Page 51 of Best Kept Secret

“Sorry. I got carried away.” Just like I did last night with Hudson, Kelsey thought. “I’m just so happy for you. I can’t wait to stand up in your wedding.”

“If it happens,” Stacy said.

“When it happens,” Kelsey corrected. She’d met Stacy after she was already married to Cole, so she hadn’t been part of their wedding. After their divorce, Stacy had promised her that if she ever got married again, Kelsey would be her bridesmaid. She couldn’t wait.

They’d just finished arranging the snacks when the doorbell rang again.

“That’ll be the rest of them,” Kelsey said, and she hurried out of the kitchen.

She opened the door to her friend Paige and Paige’s mom, Karen. Coming up the walkway behind them were Debbie and Cheryl, and she saw Jenna’s lime green car pulling into the parking lot. Jenna was usually the last to arrive, and her aversion to being on time drove Stacy insane.

“Hi everyone. Come on in. Snacks are in the kitchen,” Kelsey trilled as the women filed inside.

She waited at the door for Jenna, who came bounding up the walkway, looking flustered.

“Sorry I’m late. I was on the phone and didn’t realize what time it was.”

“No worries. Everyone else just got here too.”

“Except my sister, right? She was probably early.”

Kelsey laughed. “Yes, but I asked her to come early. Anyway, help yourself to some snacks before we get started.”

The women congregated in the tiny kitchen. Her apartment was fine for one person, but not so great for a group. She recalled Hudson talking about buying a house and thought that sounded like a good idea. Maybe someday…

The women loaded their plates with snacks while she and Stacy poured drinks. They usually met on Thursday evenings and drank wine; however, this was Sunday afternoon, and she didn’t feel right serving it. Instead, she offered lemonade, iced tea, and soda.

They engaged in small talk while they ate and drank, abiding by their rule of not discussing the book until the meeting was officially called to order. “I don’t want to be part of a book club that doesn’t actually talk about books,” Stacy had stated when they’d established the club. “Otherwise, it’s just an excuse to get together and drink wine.” Kelsey was a little bit looser than Stacy, but she’d agreed for the sake of their friendship.

Since Kelsey had chosen this month’s book, she was responsible for calling the meeting to order. “Okay, everyone. Let’s move into the living room.”

Earlier she’d brought out some folding chairs so there’d be seats for everyone. While the women settled in, she took her place at the front of the room.

“First off, I thought the title of this book was really fitting—The Sweetest Mistake. The heroine, Julia, had to decide whether to stick with the hero, Connor, after finding out he was a single dad. Plus, she had to deal with the baby’s mom, who was a real piece of work!”

A few of the women laughed, probably at her expression more than her words. As a child, she’d been called “animated,” and that description had followed her into adulthood.

“If that happened to me, I’d hightail it in the other direction,” said Jenna.

Most of the women laughed again; however, Stacy didn’t crack a smile. Kelsey had a feeling she knew why, but Stacy was about to enlighten them.

“Not me,” she said.

“Of course not. You disagree with everything I say,” Jenna huffed.

Ignoring her sister, Stacy continued. “Children are easy to love. I understood why Julia fell in love with his child as well as the man.”

“Yes, but he lied to her,” Paige reminded them.

“He didn’t lie so much as omit the truth,” Debbie said.

“Same thing,” Jenna muttered.

“I get why he was afraid to tell her,” Cheryl said. “I’d think twice before getting involved with a single parent.”

“Plus, the child’s mother was a bit of a bitch,” Karen added.

“Mom! Language!” Paige teased.