by Emma Lea
Georgie let him help her up and then set about finding the books Dawn had ordered.
“What big plans do you have this afternoon that you can’t miss?”
“Rock climbing.”
Georgie looked at him with horror. “Rock climbing? Are you insane?”
He laughed, a big booming sound that filled the shop and made everything seem to smile around her.
“I’m going out to Wollomombi Falls with this group of outdoor adventurers. We’re camping there tonight so we can get an early start on the climb in the morning. You should come.”
“Me? Rock climbing? Have you seen me trying to walk on flat ground?”
He laughed again and it was a sound that Georgie now ranked as her favourite among all the sounds in the world.
“I could teach you.”
“Yeah, not going to happen.” She piled a load of books into his arms. “I like to do my adventuring through the pages of a book from the comfort of my overstuffed couch with a warm blanket and a cup of tea.”
He smiled at her, his dimples winking and whispering secret things to her that she refused to listen to. “It would be fun.”
“Yeah for everybody else as they stand around laughing at me as I plunge to my death from the rocky outcropping.”
Connor leaned in close and she could smell the woodsy scent of his aftershave and the musky smell of his maleness. “I would never let you fall,” he whispered before walking toward the counter with the books for Dawn.
She stood rooted to the spot, unable to move for fear of rushing after him and plastering herself against him, begging him to take her with him. He paid for his purchases and waved to her as he walked out the door, leaving her behind thinking that maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to fall off the side a mountain if it meant she got to spend a little bit more time with him.
“It really is him,” Millie said.
“Hmmm?”
“Connor Faulkes. That really was him and he really is Dawn’s grandson.”
“Yes,” Georgie replied, shelving the books that she tripped over earlier.
“I don’t think I really believed Kendra when she told me, but I can’t deny it now.”
“Didn’t you grow up here? Didn’t you already know he was Dawn’s grandson?”
Millie shook her head. “I moved here in high school and we spent summers at the beach. If I’d known he was going to be here during the holidays, I would have gladly given up my bikinis and tan.”
“So he didn’t grow up here?”
“Not according to Kendra. She remembers him. He used to only come during school holidays and he’s a couple years older than us. I think by the time I moved here, he didn’t visit so much anymore.”
“Well as far as I’m concerned, he can stop visiting.”
“Oh come on, you don’t really mean that.”
“No, actually, I do. I’m an utter moron whenever he’s around. The sooner he goes back to where ever he came from, the sooner I can get back to being a normal person.”
Millie laughed. “I don’t think he minds your quirks.”
Georgie lifted her eyebrows at Millie’s comment. “What makes you say that?”
“He seemed to like you. He even sat on the floor with you while you whined.”
Georgie’s face flushed again and she covered it with her hands. “See what I mean! Moron!”
“Oh honey, I really don’t think he sees you that way. God, if he looked at me the way he looks at you I’d be all over him.”
“At least you don’t turn into a blubbering idiot whenever he’s around.”
“It’s just your lack of experience, that’s all.”
“How am I supposed to become experienced when I can’t be around a normal guy without losing fifty IQ points and my ability to put sentences together?”
“That’s it!” Millie exclaimed.
“What’s it?”
“Exposure therapy.”
“I don’t like the sound of that.”
“No, it’s perfect,” Millie said, warming to the subject. “I was reading an article on it and how they use it to help people overcome anxieties and fears.”
“I don’t have a man phobia,” Georgie huffed.
“No, but you do get all tied up in knots around men and it’s only because you didn’t have the normal socialisation around the opposite sex that Kendra and I did.”
“I went to an all-girl school. You make it sound like I was raised in a nunnery.”
“Well you may as well have been. Did you even date?”
“I’ve been on a date,” Georgie said softly.
“How many dates?”
Georgie mumbled her answer into the shelves.
“One date?” Millie yelled, appalled.
“A little louder. I don’t think the ladies at the CWA knitting circle heard you.”
“Are you serious?” Millie asked in a furious whisper coming to huddle beside her in the stacks.
Georgie shrugged, not looking at Millie. “I don’t know if you would even call it a date, really,” she said, “I was helping a guy study and we had pizza.”
Millie slapped herself in the forehead. “Oh my God! Georgie this is not okay.”
“I think it’s perfectly okay.”
“No. No it is not. How are you ever meant to meet Prince Charming if you never date?”
“I meet Prince Charming all the time,” Georgie replied, “I’ve had lots of book boyfriends and been in love multiple times.”
“But they’re not real!”
“And that’s the best part,” Georgie said becoming exasperated with the conversation. “I don’t have to try and be perfect, I don’t have to think of things to say. I don’t trip over or fall on my butt. My hair is always perfect and I never have to worry about having my heart broken.”
“Are you telling me you would rather spend your life with your nose buried in a book living vicariously through fictional characters instead of getting out there and meeting a real guy and having a real kiss?”
Georgie looked Millie in the eye. “Yes,” she said simply and, quite honestly, it was exactly what she expected her life to look like.
Connor stowed his gear in the back of his shiny new truck and climbed into the cab. He couldn’t remember ever feeling so amped up for a camping trip and it had been far too long since he’d indulged in a little bit of adventure. The fact that he hadn’t stopped smiling since he left Bookish meant nothing, although seeing Georgie trip and fall had been funny - in a Funniest Home Videos kind of way, not a mean kind of way. Her clumsiness delighted him in a way he never thought clumsiness could. She wasn’t even trying to be charming or cute, she just was and it warmed something in him.
He drove away from Gran’s house, pointing the truck in the direction of the campsite. He’d organised some home care to help Gran for the night and tomorrow, although she had scolded him and told him it was unnecessary. He felt an obligation to her though and didn’t want anything to happen to her while he was out of cell phone range. He knew that if the campsite wasn’t out of range, the mountain definitely would be.
His fingers practically itched to feel the rough stone beneath them. He had been working so much lately that it had been an age since he’d gotten any time to indulge his hobbies. He also knew that if his agent knew he was about to go rock climbing, he would have an apoplexy. It was dangerous and he wouldn’t deny that, but he also wasn’t stupid. He only climbed with other people and he always took care. He liked the adrenalin rush of climbing, but he didn’t want to die doing it.
Georgie’s face when he had invited her to join him had been hilarious. The abject horror that filled her eyes was so genuine that it had shocked him into laughter. She did have a point though. She could barely keep upright on flat ground; putting her on the side of a mountain was a recipe for disaster. It made him wonder if it was just him or whether all men made her act like that. He didn’t think for a minute that she was putting it on to get attention, but it did m
ake him wonder about how much experience she had with men.
Thinking of her with other men made him clench his hands on the steering wheel. What the hell? He barely knew her so he shouldn’t be feeling jealous. Her social life was none of his concern and he shouldn’t even be speculating about it. Besides, she wasn’t his type anyway. She was cute with her jeans and quirky t-shirts - today’s was bright purple with a large pair of glasses on it and the words ‘talk nerdy to me’ - but she wasn’t the kind of woman he normally dated. And she was too short. He was six four and she barely came up to his chin, and what the hell was with her hair? Twice now he’d seen her; the first time she’d worn it in pigtails like a five year old and this time it was in two buns at the sides of her head. She also seemed to have an attachment to Converse sneakers, which he could appreciate, but he thought weird on a full grown woman. None of his girlfriends had ever worn Converse, they wore heels unless they were going to the gym and then it was whatever the latest and greatest pair of athletic shoes was the flavour of the month. And another thing, she colour coordinated her glasses to her t-shirts…okay, well, he had only seen her twice, but both times the colour of her frames matched the colour of her shirt. How many pairs of glasses did the woman have?
No. Georgie was not his type at all. The press would have a field day if he took her on a date. They would rip her to shreds in a heartbeat and he just wouldn’t do that to her. She was nice and friendly and adorable. She was also way too soft to battle with the paparazzi so it was a good thing that she wasn’t his type anyway. She would never have to worry about the paps hunting her every step like they did with him.
4
“Gran,” Connor warned, but she didn’t listen to him.
“Everyone,” Dawn said to the ladies when they had taken their seats. “Connor is going to be joining us for Book Club.”
He watched Georgie’s eyes go wide as the implications settled in. He would be in the room and so far she had hardly been able to string two words together whenever he was around. Maybe this was a good thing, maybe she would finally relax around him and they could actually have a conversation that didn’t involve slapstick comedy.
“Um,” Georgie began, stopping to clear her throat and take a sip of water. “Has he read the material?” She deliberately wouldn’t meet his eyes and it annoyed him. He thought they’d at least started to get past the awkwardness after what happened at her shop.
“I have,” he said.
“In fact,” Dawn said, her voice turning conspiratorial, “He is going to be in the upcoming movie.”
A round of gasps greeted her announcement and Connor had to be really careful not to roll his eyes.
“They’re making a movie of ‘A Royal Engagement’?” Georgie asked.
Dawn nodded.
“They’re planning on making the whole series,” Connor said, “But that will depend on how the first one goes.”
“So, you see, Connor needs to be in the Book Club so he can get a feel for the character.”
“Which, um, which character?”
Georgie actually looked at him that time when she asked the question and he felt irrationally pleased.
“Will Darkly,” he replied.
The women gathered all nodded sagely like it was of course the only role he could and should play. He had asked his agent to petition for the role of Jordan Wicks, but casting wouldn’t have a bar of it. They wanted him for Darkly and that’s what he got. It wasn’t that he didn’t want the role, he was just sick of playing the same character over and over again. Although he had to admit, Darkly did have a darker, broody side that was a little different for him.
“So have you read the book or just the script?” Georgie asked.
“Just the script,” he admitted sheepishly.
With an adorably cute smirk, Georgie pointed to her t-shirt. It was a pale blue today (yes, her glasses matched) and written on the front was ‘Don’t judge a book by its movie’.
“Ha,” he said, genuinely delighted.
“But he does have a general idea,” Dawn insisted, “And I’ll make sure he reads the book before next week.”
Georgie smiled, “It’s okay Dawn. It’s fine for Connor to join Book Club, we don’t have an exclusivity policy, and everybody is welcome. The only thing I ask is that everyone read the book and that we are respectful of each other’s opinions. Books are subjective; different people see different things in a book, sometimes even different from what the author intended.” She looked at each of the members, “So that means no one try and influence Connor in his opinion of the character. He needs to find it for himself and it is the only way he will be able to play Darkly authentically.”
Connor was floored by her little speech and really grateful for it. The last thing he wanted was everyone’s opinions shoved down his throat. She was exactly right in what she said; he needed to find the character’s voice himself, which was one of the reasons he didn’t want to do this whole Book Club thing. Now that he was here, maybe he could glean something from it. It would be interesting to see how other people viewed his character and the way he interacted with the other characters in the book.
“Thank you Georgie,” he said, smiling at her, a genuine smile which got wider when she flushed bright red. It really shouldn’t make him happy to make her blush, but he enjoyed it maybe a little too much.
She reached for her water and nearly knocked it over, saving it at the last minute, then took a sip before clearing her throat and turning to the rest of the group.
“Okay, let’s get started.”
Connor was impressed with the discussion that flowed around him. The book was a romance and he had only ever taken the story at face value, but these women looked beyond the words written to the themes that ran through the book. He had to admit that the script lacked a lot of the undertones that the book seemed to portray, but that was where character came into it. He also had a bit more insight into the Will Darkly character than they did. The book was written entirely from Alyssa’s point of view, but the script had some scenes from Will’s point of view which threw a whole different light on his behaviour. He was in two minds as to whether to share what was on his mind.
“Connor,” Georgie said, addressing him directly which was enough to break into his thoughts, “You look like you have something to say.”
“I didn’t know whether or not to share something that I know from the script that doesn’t appear in the book.”
The women all seemed to lean forward towards him, eager to hear what he had to say.
“Is it relevant to the discussion?” Georgie asked, a smile playing around her lips.
“It’s about Will and his reasons for doing what he does.”
Georgie looked around at the faces of the women who were all trained on him and smiled at him. “I think we all want to hear.”
“The script has some scenes from Will’s point of view, which I don’t think are in the book. It shows the reason why he acts so coolly towards Alyssa.”
“The end of the book sort of explains that,” Georgie said, “Do you think having those scenes earlier in the film dilutes the narrative?”
His eyes widened, not having thought about it like that… and not really knowing the answer. “I think I would have to read the book before I could comment on that,” he said.
“What do you ladies think?” she asked, “If we were to see Will’s motives and Jordan’s duplicity before the climax at the end, would it ruin the story?”
Connor smiled to himself, he liked this more assertive side of Georgie. She seemed to have gotten over her awkwardness now that Book Club was well under way. He was finally getting to see the real Georgie, which wasn’t all that different really, except she could actually string intelligent sentences together. He already knew she was capable of such after eavesdropping on their meeting last week. He was just glad that now she could do it while he was in the room.
“I don't know about this,” Georgie said as the stood on
the sidewalk in front of the local bar.
The music was loud, the crowd inside was even louder, and Georgie felt completely out of her element. Aside from the fact that she wasn't a big drinker, had never stepped foot inside the local pub and didn't know how to dance, Kendra and Millie had dressed her and done her hair and makeup and she felt like an absolute fraud. No one would believe she was a cool chick. She could barely walk in the three inch heels that Kendra had forced on her feet and the skirt she wore was so short that she kept pulling it down in the hopes that it would cover a bit more leg. Even her boobs felt wrong. They were plumped up from a push-up bra and they felt like they were choking her. At least the v-neck of her top showed off her cleavage because she would hate to have gone through all that torture for her still to be as flat as a pancake.
The big reveal in her bedroom mirror had left her gob smacked and disbelieving her own eyes. The only thing she recognised was her black cat’s eye glasses with the shiny rhinestones on the corners. Everything else was alien to her. Her blonde hair had been washed, blow dried and straightened and now hung down her back in a long sheet of shimmering gold. Who knew her hair could look like that? Millie had slapped enough makeup on her to plug the holes in the Dutch dike. Her eyes looked big and blue and exotic with their long dark lashes, and the liquid liner that kicked up at the edges giving them more of an almond shape. Millie and Kendra had debated heatedly over what colour lipstick to use, but eventually settled on red. But not just red… Vamp Red, a colour she had never even heard of before. Whoever the girl had been looking back at her from the mirror definitely wasn't her.
“Come on,” Millie said, hooking her elbow through Georgie’s. “Just pretend for one night that you actually have a social life.”
“I have a social life,” Georgie replied.
“A social life that actually means leaving your apartment?”
“I go to parties—”
Kendra snorted. “LAN parties are not parties,” she said with the authority of someone who had a social life. “Come on, it's one night. Have one drink with us, one dance and if you absolutely hate it, we’ll let you go home.”
