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I liked my independence but come on. There were some things I just didn’t want to do by myself. Ortomyself, for that matter.
“I think I’ve had my fill of this romance nonsense for tonight,” May said, standing up. “Dawn, do try not to drink too much gin. We have a meeting with the Reverend tomorrow about the church’s charity sale this weekend, and I’d prefer if you didn’t show up to the church smelling like a cheap hooker.”
Dawn responded by slurping her drink.
May huffed and walked out of the library, leaving us all alone. She shut the door with finality, and a heavy silence hung between the remaining four of us.
Until Susie giggled. “She’s such a prude.”
The door to the library opened, and we all froze.
Max poked his head around the edge of the door. “What did you do to May? She just stomped past the kitchen like you’d all played football with her puppy.”
“We were discussing Ellie’s inspiration for the sex scenes in her books,” Dawn announced brightly.
Thank you, Dawn.
Max cleared his throat. “Is that right?”
I pressed my lips into a thin line and stared at one of the shelves to the side of the door. I didn’t miss the way Max’s gaze lingered on me for a moment too long or how it dropped when I flicked my tongue out to wet my dry lips.
“Her writing process is fascinating,” Susie continued. “I’d love to hear more about it for when I write my book.”
“You’ve been writing that book for twenty years,” Esme interjected. “And you have ten chapters. If you were going to finish it, you’d have done so by now.”
“I suppose.”
“Maybe it’s just not the right book.” I smiled at Susie. “Try something new.”
“You’re right.” She wiggled her finger at me like I’d just solved the world’s hunger crisis. “I’ll do that. And take your advice for inspiration!”
I didn’t need to know that.
Max raised his eyebrows from the door. “I’ll think I’ll leave you all to it.” He met my gaze and held it for a moment before he disappeared, leaving the door just slightly ajar.
“So,” Dawn said, turning back around and grinning at me. “What’s the best porn site?”
•••
That was, without a doubt, the longest night of my life.
I hadn’t signed up to share porn websites with women who were pushing eighty, but that’s what I’d ended up doing. Much more to their delight than mine.
I also hadn’t drunk nearly as much gin as they had, and I was quite impressed by their ability to throw it down their necks. There was a very high chance that last night’s events may end up in this book—a quirky group of octogenarians was always a hit.
Somehow, I still had a headache.
It hadn’t been so bad after May had left. In fact, the conversation had slipped to other books they’d read and us all sharing recommendations of books we’d read and loved recently while I signed their stacks of all the books I’d written.
I’d enjoyed myself, but I was grateful to be back in the comfort and peace of Greygarth Lodge.
I poured a cup of tea and took it over to the desk so I could open my laptop and get it set up for a morning of writing. My mind was whirring with inspiration for this book, and I already knew I was putting in a pensioner book club. I would be long gone by the time any of them read this book, and it would be a fun little nugget to include for them.
Except I’d give the heroine the saucy grandma.
I smiled to myself as I looked out of the window at the morning sun glinting off the lake. This trip was turning out even better than I’d imagined with all the things I was getting inspired by, and now I was daydreaming of living in a place like this with a slower life pace.
I had my house in London, and for the price of that, I could probably get a bigger, much quieter property in the countryside. Not even necessarily here in the Lake District, but I was most definitely in love with Windermere. Everything I’d seen about the village was a complete dream, and I could imagine living somewhere like this.
