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“Okay. We’ll film the video as soon as we come home,” Chloe says. “I’ll help you.”
“What about book club?” I ask.
Ava says, “I think we can all agree that this is so much more important than book club.”
“That’s okay. We can make the video after book club. I’m a mess and talking about books will calm me. And anyway, I miss discussing books with you guys.”
“Aw.” Ava grins. “We miss it, too. Okay, book club first and then we’ll film this amazing chef doing amazing things.”
I playfully shake my head at her. My friends are too nice.
They continue talking about the competition and I try to keep my cool. I don’t want to be scared and miss out on opportunities. It’s time for me to conquer my fear and put myself out there.
Peter stops the car before my house and the five of us get out, thank him, and walk in.
The house is empty. Mom’s out running errands and Dad’s still at work. We drop our things in Lily’s room, and Willow and I settle down on chairs while Ava, Lily, and Chloe sit on her bed.
Lily pulls her e-reader from her backpack and flips to the book we’re discussing. It’s another Regency romance. Seriously, my sister devours those things like candy.
“Okay, so what do you think about the misunderstanding between the duke and the maid, Henrietta?” Lily asks.
“That misunderstandings suck?” Willow frowns as she bends the pages of her paperback. “All she had to do was explain what happened and then they would have gotten together like a hundred pages earlier.”
Lily twists her nose. “But that’s what makes a good story, doesn’t it? Conflict?”
Willow shrugs. “Could have had a better conflict.”
Lily’s quiet as she thinks it over. “Hmm. Maybe. What do you think, Ava?”
“Well, I’m all about the drama, so I love the conflict. I mean, everyone knows they’re going to end up together, so isn’t it about the journey? And their journey had conflict. Maybe it’s cliché, but there’s nothing wrong with it. Chloe?”
She holds up her hands. “I liked it. It made their relationship more intense, you know? I was on the edge of my seat during some parts. What do you think, Liam?”
“Both parties were too afraid to tell the other how they felt. So when his enemy kissed Henrietta, she didn’t understand why the duke got so upset. And he thought she kissed his enemy because she loved him. The duke got jealous and was so hurt that it nearly destroyed him.”
Willow nods. “Yep. Like I said: the misunderstanding could have been avoided if they just told each other how they felt.”
Yeah…but telling someone how you feel—especially when you know she doesn’t feel the same—isn’t easy.
We continue dissecting the book, when shouting comes from downstairs.
“What’s that?” Ava asks with wide eyes. “Someone else is in the house?”
Lily rolls her eyes. “It’s Evie and Noah. They’re doing a project for school and they keep arguing. They were here yesterday, too, and nearly brought the house down with their bickering.”
Evie and Noah are friendly, but they’re not best friends like I am with my Junior Musketeers. He’s a neat freak who likes order, she’s messy and chaotic. They’re like water and oil.
“You think they’ll kill each other one day?” Willow asks with a chuckle.
They shout even louder than before, her voice overshadowing his because he’s not one to raise his voice. I can’t make out what they’re saying, but clearly those two aren’t meant to do any projects together.
“They’re ruining our vibe,” Lily mutters. “No one bothers us when we’re in 1B.”
I stand. “I’ll ask them to keep their voices down.”
Lily snorts as I head for the door. “Sure. As if that’ll ever happen.”
I go down the stairs and find my sister and Noah in the dining room, the table covered with their project.
