Page 46 of Can We Skip to the Good Part?

TWENTY-TWO

To Working and Wine

E lla got to book club extra early that week.

Could it have been because she hadn’t seen Max in thirty-six hours and wanted to lay eyes on her gorgeous face, hear her thoughts on the book, and drink wine with their friends on a day that felt so ridiculously good that she couldn’t quite stand it? Yeah, that was entirely it.

She climbed the steps quickly and smiled at the new pillows Stevie had placed on the swing. Brighter colors, signaling a turning of the page, maybe? She knocked once and opened the door, letting herself in.

“You didn’t have to bring anything,” Stevie said, meeting her in the hallway and happily accepting the spinach artichoke dip Ella had learned to make on Pinterest. “But I’m gonna eat the hell out of this.”

“As well you should. I was in the mood. Even the crostini are homemade,” Ella reported with a proud smile. She was incredibly domestic now that she was in a relationship. And given that she was working pretty steadily, she felt a little safer spending more money at the grocery store. “Am I first?”

“Nope. Ari’s in the kitchen, scoping out the wine choices. She can’t decide if it’s a white night or a red, and dammit, I feel like it’s both.”

“I’ve always liked your approach.” She followed Stevie down the short hallway that would deposit them between the kitchen and the living room. “And how are you? Any hot dates lately?”

“Very funny,” Stevie said, with a sideways grin, and then looked away.

“Just me living my boring life. Did you know they moved trash day to Friday? That’s about the extent of my excitement.

” But there was just something about her demeanor that told Ella there was more to that story.

Maybe she was still talking to that woman from the club and wasn’t ready to share the details just yet.

Ella could certainly understand and would honor her privacy until Stevie was ready to talk about it.

They found Ariana in the kitchen pouring a glass of pinot grigio, which meant white had won the day. “Max isn’t here yet. Tell me everything.”

“Well, hello to you, too.”

“There’s no time for hello,” Ariana said with excited intensity.

“How hot and heavy are the two of you exactly on a scale of one to ten?” She held up a hand.

“Stop. I already know it’s a ten simply from observing you from feet away.

It was a flawed question. What I should have asked is: Are you official? ”

Ella smiled and nodded. “We’re giving things a try and so far, it’s been going really well.”

Stevie swatted Ella on the ass with a magazine from the counter. “You should have said that the second you walked in.”

“It’s been about seventy-five seconds, so I think we got to it pretty quickly. And damn, you have an impressive swing.” She rubbed her ass cheek and sent Stevie an impressed stare.

“I used to pitch for the girls’ softball team in college.”

Ella stared at her. “And you didn’t know you were a lesbian?”

That earned her another swat. Gentler this time.

“Best part?” Ariana asked.

Ella collapsed against the counter in surrender. “The way she looks at me. I’m not someone who’s always felt … special, you know? And with Max, I don’t know how to express it other than to say I really do.”

“Then you should see the way she looks at you from our POV,” Ariana fanned herself with her hand.

Stevie nodded. “She sometimes chews on the inside of her cheek when she’s studying your profile.”

“It’s so off-brand for Max that I just love it.

She’s gone on you.” Ariana lifted her shoulders to her ears as if she couldn’t stand the cute.

Ella soaked up every second. She didn’t need validation that what they had was real, but somehow hearing it out loud from others made it all the more vivid and exciting.

Ella blinked, trying to remember that this was real life, as happiness moved through her like sunlight warming a long, shadowed room.

“Are we dishing on Max before she gets here?” Morgan joined them at the kitchen party. “I put a fresh batch of walnut brownies on the coffee table,” she said to Stevie.

“That’s exactly what we’re doing,” Ariana said matter-of-factly.

“Bless you,” Stevie said regarding the brownies.

Morgan nodded as if reporting for duty. She had her long, blond hair in a ponytail and wore a denim jacket, like an ad for a department store or a Girl-Next-Door-Barbie.

“What I would like to say about you and Max is that it’s ridiculous how well you fit together.

Especially the little book debates you have.

It’s like watching a real-life rom-com play out in Stevie’s living room.

” She shrugged. “I’m glad you’ve finally worked out the kinks. ”

Stevie raised an eyebrow.

“Not those kind,” Ella said, though she wasn’t opposed to exploring if they were being honest. “Well, at least …” Her voice trailed off to the sound of laughter and clapping from her friends.

“I’m missing something,” Olive said, clutching two bottles of wine with her lips pursed. “And I brought the expensive wine we like. Catch me up.”

Stevie pointed at Ella, her eyes dancing. “This one might be a tiger in bed.”

“Oh,” Olive said. A pause. “I guess that tracks.” More laughter hit.

“I don’t know what’s happening in there, but it sounds a little raucous.”

The sound of Max’s voice made Ella grin. “They’re having a little fun with the subject of you and me.”

“Hell,” Ariana said. “I think you’re both having more fun than the rest of us.”

“I will agree with that,” Max said, arriving in the entryway.

Ella’s mouth went dry. Fucking look at her .

She wore black pants, black booties, and a black sleeveless shell.

She knew Max well enough to know she’d likely had a colored suit jacket over it all for a pop of contrast, probably left in the car after work, but this look made her appear very “Cool Rider” on top of a ladder, and Ella was here for it.

Max met her gaze and widened her eyes, the amused grin tugging at her lips.

Yep, they were both in fantasy land. Max knew Ella’s stares well enough and had decoded this one in no time.

Ella shrugged at her innocently, as if to say, Can’t help it .

“I dropped some stuffed olives on the coffee table.”

Stevie blinked. “Since when did you all start bringing all this food? I thought I supplied the food. You occasionally buy me dinner.” She turned to Olive, who had her dark hair in a knot at her neck tonight.

She’d definitely upped her game lately, looking downright sexy herself.

“And you, going all in on the expensive labels.”

Olive deposited the wines on the counter. “Just felt like splurging.”

Ella surveyed the group, feeling like everyone was on their own personal high.

She looked around the faces of her new friends and wondered about the trajectories of all of their intersecting lives.

What had prompted each one of them to go out of their way that night and up the enthusiasm of their food game?

Ariana raised her hand. “I brought nothing. I’m the loser who mooches off of her book club buddies because they had a shit week. I don’t deserve you all.”

“Yes, you do. And because of your week, you get an extra brownie,” Morgan said, her brow furrowed in empathy. After the comment, they shared a sweet smile, and Ella was beginning to really appreciate the friendship they had.

“Shall we head to the living room and bring this meeting to order?” Stevie asked with one clap of her hand, the glamorous cougar football coach.

“Okay, but I’m going to warn you, I have some feelings about this one,” Ella said.

Max laughed. “You? Feelings? Whatever are you talking about?” They’d already debated their differing opinions on the book in short form, but Ella was ready to get into it now.

Once again, Max thought the author went on for too long after the happily ever after, and Ella relished the epilogue, hoping for many more pages.

She was the more forgiving romance reader, the unwavering champion of the genre.

Max would come around, though. Ella could already see the cynicism begin to fall away, a parallel for their own burgeoning relationship.

As the others filed into the living room, chatting about how the blurb gave too much away, Ella hung back and met Max’s gaze. “Don’t be jealous just because you’re not as in touch with your sappy side, Wyler.”

“Is that what we’re calling it?” Max asked, giving her hand a tug so she could hold her a minute in the kitchen.

“Also, can I just say hi?” Her lips captured Ella’s, who immediately went up on her toes for better access, pressing their bodies together for a stolen moment, a promise of more to come.

There was no way they weren’t going home together tonight after being apart for two days.

She’d missed those lips more than she would have ever imagined.

“Are you two joining us, or do you need a little laundry room time?” Stevie called out to the sound of laughter from the rest of the room.

Max could listen to Ella talk for days. Tonight, as Ella animatedly discussed Follow You Home , the romance novel they’d all just finished.

Max found herself completely transfixed.

It wasn’t just what Ella was saying, though Max loved the way she picked up on themes no one else had mentioned, but how she noticed the quiet moments between characters and treated them like revelations.

It was how she said it, too. She lost herself in the rhythm of Ella’s voice, the way her hands moved when she got excited, her mouth curving around certain words like they meant something more.

There was also a slight rasp to her laugh and this softness when she said something vulnerable.

Max felt each note like a tug at something deep inside her.

She wasn’t just hearing Ella—she was absorbing her, imprinting every expression, every nuance, every blink-and-you-miss-it smile.