Page 109 of Bookworm

Nobody answered, and after a moment, Bo walked over to me.

"Hey boyfriend," I said.

He didn't smile.

"You know you're right about the cost of manual labor." I shook my head. "I've been searching here, there, and everywhere for someone to help us with the charity event. But we can't find anyone affordable."

He grunted, still staring at me in this unnerving way.

"What's on tap for today? More flowers, smiles,giving people cheer?"

When he lifted his hand to my hair and ran his fingers gently through the strands, I nearly choked.

"Wh-what are you doing?" I asked.

Bo took his time answering."Curious about something."

All the while his hand went through my locks, and my heart pattered like a drum against my chest. When he finally dropped his hand, he looked me in the eye then said…

"Your hair doesn't look terrible."

My mouth opened but then closed again, having no idea how to respond.

It took me a moment, but then I remembered what Meech and I were talking about before the guys walked in.

"I didn't realize you'd heard that," I said breathlessly.

"Well, I did," he said and took a step back, plunging his hands into his pockets. "Andlike I said, your hair…it's not bad."

"Oh."

Holy cheese on a cracker.There was something seriously wrong with me. There had to be because those words were barely even a compliment. Yet, his voice and the way he said them, the way he was looking at me, made flutters erupt inside my chest.

I didn't know what made me do it.

Probably a temporary insanity brought on by Bo's anti-compliment.

My arm moved on its own, and we both watched as my fingersran through his hair. Soft, I thought. So soft and a bit spiky and did he just make a noise? Seeing if he'd do it again, I gently brushed my fingers through his hair and…yep. There it was; adeep hum emanated from the back of his throat.

"Your hair's not bad either," I breathed.

"Hmmm," Bo said, his eyes looking a bit hazy.

When Shin stepped around the corner, I quickly moved backward, putting some distance between myself and Bo. I wasn't even sure what'd just happened. But I knew my skin felt alive in a new way, from the tips of my hair to my fingers.

Shin was grinning like a kid in a candy store while he looked down at the clipboard with today's deliveries.

"Hey Bo, you checked out the list?" he asked.

Bo shrugged. "Not yet. Why?"

"Got another order for Bianca Briggs."

I stared dumbstruck as red seemed to climb up Bo's cheeks. I'd never seen him look so abashed, almost shy.

"Stryker, are you blushing?" I asked, unable to resist.

He scoffed. "No."

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