Page 47 of The Best Book Boyfriend
At some point Luke dozes off with his book splayed on his chest, and I feel oddly touched that he feels comfortable enough to do that here. Our friendship has been such an unexpected joy lately.
After Adam left, a lot of our mutual friends fell off the radar, and I never really understood why I was the one who was left out. He’s the one who cheated on me, he’s the one who deserved to be abandoned, but instead he probably took his new girlfriend to all the events and pub quizzes and double dates that I should have been on. God knows how he explained himself. Only a handful of people even texted to say they were sorry to hear we’d split up.
Obviously, I love Hattie and Megan to bits, but it’s been nice to have some male company for a change. We both seem to have been able to get over what happened at dinner that night without too much awkwardness, though I can’t deny I’ve been thinking about it a lot. Thankfully, setting up Sunshine Book Club has given me plenty of opportunity to keep things light and professional.
When I finishTen Night StandI take a photo and upload it to my Instagram account. I write a quick review, add multiple fire emojis, tag the author and the publisher and add all the readathon hashtags. My stomach is rumbling so I fix us a little platter of cheese and crackers and sliced fruits. I make a couple of coffees and when I come back to the living room he’s awake and reading again. I hand him his cup and when he mouthsthank you, this simple gesture makes my belly feel all warm. I want to run my fingers through his hair and see if it feels as soft as it looks, but I don’t, because that’s not something friends do, is it?
I get comfy again in my armchair and take a moment to appreciate how nice this is. Megan is always telling me to notice the good things in my life, something about being more in tune with what you have rather than focusing on what you don’t have. Or, in my case, focusing on what you’ve lost.
I’m just getting into a sports rivals novella when I hear a happy littlehmmmnoise from Luke. I look up just in time to see him close his book and set it on the coffee table. He reclines back on the sofa, and stretches out like a cat, his arms flexing above his head. “I can’t believe I’ve just read an entire book in one go.”
“It’s a good feeling, isn’t it?” I love the way his cheeks practically bounce when he smiles. “What did you think?”
A sliver of bare skin peeks out from between his t-shirt and his jogging bottoms, and it takes a serious effort to concentrate on what he is saying.
“I liked it. It’s got all those classic traits. No surprises, the drama is low-stakes, the supporting characters are funny, the romance is cute. All in all, a perfect Saturday afternoon read, four out of five stars.”
“Why not five?” I ask, wishing I could take a seat in his lap and stroke my fingertips over the top of his waistband.
“Not enough spice,” he says with a wink.Fuck fuck fuck, don’t wink at me.
“Ha! You’re learning.” I look out to the garden to hide my blushes.
“How’s your book?” he asks.
“A little too twisty for me. I prefer when books hit all the beats.”
“What do you mean?”
I settle my book on my lap and turn sideways to face him. “For me, part of the joy of romance is that there are things you know are going to happen. I don’t want too many surprises or shock twists. I love it when I can see something coming a mile off and then it happens.”
“Give me an example.”
“Like when a character says something is impossible, you justknowthat very thing will happen. Or when two enemies give each other nicknames, you just know they’re going to end up in love. When a bad boy has a particular set of rules about dating, you know they’re about to get broken. Or when a woman says she’s never been able to come with a man, you sure as hell know he’ll be giving her an incredible orgasm by the end of the book. Do you know what I mean?”
“Foreshadowing?”
“Exactly! See if you clock any in your next book,” I say, nodding to the stack I’ve set out for him.
I always meal plan before a readathon to buy myself more book time and last night I prepared a big dish of macaroni cheese. When my stomach starts to rumble, I throw it into the oven with garlic bread for our dinner. We take a break from reading while we eat and discuss our feelings about the books we’ve read so far.
“Considering you hadn’t read much romance until a few months ago, have you caught the bug?”
“I think it’s safe to say I’m hooked. It’s nice to be reminded that happy endings are possible even if you don’t always get your own one.” He looks pensive and I can tell he’s thinking about Heather. It’s sweet the way she is always in his heart.
“Oh Luke, there are so many paths to love. That’s the best thing about romance characters. No matter what shitty hand life has dealt them, no matter how broken they are, everyone deserves their own love story.”
He takes a long drink of water and stares at his plate, his eyebrows knotting together. The corner of his mouth ticks up like he’s mulling something over. “Kara, can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“I don’t understand how you can be so addicted to love stories and also sworn off men.”Fuck.He’s got a real knack for questions that dig deep. I put my cutlery down and lean back while I think about my answer.
I’ve been hurt.
I’m too broken.
I’m scared.
