Page 152 of The Nicest Thing
"You said that 40 minutes ago."
"Don't rush me, Bo Stryker.I'm in my bookish sanctuary."
He sighed.
"I really will be finished soon.Just had to stop by and talk to my favorite author."
I nearly cried.
Literal tears filled my eyes, and my emotions were so all over the place.I didn't know if I could hold them back.
"Oh no," Charlotte said in concern, "are you okay?"
"I'm good," I said.
"Why are you crying?"
Before I could answer, she followed up with something that made me still.
"Is it because of that video Finn made?"
Brow furrowed, I asked, "What do you mean?"
"It was just so romantic, so I figured maybe it made you cry."
"I almost cried because you called me your favorite author."
"Oh, that's awesome."
"Kent," her boyfriend said, "she's obviously going through it.We should leave."
"I love you, Bo, but I feel like this is where I'm meant to be."
"Love you too," he murmured, sounding grumpy yet sincere, "enough to carry your books and follow you all around this conference."
She shushed him.
"Finn posted a video?" I said, having a delayed reaction to her words, but in my defense it'd already been a long day."When?"
"A few minutes ago.You haven't seen it?"
I shook my head.
In seconds, Charlotte had the video cued up."I saved it," she explained."To remind me of what true love looks like."
She hit play, and I watched Finn appear.
That face that I loved so well caused a fluttering inside my chest, making my heart pound.What he said stole the breath from my lungs.
"Hey everyone," he said with a smile."I'm going to keep this short and sweet.My girl, Liv Lamoreaux just posted a video admitting that she lied.Yes, she let people think we weremarried with the goal of selling more books—to help keep her grandmother from being thrown out of senior living by the way.We went to an author brunch as a couple—when we weren't—and we pretended to be together.A real-life fake romance.That's what she called it.But I have to set the record straight."
Finn ran a hand over the back of his neck, looking gorgeous, confident, and better than anyone had a right to.
"I need you to know the truth," he said."And the truth is…I'm the one you should be mad at, not her.I volunteered for this because, well, I've been in love with her since the moment I saw her."
I covered my mouth with a hand.
"Of course, I never told her that.That's not something best friends do."
