“My fault.” Kai held up his hands. “I had to pay her a hundred bucks to doctor some stock video clips to show Rosie our so-called wedding video. She was about to riot on the imaginary videographer Ivy made up.”
I grimaced.
“I still can’t believe you haven’t told her,” Kinsley said, gathering the trash from her lunch. “Is she really never going to find out?”
I shrugged. “My mom still believes it, too.”
“Does she?”
“Yep,” Holley said. “It’s kinda sad, really.”
Well, we could both agree on that. “I don’t see that they need to find out. We already played the narrative that we’d have a party when the baby’s born, so we figure we’ll just go off, get married quietly somewhere, then actually celebrate with everyone.”
Kai shuffled uncomfortably. “We were going to tell them, but we just never did. It’s been six months and it seems unfair to tell them the truth when we know we’re going to get married for real eventually.”
Saylor frowned and looked between us. “Have you actually asked her for real? Or are you both just assuming this is going to happen?”
We looked at each other. “Assuming,” we both said at the same time.
“We never considered that it wouldn’t,” I said. “After a few wobbly conversations and a Fred Flintstone moment.”
“A Fred Flintstone moment?” Kinsley questioned.
Holley shook her head. “Please do—”
“I made her bed rock,” Kai replied with a grin, like he did every single time I brought up the Flintstone thing.
Kinsley and Holley both shook their heads in despair while Saylor roared with laughter. She didn’t even say goodbye as she once again disappeared between the rows of bookshelves, but we could hear her laughing for ages.
“Awful,” Holley said, getting up and grabbing a pile of books. “So bad.”
Kinsley sighed. “You two are a match made in a romance novel, aren’t you?”
Kai winked at me, and I blushed.
“Maybe. Now we all know Tori’s against dating, but which one of you three is next?”
“Nope!” Holley shouted, echoed somewhere by Saylor.
“That leaves you, Kins,” Kai said.
“Oh, please.” She rearranged some books. “I’m not a big dater. I can’t stand the online stuff where nobody looks like their profile pictures. Besides, I am the worst at small talk, so unless one of you can find me a romance-loving, muscular man with a great smile, I’m shit out of luck.”
“Seems reasonable,” Kai assured her. “I’ll see what I can do.”
He said as if he had a catalog of men stashed away just to pull out for random dating purposes for my friends.
“Put those books on the counter when you’re done, Ives, I’ll put them away.”
“Thanks, Kins.” I watched as she disappeared.
Kai scooted his chair over to me. “So. Tegan Rose, huh?”
“Tegan Rose.” I smiled, letting him take my hands in his.
“That’s pretty perfect.”
“I agree.”
He grinned, then leaned forward and kissed me.
And it was.
Somehow, everything was perfect.
Who would have thought that the guy next door would turn out to be my happily ever after?
Certainly not me.
But I was sure as hell glad that he was.
THE END
Want to read more from the town of White Peak, Montana? Welcome to Bookworm’s Books, where three bookworms are about to trial the ups and downs of dating… And all the unexpected bumps in the road.
Read on for more information.
THE BOOKWORM’S GUIDE TO DATING
What I wanted for my birthday: Books.
What I got for my birthday: my brother’s best friend playing matchmaker.
Let it be known that I, Kinsley Lane, am one hundred percent against being set up with somebody.
And I’m one thousand percent sure that Josh Carter is not the man to find me a boyfriend.
I mean, if I’m so great, why isn’t he the one dating me? (For the record, I don’t know the answer. That’s just what the guy on the internet asked.)
Still, I’ll humor him. If I go on his little dates, he’ll teach my bookish, introverted self how not to be totally, completely, utterly, unforgivably awkward on every single one of them.
And all I have to do is fall in love with one of the lovely gentlemen he’s serving up for me on a silver platter—all of whom fit my very specific guidelines.
Simple, right?
It would be.
If only I could stop falling for Josh.
Coming October 6th! Available now for pre-order everywhere.
SNEAK PEEK: KISS ME NOT
CHAPTER ONE – HALLEY
Nobody Needs An Orange Jumpsuit
Sometimes, I just have to tell myself that it isn’t worth the jail time.
It’s something I’ve told myself a lot over the years, especially during high school. There was that time Lindsay Rinna paid her younger brother to put a snake in my locker just because she knew I was deathly afraid of them and she thought I had a crush on her boyfriend.
I totally did have a crush on him, but was it worth the panic attack I had after?
No. No, it was not. And, just like she wasn’t now, Lindsay was not worth any jail time, no matter how many times I imagined pushing her in front of a bus.
Look. We’ve all done it, okay?
There’s also the time when I was seventeen and having a bitch of a period, and my stepbrother had eaten my ice cream.
That was the closest I’d actually come to committing murder. It was a hormone-induced rage, for what it was worth, and my memory of the event was now somewhat blurry. That said, I do remember throwing a spoon at him. I might have cut open his forehead.
He ate my ice cream.
On my period.
Actually, that’s one situation that would have been worth the jail time.
Also, my stepbrother is an asshole, so he deserved that shit.
Now, I was standing in the middle of the park, looking at the kissing booth that would be my home for next week. As of Monday, between the hours of midday and seven p.m., my ass would be parked in this glorified tent, and my lips would be offered up as free game to anyone who was willing to put two dollars in my bucket.
I, Halley Dawson, was the Creek Falls Kissing Booth Champion. This year was my fifth year in the contest, and I had no intentions of losing my crown anytime soon.
I took my role as resident kisser very seriously. Seriously—I just about had stock in toothpaste companies at this point. My dentist was probably the best-paid dentist in town, and I had an ashamedly large collection of mints and gum in my apartment waiting for this moment.
As for being the reigning champion, well, it wasn’t like it had any kind of effect on my life in general. I was woefully single to the point that the only date I had was with the raccoons who lived in the woods behind my house.
Hey, they were reliable. They showed up every night on my back porch at ten p.m. sharp for their peanut butter sandwiches.