“Don’t let their LOL appearances fool you,” Jess cautioned.
A grin tilted on Sara’s face as she questioned, “LOL?”
“Little old lady.” Ali supplied.
“Yeah.” Jess’s eyes narrowed. “They may look harmless but they also run this town using the Needlepoint Mafia as a front.”
“The Needlepoint Mafia?” Sara repeated.
This just kept getting better and better.
“It’s a knitting club.” Brynn interjected.
“Oh, I love to knit.” Grandma Betty had taught her before Matt and Shelby were born, when it was just the two of them. They’d knit while she watched her “shows” (soap operas) and drink tea. It was some of Sara’s favorite childhood memories.
“It’s a very exclusive, invitation only knitting club.” Christine snipped.
“Invitation only?” Sara was so confused.
“Yes.” Ali confirmed as she, Jess, and Brynn all shared a look.
If Sara was a betting woman, she’d put money on the three of them having received an invitation and Christine being left out. She felt bad for the woman who seemed to be on the outside looking in. Until today, it was where Sara had lived. In middle school, high school, and college she’d been worried about raising Shelby and Matt so she hadn’t had much of a social life. Then she got pregnant, married, and was for all intents and purposes a single mom. It didn’t really give her a lot of time to make friends.
Wanting to stick up for Christine, Sara said, “I’m not sure I’d want to be a part of a group that wasn’t inclusive.”
All four women’s eyes, including Christine’s, grew large and they shook their heads slowly back and forth.
“Oh, no, you don’t have a choice,” Ali explained.
“It’s like the mob, you don’t turn down an invitation.” Brynn backed her up.
Sara started to chuckle, but she saw that all of the women were serious.
“If you get invited into the Needlepoint Mafia, you go and you kiss the ring.” Jess explained.
“Wow.” Sara wasn’t sure one week in this town would be nearly enough. These people were fascinating.
Jess’s phone dinged and she picked it up off the seat beside her. “Yes. It’s here. Ethan’s getting lucky tonight.” Her shoulders bounced up and down.
“Ethan gets lucky every night,” Ali countered.
“True.” Jess beamed as she wagged her eyebrows and turned around her device revealing the book cover of the newest Jennifer Bernard release. “But a little inspiration never hurt.”
“Oooh! I forgot that was coming out tomorrow. Do I have it yet?” Ali grabbed her phone out of her pocket. Brynn dug in her purse. Her nose scrunched when she looked at the screen. “I must’ve forgot to preorder it.”
“I didn’t forget.” Sara pulled out her phone and clicked on her reading app, sure enough she had two new books. She showed the women. “And I’ve got Erika Wilde’s newest, too.”
“You knit and read romance? Where have you been all of our lives?” Jess gave her a high-five.
“I’ve been reading Erika Wilde since she was Janelle Denison.” There was a hint of challenge in Christine’s voice.
“Oh, me too.” Sara ignored it and smiled, excited that she’d found—in the immortal words of Anne Shirley—kindred spirits. “I’ve read her Wilde series at least ten times.”
Sara noticed the conversation drop silent after she spoke. She glanced around and saw that Brynn, Ali, and Jess were all staring at Christine with slacked jaws.
“You read romance novels?” Jess pointed at the well-put-together woman.
“I do. I read The Fear of Flying by Erica Jong in seventh grade and have been hooked ever since,” Christine shared.