Page 29 of Hating the Book Boyfriend

"Which car is hers?"

"That's her, getting out of the white Camry."

I squint to get my eyes to focus, but there's no need when I see the bright red hair that exits. Suddenly, Jacob isn't the only one who needs a stiff drink. I smack his arm. "You didn't tell me your Avery was Avery Crank, the pastor's daughter."

"Does that make a difference?"

"Yes," I hiss. "It makes a difference. No wonder you're nervous." His eyes widen, and I realize how unprofessional I must sound right now, but hell, it's not every day the client you take on wants to defile the preacher's daughter. "Sorry, I shouldn't have said that. Not out loud anyway." I put my hands on my hips. "Look, at the end of the day, wooing is wooing. The girl on the other end shouldn't make a difference, but there are things to consider. I don't know her personally, but?—"

"I know where you're going, and trust me, I've thought about all of that, and it's another reason I'm nervous, just not for the reasons you think. I don't mind waiting for my girl if she'sforever, but what if I'm not even on her radar because of my past?"

I squeeze his forearm. "Then she's not your girl." I nod toward our approaching guest. "But how about we start with a conversation?" He was right, her face lights up when she sees him. I nudge his side. "The way she's looking at you now tells me your past is exactly that, the past." Avery looks between us, and I extend my hand. "Hi, I'm JoJo. You must be Avery. Jacob mentioned inviting a friend tonight."

"Oh, I know exactly who you are," she says, giving my hand a gentle shake.

"Of course you do. I forget my family has donated trees to the church for the Christmas show for decades now."

"Yes, there's that, but I'm talking about your books. I'm a huge fan."

My eyebrows shoot up in surprise not only because of my unfounded assumptions but because I don't share my face on social media. Or, I hadn't anyway until the girls and I came up with the idea to start the BBB. I don't get recognized, so this is a first. I never asked Jacob what kind of books Avery was reading, but the fact that she's reading spicy ones is a good sign that she won't judge Jacob for having a past that includes pre-marital sex, drinking, and maybe even the occasional recreational toke.

"I love that, really I do," I place my hand on her arm and lean in. "But if you don't mind, I'd like to keep that little detail of my life just between us," I say as I lead her into the venue. "Would you guys like to join me for a drink?"

"A drink sounds great. Please tell me you have themed cocktails; this place looks too picturesque not to have one."

"As a matter of fact, I do. I have a cider bourbon with a maple syrup rim dipped in cinnamon that will warm you from the inside out."

"Let's do it," she says and clasps her hands together before making her way to the bar flanked by Christmas trees and hay bales.

"I thought I'm supposed to be the one doing the talking," Jacob whispers as we follow on her heels.

"One of my cider thermos cocktails and you'll be Mr. Personality. Also, forget everything I said earlier. She's awesome. Whatever nerves you have are most likely unfounded based on preconceived notions of what we believe a girl with her upbringing would have, but that doesn't equal reality." I loop my arm through his. "We got this. Follow my lead, and by the end of the night, it will be hard to see you as anything other than a fictional man who walked straight out of the pages of the last book she read."

CHAPTER 16

Colton

"Who is the guy JoJo's talking to?" I ask Kieran.

When I first saw her greet him tonight, I was hurt. I didn't leave things the way she wanted me to last night. She asked for more, and I said no. It was the hardest no of my fucking life too, but I need her to see that I'm not messing around. I put the ball in her court, allowing her time to sit with what just happened between us. I know she wanted more in the moment; the question was, would she still want more after she had time to sit with everything.

Last night, I was sure the answer to that would have been yes, but then the guy from the bar showed up, and he's been practically glued to her side since he arrived. Two things immediately crossed my mind. One, I read everything wrong, and she's less interested than I thought. Or two, this is payback, her way of proving that if I wouldn't give her what she wants, someone else would.

"I don't know. I've seen him around. I think he was a few classes behind us in school," he says before taking a pull off his beer as we wait for the dinner line to die down. I couldn't eateven if I wanted to. Part of me feels like I'm going to be sick, and the other part of me wants to storm across the room and pull her aside, consequences be damned. I watch as she rises on her tippy toes behind him in line to whisper something in his ear, and my blood starts to boil. He nods in agreement with whatever she's said before she walks away, and I'm out of my chair. If she doesn't want me, fine, but she's going to say the words.

I follow her back into the kitchenette off the main area and scan the room before demanding. "Who is he?"

She startles, throwing her hand over her chest. "Jesus, you really need to stop walking up on me like that. You're going to give me a heart attack."

In two long strides, I'm in front of her, and there's no question I affect her. Her cheeks flush, and those golden orbs I'd like to get lost in dilate. "Who is he, Josephine?"

"Colton, I've been so busy today…" Her eyes fall to her hands. "I wanted to talk, but there wasn't enough time for the things I wanted to say?—"

"There you are," Archer says, entering phone in hand. "I was wondering if we could use your phone to connect to the outdoor sound system. I have mine playing the instrumentals inside and…" he draws off his brow furrowing when he notices how close I'm standing to Josephine. "Am I interrupting something?"

I take a step back. "Not at all. I noticed Posey's been running around all night, so when I saw her head to the kitchen, I followed to see if she needed a hand."

She shoots me a glare that tells me she doesn't like my bluff before pulling her phone out of her jean pocket and handing it to Archer. "You know the code." Then reaching for a platter of cookies, she says, "If you could grab that container of cupcakes, I wanted to restock the tree tower on the dessert table."

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