The Boyfriend of the Month Club by Maria Geraci Page B

her way with you. You don’t know it, but you’re just a few yards of green felt away from becoming an elf.”
    The smug look immediately disappeared.
     
     
    Thursday at Florida Charlie’s was business as usual. Which meant it was slow in the morning, picked up around lunchtime, and then died down by late afternoon. The rain stopped and two roofing companies came out to give estimates. Both agreed nothing short of a new roof would fix the problem. One company offered to do a quick patch up job at a reasonable price, but they couldn’t guarantee how long it would last. Grace decided to consult Charlie before doing anything.
    “Did Pop okay this?” Charlie asked, inspecting the makeshift rope-off job Grace had done around the Hemingway corner. Although it wasn’t raining anymore, she didn’t want to take a chance it would start up again.
    “Have you had a chance to look over the store’s finances?” she countered.
    “So Pop didn’t okay it. I hope you know what you’re doing. And no, I haven’t had a chance to look over the numbers yet. Work has been a bitch.”
    “Tell me about it.”
    “You don’t have to work here, you know. Pop would understand.”
    “Right.”
    Charlie had the grace to look embarrassed. He stuck his hands in the pockets of his tan trench coat. Underneath he wore a fancy looking gray wool suit. He looked every inch the successful attorney that he was, and Grace was proud of him. But at the same time, she couldn’t help but be envious. Charlie had had no problem telling their father that a career at Florida Charlie’s hadn’t been for him. So it had been up to Grace to come through. Felix was wrong when he’d said Grace hated working for her father. She didn’t hate it. She just didn’t love it. But if she didn’t work at Florida Charlie’s, what would she do?
    “I’ll look over the figures tonight,” Charlie said.
    “How’s the Phoebe situation?”
    “There is no situation. I told you, it was no big deal. We talked. She was cool.”
    Grace remembered the look on Phoebe’s face during dinner. If Charlie had been dessert, Phoebe would have gobbled him up in one bite.
    “So what should I do about the roof?”
    “Off the top of my head, I’d say get the quick patch-up done, then we’ll worry about getting a new roof later. I’ll look into the insurance policy but I’m pretty sure it doesn’t cover normal wear and tear.”
    “Okay, that’s what I was thinking.”
    As soon as Charlie left, Grace took off for her Thursday evening Zumba class.
    Sarah met her at the entrance to the gym. “What are you going to do when you see Brandon?” she asked.
    “Absolutely nothing. Just because Brandon Farrell sent me roses from Benson’s doesn’t mean anything.”
    Sarah rolled her eyes.
    “Okay, so maybe I’m a little nervous,” Grace admitted. But it was only because of the awkwardness of the situation.
    In the end, her worrying was for nothing. Brandon never showed up to Zumba class, which only confirmed Grace’s opinion of him as a wuss. He could spend a hundred bucks on roses, but he was too much of a coward to face her in person.
    It was better this way. Now she could go to Zumba class and not have to worry about what he might say to her or what she might say to him. Daytona Beach wasn’t a large city, but it was big enough that she could likely avoid him if she wanted to. Probably forever.

7
    Hopelessly Attractive Men
    It was the first official meeting of the boyfriend club. Besides the four of them, Ellen’s friend Janine was present, along with five other women who worked at the college, making a total of ten members. Ellen passed around her legal pad to get the new members’ e-mail addresses. They were meeting in the Hemingway corner, like they normally did. In the past, when the club had focused on books, the Hemingway corner had seemed inspirational. Strangely, even although the focus of the club was now men, it still seemed appropriate.
    A roofing company