The Broken Hearts Book Club Read Online Free PDF Page B

everything.
    ‘You know the drill,’ I replied, ‘no talking about the past. So come on, what do you want to tell me?’
    He sighed, knowing he’d been defeated, and his eyes dropped to the white wooden table we were sitting at.
    ‘I’ve been putting off telling you this, but a couple of guys I met doing
Jesus Christ Superstar
asked if I fancied taking the spare room at their place in Lewisham. I haven’t given them an answer yet because I don’t know what the situation is with you. If you’re coming back then we’ll find a way to keep the flat in Kentish Town, but if you’re not I need some kind of back-up plan.’
    My heart sank to my shoes and I felt like the worst person in the world. I tried to pull my hands away but George wouldn’t let go.
    ‘My to-ing and fro-ing isn’t doing anyone any favours is it?’ I asked with a sad sigh.
    I hated the thought of George being in limbo while I was still trying to figure out my life. The decision was simple: I could either stay here or go back to London. Although there were many obstacles in my way, I couldn’t deny that staying in Luna Bay excited me. Yet I couldn’t quite make the leap to commit to staying.
    ‘I just need to know where I stand, that’s all. I know this won’t be an easy decision for you. Maybe you could see about going to one of the meetings? That way, you can meet the members and see if you could handle it.’
    I couldn’t bear the thought of not living with George any more. He’d been my flatmate for almost two amazing years in London and not having him around would create a huge void in my life that I wasn’t sure I could fill, but I couldn’t leave him hanging.
    Just then, a group of very familiar people shuffled through the front door and made their way to the back of the room, disappearing behind a gingham-print curtain. Diane, the café’s owner, took her apron off and prepared to follow suit. The smattering of customers still in the café took that as their cue to leave.
    ‘Come on, I think it’s chucking-out time now.’ George got up and stretched his lithe dancer’s muscles. ‘We could go down to the cottage if you like, see if we can find anything else out about this Broken Hearts Book Club?’
    I hushed him as I heard some muffled voices coming from behind the curtain.
    ‘I think that might be them,’ I whispered. ‘The book club.’
    The old floorboards creaked when I stepped on them and I winced. Being discovered snooping on a private meeting of broken-hearted people wouldn’t do my reputation in Luna Bay any good.
    ‘You go,’ I said to George. ‘I’ll be along in a minute; I’m just going to check this meeting out. I’ll meet you back at the pub.’
    George nodded and left as quietly as possible. I left my plate of Victoria sponge on the table and hot-footed it towards the toilets as fast as I could. Diane didn’t look pleased to see I wasn’t ready to leave yet.
    ‘Be quick, we’re just about to close!’
    ‘I won’t be a second, I promise!’ I smiled at her but she didn’t return it.
    I scurried to the toilets, hoping Diane would forget I was there and head on through to the meeting. It would be a perfect chance for me to see what this mysterious book club was really all about.
    When I came out of the toilet, Diane was nowhere to be seen, the lights in the main café were out and I was completely alone. Suddenly, someone speaking made me jump and I remembered why I was there: to get a glimpse into the Broken Hearts Book Club.
    ‘Right, welcome to this Luna Bay Broken Hearts Book Club meeting. How are we all tonight?’ Diane’s kind voice was instantly recognisable.
    The other people at the table mumbled indistinct replies that I couldn’t quite make out. I decided to edge myself closer to see if I could learn more about this mysterious club I’d inherited.
    ‘OK, this is our first meeting since Lily died so things will be a bit strange. We don’t have a new chairperson yet, so we’ll just