Page 57 of Bookworm

Bo shook his head. "It's not that."

"It's not?"

"No," he said. "I just don't like the idea of you taking care of me out of some misplaced sense of guilt."

Oh.

I hadn't even considered that possibility.

"I thought you hated having me around," I admitted.

"I don't."

"You even told me how much you hate people."

"Not you," he said.

My heart skipped a beat.

"I could never hate you, Kent."

"That's…" I swallowed then tried again. "Well, that'sa relief. I don't hate you either, Stryker."

Bo lifted a brow. "ButI thought I was a thief."

I couldn't believe hebrought it up, our kiss.The Kiss.

Keep it together, Lottie.

"You are a thief," I said. "But I've heard that first kisses are sometimes terrible. So, all things considered, I'm glad it was you."

"Yeah?"

I nodded. "It definitely could've been worse."

"Good to know," he said with a gleam in his eyes.

"Yeah well," I murmured. "I guess I'll see you around, Flower Boy."

"Bye, Kent. Drive safely."

As I got out of the van and walked to my car, I was dazed, confused, and fluttery.

Was this what it felt like tonothate someone?

If so, I couldn't recommend it highly enough.

#

The rest of theweekend went by in a flash. It was relaxing, uneventful, and overall boring—which didn't bother meat all. People often underestimated boring.It couldbe a good thing. Personally,I loved having time to myself. Hours to reador reminisce.

Or try to untangle my feelings for a certain someone.

I'd had a wonderful time delivering flowers. I'd enjoyedourconversation in the van.I could totally see why people would make a bet about being the one to break down Bo'swalls. He'd only given me a glimpse, and if I was being honest, I liked what I saw.Going against the norm, I was even looking forward to school on Monday.

And I was currently trying to convince myself it had nothing to do with Bo.

There was no connection. Why would there be?Just because I'd feltsomethingdidn't mean I knew what that something was.And Bo…

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