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You are sworn to secrecy. No one else has seen these except for me.

I promise I won’t share! These are gorgeous!

She told me which one was her favorite and I went ahead and set aside a book sleeve and a matching bookmark for her. She’d already gifted me some honey and had helped me pack up my table, so it wasn’t that big a deal to give her something.

Honey and I were still sending messages furiously back and forth to each other. Some days I got a cramp in my hand from holding my phone all day so I could talk to her. I’d even caved and had sent her some voice notes when I got tired of typing things out that I wanted to say.

She answered with her own voice notes and I enjoyed hearing her, especially when it was late, and her voice got a little rough. It made me think about her being in bed and what she was wearing. Or not wearing. My naughty thoughts about Honey had only increased in frequency and they were so bad sometimes that I had to stop what I was doing. It got so bad I even tried to take care of it myself, which ended with me just being frustrated as usual.

I managed to finish the book club book on Wednesday afternoon with only a few hours to spare. I did as Delaney asked and didn’t eat dinner before I arrived at the shop. The sidewalks were full of people going out to dinner or drinks or just enjoying the summer evening. The air was still thick and muggy, and I pulled my hair off the back of my neck when I got out of my car. At least it wouldn’t be hot in the bookshop.

I checked my bag to make sure I had my book and locked my car before walking to the bookshop. I’d timed myself to be about ten minutes early so I could scope everything out and find a good seat in the back, preferably near the food.

The bookshop was all lit up and cozy as I opened the door and was greeted with a room full of people and a circle of chairs. Shit. There was no way to sit in the back. They’d arranged this to encourage participation no doubt, but that was the last thing I wanted.

Looking around, I searched to see if I’d know anyone, but I didn’t see anyone familiar other than Delaney, who was setting trays on the table to the left side of the room. That was actually a relief. Not that I knew a whole lot of people, but it would have been a nightmare to see someone from the marketplace.

I made a beeline for Delaney and she happened to look up just as I reached her.

“Bren! I’m so glad you’re here. Please, get something to eat so I don’t have to bring it home with me. Although, maybe that would make my boyfriend happy.” She laughed and I picked up a plate. Honestly, I was starving. I liked eating at very regular times, and this was late for me.

“Thanks,” I told her, and she flitted away to tackle some other task. I selected items and filled my plate, but not too much because I didn’t want to look like I was eating half the food and leaving nothing for anyone else.

“Bren?” a soft voice said behind me and I slowly turned to find Honey standing behind me with a heart-stopping smile on her face.

Like she was thrilled to see me.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“Book club,” I said, stating the obvious.

She shook her head and let out a little laugh. “Of course. I just…I didn’t expect you to be at something like this.”

I snorted. “That makes two of us. I don’t really know why I’m here.”

Honey stepped closer to me, reaching around to grab a paper plate. “Free food?”

“Well, I had to buy the book to come, so it wasn’t exactly free, was it?”

Honey chuckled quietly. “That’s true. Where are you sitting?”

“I haven’t found a spot yet. I went for the food first.”

That made her laugh fully.

“A woman after my own heart.” Honey loaded up with snacks and then turned to me. “Where do you want to sit?”

I looked at the circle of chairs, several of which already had people sitting in them, some talking in small groups, a few on their phones or looking around with nervous looks.

“In the back,” I said.

“Well, that’s not exactly an option, so how about here?” She motioned to two chairs near the food table, but not directly in front of it so people wouldn’t be crowding our space to get to it.

“Yeah, sure,” I said. It was as good a place as any. Honey took the chair on my right and balanced her plate on her legs.

“I didn’t think I’d see anyone I knew here, other than Delaney.” It made sense that she would be here. Honey was exactly the kind of person who came to a book club. Her being friends with Delaney was also entirely predictable. They were very similar.

“Is this the first time you’ve come?” I asked her, assembling a little sandwich with crackers and a slice of cheese.