Page 13 of Bookworm

And then, the grand finale.

My favorite exercise: Pushups.

Bo made those look easy too.He'd get down into position, holding himself up with those strong armsand hands. Then he'dlower his body to the ground…and come up again…then down…and up…and down…

"Man, he's strong," I murmured.

"Lotte, are you watching Bo Stryker again?"

I nearly fell out of my chair, choking on my Twizzler when it went down the wrong pipe.

My sister Scarlett rolled her eyes as she watched me struggle.

"Seriously, you've got to stop doing that," she said.

"Seriously," I said once I could speak, "you've got to learn to knock."

She shrugged. "The door was open."

"You could've at leasttried to help, Scar, jeez.Ever heard of the Heimlich?I could've died."

"Death by Twizzler," she said drily, walking farther into the room and crossing her arms, "what a tragic way to go."

I laughed, couldn't help it, and took in her perfectly coordinatedensemble and gorgeous hair. Scarlett was the perfectionist of the family, always put together, always prepared, never caught unawares by anything. Like me, she didn't have much romantic experience. Unlike me, it was because she thought romance was overrated and preferred tostay focused on her 4.0 GPA, college admissions, and her five-year plan.

"You're supposed to take me to school early today," she said, running a hand down her already smooth mahogany hair."I'm meeting with the counselor to discuss scholarship opportunities and my mentoring program."

Oh yes, and she also had a heart of gold.

I might just hate her if I didn't love her more than life itself.

"No worries, Scar," I said. "I didn't forget.I was just about to come get you."

"But then you got distracted by tall, dark, and broody."

Frowning, I shook my head. "You know I'm more into nice guys who are soft and cuddly."

Scarlett sighed then looked past me with a grin. "He is sorta nice to look at though."

Following her gaze, I watched as Bo completed one last pushup and jumped to his feet. "That may be true, baby sister. But he's also sorta rude, and he hates me, so…"

"I don't think he hates you," she said.

But of course, she didn't know about our talk the other day—the one where Bo called me out for eavesdropping on him anda lady friend. If he didn't hate me before, he definitelydid now.

Pushing any leftover guilt aside, I stood and gathered my things. Iwent to grab my list, but my sister got there first.

"What's this?" she asked, picking up and skimming the paper.

"A list of possible suitors," I said.

"How very efficient of you, Charlotte. I thought lists were my thing."

Laughing, I gently pushed her toward the door, snaggingmy bag on the way. "I guess you're rubbing off on me."

Scarlett and I walked into the kitchen where we found our dad doing a crossword.His job as a software developerallowed him to telework most days, so he was still in his pajama pants and tee shirt. Dadlooked up and smiled.

"There are my girls," he said. "What do you have planned for today?"

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