Cinnamon Roll Set Up (Cinnamon Rolls and Pumpkin Spice)

14. Georgia

Chapter 14

Georgia

Romance book club is one of my favorite nights of the month. I’ve been excited all day, knowing my friends will start filing through the door soon, ready to talk about our latest rom-com pick. It’s a fun time to just relax, hang out, and discuss imaginary men. But that’s not the only thing that’s got me slightly breathless.

Miles is wearing his glasses today.

He does sometimes when his eyes need a break from his contacts or after he’s had a migraine. His black plastic frames are a rare sight, and it’s throwing me completely off. There’s something about him in his glasses that conjures up images of him relaxing at home after a long day, totally at ease and himself. Like the Miles Forrester equivalent of gray sweatpants.

No. I should not picture Miles in gray sweatpants and glasses. But I definitely already am.

He turns and catches me ogling him. His eyebrows hitch up in a silent What? but I obviously can’t tell him I’m thinking about him hanging out in his apartment in sweatpants and an old, soft T-shirt, glasses on, hair a mess, while we read together on his couch, my legs crossed over his .

The cozy image fills my stomach with merciless butterflies.

His eyebrows dart higher, reminding me I’m still ogling. While making direct eye contact, which is the creepiest form of ogling. I shake it off and go back to rearranging Dogeared’s seating to accommodate our book club.

We host a couple of groups each week, everything from mystery to self-help to fantasy. Miles participates in the science fiction group, but I guarantee Owen is the only one who knows he’s actually written sci-fi books. His humility drives me crazy. Sometimes I want to barge into the group and shout his praise, yelling at everyone to buy his books and stand in awe of his fantastic mind. Or else.

I’ve resisted the temptation, but we’re on a ticking clock. One day, I will explode.

The chime over the door rings, but it’s not one of the book club members. Ava and Willa walk in. Well, Ava walks. Willa does more of a ballet move across the floor. She’s wearing a sparkly tutu, and she’s got something bright purple in her hands as she dances over to me.

She shoves a purple thing my way. “You’re coming to my birthday party, right Georgia?”

I take the invitation from her. It looks like she wrote it herself on construction paper, which I adore. It’s going in my special drawer of random cute stuff the littles have given me. “Of course, munchkin.”

Ava smiles over us from the doorway. “I told her you wouldn’t miss it, but she insisted you get an official invitation.”

Willa dances her way to Miles and holds a second purple paper out to him. “Will you come, too?”

He stares down at her, seeming genuinely surprised to be included. He is too adorable for words.

“You want me at your party? ”

Her head bobs in a vigorous nod. “But you can’t do the pi?ata. Mama says that’s just for kids, and you’re an adult.”

“Do I get to do the pi?ata?” I ask. Ava finds the most elaborate ones I’ve ever seen. Finn’s was the Millennium Falcon last year. And while I would never steal the glory of breaking open the pi?ata, I’m not above indulging in the delicious treats hidden inside.

Willa laughs. “Of course, silly. You’re a kid like me.”

I smirk at Miles. “I’m still a kid.”

“But you can’t do the dress up party because you’re too big for the dresses.”

Kind of takes the wind out of my sails.

“Do I get to do the dress up?” Miles asks.

Willa bursts out laughing. “No way.”

“No pi?ata and no dress up, I see.” He glances my way, clearly asking for permission.

Doesn’t he know he always has it? The littles adore him. I smile back, telegraphing my yes .

“It will be an honor to celebrate your birthday.” He gives a little bow, which sends Willa into fresh delight.

Ava rounds her up, and they say their goodbyes, leaving right as Harper and her sister Eliza walk inside.

Most of the rest of the group wanders in for the evening meeting. Participation fluctuates, but we’ve got a good mix of women roughly my age, and older women like Miles’s mom and aunt Cece. We’ve even got a man in our group. The combination always makes for interesting conversation about the books…assuming we get around to that.

Bailey walks in with a covered tray. She’s one of Dogeared’s more voracious regulars and claims the paperbacks she buys are “trophies” of her favorite books she’s devoured on her e-reader.

She lifts the lid off the tray to reveal plump cookies. “Apple cider whoopee pies.”

The golden-brown cream-filled treats are already calling my name. “These look incredible.”

“I need some variety from the plain sheet cakes I make at the grocery store all day.”

Eliza steps up to pile two plates with snacks. “Eden and June send their regards.”

Both of them had babies pretty recently—Eden’s second, June’s first—and have understandably bowed out of book club for a while. Most of our larger group includes people who are related to Harper’s family in one way or another. Sisters, cousins, aunts, and in-laws mingle through in any given month. They’ve all adopted me as generic “family,” and treat me like part of their crew.

“Eden also suggested we try a monster romance next month.” Eliza flops down on a couch next to Callie, who’s married to her cousin. See the pattern? She offers one of the plates of snacks to the other quite pregnant woman.

“I’m sure it was Eden.” Miguel winks at her. Eliza’s been trying to work a monster romance into our rotation for months now, but she never gets the votes. “I’ve got a new recommendation for you. One’s a human, one’s a monster, but the other guy doesn’t know…”

Josie widens her eyes as Miguel goes into detail about his book. She’s a recent newcomer to Magnolia Ridge, and not in the wider family circle. She doesn’t speak up during book club a lot, but when she does, it’s always to make some interesting point or another about a character’s deeper motivations or backstory. She pays more attention to the actual books than most of us do, and is an awesome addition to the group.

“He keeps it a secret?” she asks. “That he’s a monster?”

“Well…” Miguel bobs his eyebrows scandalously. “He can’t hide it for long.”

“Wait, before we start dishing books, I want an update on Grant.” Nicole ties her long black braids into a knot at the top of her head, balancing our book of the month on her knees.

Grant is one of Eliza’s brothers-in-law. Yeah. We’re basically one big messy family tree in here. Small town life.

Eliza snorts. “Deliriously happy in Sunshine, Oregon.”

Everyone coos over that cute town name, but the real aww is that he moved because he fell in love over the summer. He went on a hike and found love in the woods. Sounds about right for the outdoor store manager.

“That’s the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard. If anybody deserves it, it’s Grant. Surprisingly fast mover though.”

That earns another chorus of confirmation.

“When you know, you know,” Harper says.

Still kind of weird to me that she “knows” and is madly in love with my goofball brother, but I’m here for it.

Cece nods sagely. “When you meet the love of your life, you wake up and realize you’re done waiting around.”

My attention drifts to Miles at the counter, but he’s already watching me. The force of his gaze hits me square in the chest, spreading warmth through me like red ink running on wet paper. I try to swallow, but my throat sticks. I’m staring too long. I am. But I can’t look away. It’s like I’ve caught fire and all I can do is sit here and burn.

The room goes strangely quiet. Miles breaks eye contact, glancing at the others in the group before returning his attention to the register and closing out for the day. I draw in a deep breath like I just had a close call.

I’m just not sure if I’m glad I avoided it…or if I regret missing out.

The others watch me with strange expressions. Like I’m the latest romance book cover, and they’re scouring me for details about what’s going on inside. I really don’t want them to judge this book by its cover. Which is probably blushing like crazy .

“That just leaves his brother, Rhett, to fall in love.” My voice is too loud in my effort to sound totally unbothered. Inwardly, I’m a tangled ball of yarn I can’t loosen.

Eliza snorts. “He’d rather walk on broken glass.”

“Commitment-phobes,” Nicole says, wrinkling her nose. “Why are they always the cutest?”

“It’s the hot-guy tax,” Miguel says. Nicole holds out her hand, and they high-five.

“Sometimes the commitment-phobe has good reason to be wary,” Callie pipes up. Her husband, Jed, was the same way, once upon a time. All the women in town pined after him, but he never looked in anyone’s direction twice. Now? He only has eyes for her.

Josie nods. “People are more than the personas we assign to them. Maybe it’s less a fear of commitment, and more a fear of not being the right person for the one they want.”

“Or maybe he’s seen too many relationships fail and doesn’t want to risk the same thing,” Bailey says.

Eliza pops a pretzel into her mouth. “I think y’all are giving Rhett too much credit. He just likes to date a lot.”

Miles moves to the door and flips the sign over to Closed . He turns and flashes a small wave to our group. When his gaze meets mine, the something that was in it before isn’t there anymore.

I refuse to worry about what it was. Or even think about why it’s gone. Didn’t I swear I’d find someone perfect for him? I need to stick to that promise.

Everyone calls out goodbyes as he walks through the door. The burning sensation in my chest lingers long after he’s out of sight.

“That’s the anti-commitment-phobe right there,” Miguel says when he’s gone. “The shy, reclusive nerd. Mmm mmm. I got myself one and never looked back. ”

“Miles is looking especially adorable tonight,” Nicole says. “I can’t put my finger on what looks different, but boy, do I want to.”

“It’s the glasses,” I blurt out. Mostly to avoid any discussion of where Nicole might put her fingers on Miles.

“He always looks like he’s busy writing books in the back room.”

Cece laughs. “With good reason. He does write books in the back room.”

That leads to a bunch of questions that are like sandpaper under my skin. Several of them have heard that he’s a writer before, but they ask it again and it’s always fresh and new. Like they can’t possibly keep Miles in their heads beyond book club night. Which makes no sense, because he’s literally the most memorable person I know.

“Wait,” Eliza says. “He’s not the actual Miles Forrester who wrote those space pirate books, is he? Dean’s obsessed with those.”

“The very same.” Cece preens so hard, you’d think the praise is for herself and not her nephew.

“How do we not know this already?” Now Eliza’s staring at me, as if I’m the one keeping it from everybody. “Why hasn’t he done book signings here and big celebrations and put his face everywhere in town?”

“He’s really humble. He likes to stay quiet about his achievements,” I say. Doesn’t sound like a good enough reason in the face of their excitement, but it’s true.

“Ego that man up!”

“Now I kind of want to read his book,” Bailey says. “What’s it about?”

“Well…” How to sum up some of the best books I’ve ever read? “It’s like pirates in space. It’s funny, but there’s a serious story going on, too, with this huge mystery and scheming bad gu ys and found family and an anti-hero captain who’s secretly got a soft spot for his number two.”

“Add to cart.” Miguel’s statement earns a round of applause.

Eventually, conversation circles around to our book of the month. We discuss tropes and storylines, but mostly we talk about how perfect the hero and heroine are for each other. Opposites, but ones who don’t expect the other to change in order to be together. They support each other and encourage each other and basically make each other the best version of themselves possible.

Also hockey for some reason.

But as we discuss this sweet, bold love, the fire in my chest dies down to a dull ache. Because sometimes, way down deep where I rarely look, I wish love like that could be more than just make believe.