Page 42 of Scoring Lessons

“Sure,” I said. “I’ll wait here.”

She rose to her feet and extended her hands for me to grab. “Nonsense. Dance with me.”

My eyebrows raised in surprise as my eyes stared at her hands then her blue irises. She was in the midst of rolling them. The move pulled a sincere laugh out of me.

“Come on, player. Show me what you got.” She shot me an exaggerated wink.

I grabbed her hand and pulled myself off the booth. I let her drag me to the dance floor because part of me didn’t want to let go. I liked the feel of her delicate hand against the roughness of mine. The warmth was like slipping into sunlight after days of rain.

Her hips swayed to the rhythm of a classic 2000s pop song. The laugh that slipped out of me was like a breath of fresh air. Every darkening and anxious thought was replaced by the way my brain kept memorizing every detail, like a camera snapping shot after shot. I didn’t want to forget the way the woman I was supposed to dislike was seeping into the cracks of my messy life. I didn’t want to forget the little moments where I saw the old Olivia come back to life. I hoped, more than anything, that this was the beginning of her healing journey. Whatever that looked like—and whatever situation brought her here—I think…I think I wanted what was best for her.

TWELVE

OLIVIA

I CAN PLAY THIS GAME ALL DAY.

I took a sip of my whiskey sour as we settled in Aurora’s living room the next day.

The guys had a day off but decided to surprise the city’s beer league by playing with them. I swear, even when they weren’t supposed to think about—or play—hockey, they found a way to feed their obsession.

The girls managed to convince me to join their book club, and honestly, I was glad I did. I’d never been a bookworm, but as it turned out, I just wasn’t reading the right books.

Now? I couldn’t get enough of them.

Because all women want is a cool group of friends and good smutty books.

“I loved that you made book-themed drinks and appetizers. Nice touch,” Valentina quipped.

Aurora chuckled, snagging one of the decorative pillows and hugging it against her stomach as a makeshift cushion for her arms. “This book deserved it.”

“We should make it a thing,” Kennedy said as she took a seat next to me. “Each of us could bring something next time.”

I nodded as I opened the last page of the book, where I kept my notes and thoughts. “That sounds fun.”

“Okay, okay. Let the book club session begin,” Aurora said. “What did we think of Anastasia?”

“I thought she was fierce and brave,” I commented. “I’m sure escaping her situation wasn’t easy. And Damon was the perfect amount of protective without coming off as an asshole.”

If only real life were the same as books, where men actually respected women and did everything in their power to love every part of them—defects and all.

Kennedy nodded. “I agree.”

“Can we please talk about his dirty mouth?” Valentina giggled, her cheeks turning flush.

Aurora’s lips etched into a knowing grin as she hummed, but then she gasped as if she remembered something. “Can we talk about when he cut off his enemy’s hand after the guy touched Anastasia’s waist at that dinner?” She let out a long whistle. “Hot.”

Valentina nodded, gripping Aurora’s forearm in excitement. “I loooove a good ‘touch her and die’ moment.”

“We should add more mafia romances to the rotation, right?” Aurora cocked an eyebrow as she looked between us, waiting for confirmation.

We all nodded in unison.

“I knew I loved you girls for a reason,” Aurora sighed.

“We need more books with lots of dirty talk, because…” Kennedy’s grin turned sly. “Let’s just say I wasn’t the only one who benefited from it.”

I faked a gag. “That’s too much information about my brother.”