The Reading Circle by Ashton Lee Page B

gonna settle for these one-night stands? This generation gap that was all lipstick and legs right in front of me was only gonna get wider as time went on.” He frowned for a moment at what he’d just said. “Wait . . . that didn’t come out right.”
    â€œIt’s nothing I haven’t heard before. I’m a big girl.”
    He moved in, bringing the smell of beer on his warm breath and the English Leather he had dabbed on his neck closer to her. “Fact is, I was crazy to fool around on you, Peri. I didn’t know how good I had it. Look at you, just as slim and beautiful as you were when we first started dating. I even like your new blond hair.”
    She was still in no mood for such tactics, however, and again backed away from him ever so slightly. “Yeah, well, it’s getting time for another one of my root jobs over at Cherico Tresses. But that’s neither here nor there. Harlan, what on earth do you really want? Can’t you come clean?”
    â€œOf course I can. I really want to be with you again,” he answered, lifting his right eyebrow seductively. “I thought I made that clear.”
    â€œAnd you expect me to believe that?”
    He took his time, taking a swallow of beer first. “Well, I can see why you would have your doubts. But I noticed you haven’t found anyone, either—at least not that I know of. You’re not hiding a boyfriend in your attic, are you?”
    â€œNo, besides, I’d have him chained in the basement so he couldn’t play around on me like you did.”
    They both laughed; then he said, “I had that coming, I guess. But I was thinking maybe we could try again. What’s the harm in that?”
    She put her beer down on the deck railing and it nearly fell off as it made contact with a protruding rusty nail head. Then she gave him an intense stare after rescuing the bottle quickly with an impressive acrobatic move. “Break my heart once, shame on you. Break it twice, shame on me.” She turned toward the lake and marveled at the way the dark water had dissolved the moon into thin, uneven shards of light dancing on the surface. “I let that pretty sight out there lead me out to sea once before,” she continued, pointing to the horizon. “I’m not about to up and do it again.”
    Surprisingly, he appeared amused at her remarks. “I see I have my work cut out for me. But that’s okay. You won’t mind being courted again, will you?”
    She returned his laughter, only louder. “No, not as long as you don’t mind being rejected.”
    â€œWe’ll see about that, Peri,” he told her, finishing off his beer in one great chug and rather unromantically stifling a belch. “We’ll just see.”
    Â 
    For Maura Beth, Monday morning was not a day to rejoice. Unlike some people with a predictable work routine, she had never had any trouble getting her week started in her cramped little library office. She considered herself nothing if not a woman on a mission. But this Monday was different, and it showed on her face and even in the way she was moving about in a kind of slow motion. She just couldn’t get it out of her head that Jeremy had exploded yesterday over something as relatively inconsequential as a book club read. That was nothing in the larger scheme of things. What kind of relationship could she expect with him over the long haul when things really got tough? The incident did not inspire confidence that he might actually be the man she had ordered up on page 25 of her LSU journal almost a decade ago. At the moment he did not resemble marriage material.
    A few seconds later, Renette Posey popped her head in. “Nothing much going on out there at the circulation desk, so I thought I’d catch up with you a bit.”
    Maura Beth managed a smile, but it faded quickly. “Nothing much going on in here, either, I’m afraid.”
    Renette