

Their matching grins tell me I’ve made a mistake.

“A girl gave it to him,” Sean announces, a shit-eating grin spread across his face. Noah sidles up next to him.

“A hundred percent.”

“No girl gave me anything.”

The words leave my mouth too fast, Sean snaps and points at me accusingly. “See? That’s exactly what a guy says when a girl gave him something he wants to keep a secret.”

I roll my eyes, hating that they’re almost right. Even though I definitely bought this book myself, I’m only reading it because of Lily.

“Maybe he’s finally dating again,” Noah says.

The teasing dies almost instantly.

The air shifts—I feel it, and they feel it, too.

Everyone in town knows what happened with Samantha. And how I went off the deep end after she left. Nobody will even say her name in front of me at this point.

“Get back to work,” I grumble, clearing my throat and opening the book again.

Noah nods once, turns, and drops back down into the pit below an old station wagon to finish its oil change.

Conversation over.

Undeterred, Sean moves in closer and leans over my shoulder again. “So did they at least kiss yet?”

“Fuck! Get. Back. To. WORK!”

Sean saunters back across the bay, swinging the rag in one hand. “She must be real pretty if she’s got you reading something like that. Tell her I said hi.” He winks, disappearing around the lift.

My phone buzzes in my pocket right when I start reading.

LILY:

Chapter 20. Trust me.

😊

“Chapter twenty?” I mumble out loud.

I start flipping through pages to find that chapter. Noah pokes his head out of the pit, a teasing smirk on his face. “Don’t skip ahead. That’s cheating!”

Slowly, I lower the book.