Page 72 of The Book Club Boyfriend
Empowered.
And maybe a little braver than I was an hour ago.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chemistry, But Make It Competitive
Chase
I step into the event space and am immediately hit with a wall of perfume, shrieking laughter, and the scent of catered cupcakes. Someone spots me—then someone else—and suddenly I’m surrounded by women waving copies ofThe Penalty Boxand asking if Rip is single.
“Unfortunately, he’s very taken,” I say with a grin, signing a book.
One of them giggles. “Not you. The dog.”
Another woman shouts, “Team Scottie forever!”
And just like that, my eyes start scanning for her.
I find Scarlett across the room, perched casually on a high stool near the stage, her legs crossed and her face half-buried in a cup of coffee. She’s wearing a silky wine-colored blouse that makes her look like she just stepped off the cover of a fashion magazine—if the fashion magazine was titledDon’t Even Try Me.
My heart does this dumb little stutter.
I shouldn’t be this into her, especially when she’s made it abundantly clear that this—whatever it is between us—is just temporary tension. PR and proximity.
But I am. Fully, recklessly, completely into her.
She glances up and catches me looking.
Raises one brow like she’s just waiting for me to say something ridiculous.
Challenge accepted.
I weave through the crowd and slide onto the empty stool beside her. “What is that shirt you’re wearing? It’s very…”
“Very what?” she snaps.
“Distracting.”
She doesn’t even flinch. “What, like I got dressed specifically to give you a stroke?”
I smirk. “Mission accomplished.”
Vivian appears on stage with her clipboard, all business. “Tonight’s discussion is themed ‘Battle of the Sexes.’ We’ll be looking at how male and female characters are portrayed in romance—flaws, strengths, double standards… This should be fun.”
Scarlett lets out a noise that’s somewhere between a laugh and a groan. “This is going to be a bloodbath.”
I grin. “You’re just mad because you already know you’re gonna lose.”
“Lose what? You think the average man in a romance novel could survive a single chapter of a book written by me?”
I laugh. “That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.”
The crowd’s already buzzing, everyone taking their seats, phones out and filming. The energy is high, chaotic, and honestly? I’m kind of loving it—much more than I thought I would. I can guess why…
Vivian gestures for us to come up to the front. I stand, offer Scarlett a hand, and she gives me a look like I just offered her a seat on the Titanic.
Still, she takes it.
