Page 6 of Hating the Book Boyfriend

She smiles, my discomfort evident. But I don't push back. A smile is better than what I've witnessed for the past few minutes, even if it is at my expense. "Can you run me a hot bath? As soon as the pills kick in, I can manage on my own."

"You're in luck. While it may not look like it, this is actually a suite, so the bathtub is bigger than normal," I say as I head toward the bathroom. I pull the floor mat off the ledge and flip the plug before turning on nothing but hot water. She can always cool it down if it's too hot. "And it has jets," I call out when I get a better look at the tub. I don't take baths, so I didn't notice that detail yesterday when I showered. I spot a small assortment of toiletries. "There's a lavender bubble bath in here. Do you want me to add that to the water?"

"That sounds nice," she answers, her voice strained.

I squirt a dollop in before rushing back out. "What are you doing?" I demand rather than ask when I see her gripping the side of the desk.

"I'm trying to stand."

"Don't." My hand wraps around her arm. "Let me."

Her brow furrows. My ask, no doubt giving a million mixed signals in contrast to the barbed remarks I so often give her. "Okay."

Before she can change her mind, I'm swooping her into my arms and carrying her to the bathroom. Her hands don't wrap around me, her arms and legs still too stiff to move, but the way her head rests against my chest has me pulling in a stuttered breath.Why?I internally scold.

Setting her down on the tub's ledge, I keep my arm firmly under her knees, ensuring her feet don't touch the water. "It'shot. If it's too much, tell me, and I'll add cold water." I slowly let them down, and the second her soles hit the heated water, her body instantly starts to relax.

"It's good." She rests her head against the wall. "Thank you."

"Can I get you anything else?"

"No, you've done enough. I can manage from here." I don't want to leave her side. The way I see it, she can't manage. She still needs my help, but I can't help her with what comes next. I can't be the one to lift the shirt over her head or help her remove her sleep shorts. Those are things reserved for a man I'll never be. Not for her, anyway. As I exit the bathroom, I grab the door to close it behind me, but before I do, she says, "And Callahan, don't worry. I heard you. I'll be out today."

My back is to her, so she doesn't see the way my lips pinch as bile rises in my throat from the mere thought of her leaving my room in this condition. But that's a good thing. She's not supposed to see anything else, and since she doesn't, I ensure I don't give her a reason to. "Good," I say before closing the door. I'll gladly play the role of the enemy in her story because, at least then, I still have a place in it.

CHAPTER 4

JoJo

I've just finished getting dressed and I’m heading toward the window to pull open the sheers and examine the damage outside when my phone rings. It's Ava.

"Hello?" I answer cautiously. Phone calls are a rarity anymore. If anything, she'll send a voice text, but calls are unusual.

"Hey, I just saw the news. Colorado got ten inches. Those are crazy numbers for this time of year. Were you able to get on the road before all the snow hit?"

I pull back the sheers, and sure enough, we are thoroughly snowed in. "No," I say with a sigh. "It's been a nightmare ever since you guys left. I should have left, too."

"Oh, come on. It can't be that bad. Having a suite all to yourself and an extra day to get some writing done and work through the BBB backlog before tending to trees for two months has to be nice."

I take one more look at the sorry state outside. There's no way I can leave today. No one is leaving today. "All of thatsounds nice in theory, but I was kicked out of our room. Can you believe checkout here is 9 a.m.?"

"You're joking. Who the hell has a 9 a.m. checkout policy?"

I sit on the bed before I sink back against the soft pillows. "That's what I said. And get this, when I went down to the lobby to get another room, they told me they were all booked. I was braless wearing leggings and a white tee, expecting a quick exchange of rooms."

I hear her gasp through the phone. "OMG! Where are you staying?"

"That's the fun part," I sarcastically mock. "I ran into my brother's best friend from high school."

"Is he hot?? Tell me he's hot. Snowed in with your brother's best friend. You realize that's a fucking romance book, right?"

"It doesn't matter if he's hot. He's got a diploma from Assholes-R-Us. Neither of us has ever liked the other."

"Let me guess. You're staying with him?"

"Yep," I pop my p. "Not by choice. I could have been living out some great sexual fantasies with a guy I met at the bar until he walked up and cockblocked me. Standing in the hotel lobby, my only options were to sit roomless in the common areas for the next twenty-four hours or give him a dose of his own medicine and help myself to his room. I know being in his space displeases him, so I count that as a win," I say as I pick at my cuticle.

I hear a commotion in the background, and she curses. "Shit. JoJo, I'm going to have to let you go. My lunch exploded in the microwave. But try to look at it this way. He's giving you material. Use it to write your next depraved villain in those twisted stories you weave so well."

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