Page 48 of My Book Boyfriend
Lily
Myphonebuzzeswitha text.
Rupert:Miss you already.
Me:Miss you too.
Last night definitely lived up to the books. Is Bella right … that I always find men I can’t actually have because I’m afraid to fall in love and get hurt? Rupert is the best evidence yet. Except that I’mnotfalling for him.
Nope.
I’ve already fallen for him.
I’m definitely going to get hurt.
I eat my oatmeal breakfast and then pull out all of our picket posters.
My phone rings. It’s Maddie.
“That’s you onPage Six, right? Did you end up on adatewith Rupert Evans at the library gala?”
“What? Sort of.” I googlePage Six. And there I am. The back of me in my bright-red parka, hand tucked into Rupert’s coat pocket.
I stare at it in shock. My stomach sinks.
He wasn’t kidding aboutPage Six.
The caption underneath reads:Is the elusive, always-single, Strive Developers CEO-to-be off the market? It certainly appears that way. It looks like the type of developing feelings we should all be striving for. #relationshipgoals
Maddie reads the caption out loud. “That last line is so cheesy. But I want the scoop. Off the record, of course.”
At least they didn’t print a picture of me biking with my dress around my butt.
Bella emerges from her bedroom, still sleepy, and ducks into the bathroom. I stack our picket posters by the door.
“Another woman showed up on my date with Aiden. She danced with us the whole time until I decided I didn’t want to be the third wheel on my date, and I left.” The toilet flushes, and the sink faucet runs. Thankfully, Rupert didn’t get to hear the poor acoustics of our bathroom door.
I continue, “I ran into Rupert and we chatted, and danced, and walked home together. And he came over for hot chocolate.”
I put Maddie on speakerphone. “Bella is up.”
Bella emerges from the bathroom. “Can I use Aiden’s behavior in my next novel for the shitty ex-boyfriend part?”
“Why do I always feel like we’re research fodder for Bella’s writing?” Maddie’s voice asks from my phone speaker.
“It’s like compensation when you realize your date is going totally awry. At least Bella can use this,” I say.
“This photo is great,” Maddie says.
Bella looks at me, questioning, and I show it to her.
“It’s like a romance book cover,” she says. “I’d totally buy that novel.”
“Except you wouldn’t. Because I’m not sure it has a happily ever after.”
“Oh,” both my friends say at the same time.
Last night was amazing, and when Rupert was here, everything seemed possible. But waking up alone this morning, Rupert having kissed me goodbye earlier, I’m not so sure. I grab my empty bowl and mug and walk into the kitchen, still holding my phone, while Bella follows. She pours water into the electric kettle.
