Making the Book Boyfriend (Book Boyfriend Builders)

Prologue

AVA

My plane lands, and I can finally breathe easy. I hate to fly. I absolutely hate it. I also hate going anywhere alone. I have nightmares of being kidnapped, kidney stolen, and waking in a bathtub full of ice. Too graphic? Too dramatic? Sorry, not sorry.

I grab an Uber, anxiously sharing my location with my three friends so that, if something does happen, they’ll know how to find me, and make my way to our hotel. Once inside, I see my besties, who wave frantically to me. Libby, who belongs on a runway, is tall, blonde, and thin, with cheekbones to die for. Her huge smile eases my stress. Next I see Gemma, with her dark brown hair twisted up high and, as always, she’s dressed impeccably. She stands with confidence, and I’m always in awe of how put together she is. Last is JoJo, with her gorgeous tan and amazing curves. Her sarcastic humor always lightens the mood.

With every step closer to them, I realize how much I’ve missed seeing them in person. We finally make contact and group hug while laughing together. The four of us are romance authors and have been counting down the days to this weekend since being accepted into the signing event over six months ago. We all met online in an author support group and quickly became author besties. It’s been fun meeting up in different cities, but also difficult since we’re spread out across the United States. Meeting these three women and making forever friends with them has been the best part of being an author. The signings and selling books are just a bonus.

We pull away from each other, and it's then I notice five glasses of mimosas on the table.

“Are we expecting a fifth?” I glance around the room nervously, wondering who else may be here.

“No, it’s just us, but we know you’re neurotic and hate to fly so we figured you needed to be double fisted,” Libby replies honestly, sitting back with a smile but quickly throwing her hand up in a ‘stop’ motion. “Don't get too excited, Gemma. I mean double fisted with drinks, not that kind of double fisting.”

“I love that you guys know me so well.” I snatch one champagne flute from the table and down it, then fall into the chair where we discuss the signing that is taking place tomorrow.

“So, we lost the coin toss,” JoJo says with a roll of her eyes.

I narrow mine on her. “Coin toss for what?” I quickly put my hand up. “And if you say one of us has to walk around wearing one of those portable vibrators, I’m out.” I look pointedly at Gemma.

“No, but that would be a good consequence for our next little game.” She rubs her hands together and lets out a Count Dracula laugh.

I snort laugh and guzzle my second mimosa as JoJo says, “We have to share the king bed, while these two queens get the queen beds.”

I shrug. It could have been worse. “You know they’re going to end up in the same bed anyway. I don't know why we fight over rooms.”

“Don’t hate on us cuddlers. I can’t help that our love language is physical touch,” Gemma states .

“And she needs her ass rubbed throughout the night,” Libby adds.

“Mmhmm. I’m fine with the king. At least I don't have to worry about JoJo groping me in the middle of the night.”

“You could use a little groping, girl. When was the last time you got any?” Libby asks.

I slouch in my chair and blow out a breath. “You mean any that wasn’t self-inflicted? Since my divorce. And probably a year before that was even official.”

Although sex was about all Zach and I did well, even then he needed to be told what to do. I’m tired of being in charge all the damn time.

They all widen their eyes at me. “Too long,” Libby says.

“Tell me about it.”

“But we’re pretty much all right there with you,” Gemma admits regretfully.

“Why is it so hard to find a decent guy who doesn’t need to be told what to do?” JoJo asks as she finishes her drink.

Wouldn’t that be nice? I muse to myself, quickly wishing I could write a guy like that into existence. We cheer with our empty glasses and then grab our bags. “Let's get up to the room and get settled in for the night. We’re going to need our beauty rest if we’re about to be bestsellers tomorrow!”

“Whoop!”

My table is set, my banner is up, my books are laid out in release order, and my heart is beating double time. Writing is my favorite thing to do, but being in front of people? Not so much. I’ll push through, but I’ll be mentally exhausted later. I’d much rather be behind the scenes. Having the ability to write a story any way I see fit … making characters into anyone I want them to be is so fun, but I love hiding behind my pen name.

Since my divorce, I've found I’ve been staying in the house and using the excuse of writing as a reason to hide. I have a marketing degree and work for myself. It’s lucrative and I love it, but it's also another way I can work behind the scenes. The best part of this is that I’ve met the best people ever. JoJo, Libby, and Gemma give me a better sense of self confidence, and I have noticed I’ve come out of my shell a bit.

Today is different though. Today marks the first signing I’ve done since getting divorced from my high school sweetheart. Zach and I spent our teenage years growing up together and our early twenties together in college. He’s a terrific guy but he didn’t take anything seriously. And because he lived very carefree, my type-A personality did not mesh with his. I spent way too many years thinking he’d eventually grow up and mature, but when I realized he never would, I had to end things.

He always relied on me to handle all the household responsibilities. Down to deciding what he wanted for dinner, he always defaulted to me. Which, in the beginning, it seemed nice that he wanted what I wanted. He’s the guy who would give you the shirt off his back, but he can’t survive on his own. From balancing a checkbook, to grocery shopping for complete meals, and, yes, all the way down to getting me off, he had to be told what to do, step by step.

But after so many years, I needed a partnership. When he became complacent and I wanted to step things up, I knew it would be downhill from there.

I felt like his mother instead of his wife. It was so bad I was surprised he didn’t ask me to pick out his clothes and lay them on the bed for him every morning. We decided to separate three years ago and then divorced a year later. It wasn’t right for me to keep him hanging on when I wasn’t ever going to reconcile. We just moved in two different directions.

Today's signing is also special because I am going to see two readers, who came together after reading my books, get engaged. I received a call a few months back from a man named Jay Parker. He said his local library was hosting an event for National Read-a-Book Day and they were using my book as the focal point of the event. He went on to explain that his new love interest, Nina, who happened to be the new-to-town, beautiful librarian, would have to get up and read in front of the town. He had begun coaching her on the sexy talk because she was afraid to speak in front of a crowd, let alone narrate a dirty scene.

I fell in love with their story because I felt like I knew her without even meeting her. But the way he spoke about her with reverence and adoration, I just knew I had to see them in person. To my surprise, their small town of Magnolia Point is only twenty-five minutes from my town of Charming. So I got in my car and drove to the event.

After hearing the two of them read a chapter of my book in front of the town, I knew they were something special. So when Jay called again a few weeks later and asked about coming to the signing in Colorado, I said I couldn’t wait to see them. He said he was excited to surprise Nina with the trip and that he had a bigger surprise. He asked if I would mind if he proposed to her in front of my table at the signing. He didn't want to take away from my day, but he thought it would be perfect to come full circle, with me standing with them as he proposed to her.

This is right up my alley because I don’t need attention. I like to write because I can hide behind the pages. I can speak about my vulnerability without actually having to be seen.

“Psst! Pass the Tito’s!” Gemma calls out, and I snicker to myself. The four of us have tables sitting in a square, with JoJo next to me and Gemma and Libby behind us. It feels good having them at my back.

“You can’t wait three hours?” I chastise her halfheartedly.

“Stop being such a mother hen. You know you want a shot.”

I do want a shot , I think to myself. It will help me get through today.

“Just pour the bottle into your Stanley and no one will know,” JoJo says while sipping her straw and eyeing us all. We each grab for our stainless steel bottles. Mine is red and silver for my favorite football team, and Gemma always has something to say about it. So I make a show of pulling it out and shoving it in her hands.

“Fill me up, buttercup.”

“You need better taste in teams. I know this is Warriors Red, but it makes me puke every time I see it.”

She’s in love with her Philadelphia teams. I tease her with the red, but I'll let her comments slide. I’m secretly in love with Philadelphia's quarterback. But don’t tell Jackson Gage, the former quarterback turned coach for the Warriors. He’s a ‘Cinderella gone wrong’ story, that is, until his best friend's sister saved him. Their love is a perfect happily ever after.

I have a line of people in front of me and they’re very sweet. We take pictures, I sign books, and it's a great day. I immediately spot Nina at the end of my line. Her gorgeous long, red hair and black-rimmed glasses make her the ultimate sexy librarian. My eyes dart to Jay next to her, with his black hair and large brown eyes. His button-down’s shirt sleeves are rolled up, exposing the tribal tattoos on his forearms. The two of them make one sexy couple. Jay returns my grin and gives me a thumbs up. Nina starts jumping up and down as she gets closer to my table, without a clue about what’s going to happen.

As they make their way over, I come out from behind my table and hug them both. “Oh my god, I am so excited to be here! This is my first signing ever, and I had no idea Jay was bringing me here, and then to see you on top of it?!” She’s so giddy, and it makes me laugh.

“Do you wish he had taken you somewhere tropical?”

“It is pretty cold here but no. Seeing you? I couldn’t be happier!” She bounces on her toes with a smile stretched across her face.

“Well, there’s a storm moving in, so you guys better be careful unless you want to get stuck here for a week. ”

Her eyes are big and she looks at me. “Oh my god, can you write that? A snowed in romance?”

I chuckle. “I’ve got all the stories and will definitely get to that.” I nod to Jay and he takes that as his cue.

“How about we write our own story?”

She nudges him a little bit. “Stop that.” Her face blushes. “He’s always looking for a new scene to act out.”

I waggle my eyebrows and say, “There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“What about this scene?” He drops to one knee and pulls out a ring. The crowd around us starts clapping and cheering. Jay continues, “I knew you were the one for me that first day I spotted you on the beach. Then I heard this voice drifting through the library, and once I put a name to that voice, I knew you were going to be my happily ever after. Nina Amoré, will you marry me?”

The crowd goes wild as she yells out with a resounding, “Yes!” He stands, grabbing her up in a hug, spinning her around, and I fall in love with love a little bit more, wishing it were for me.

Libby, Gemma, and JoJo come around to join me and are just as excited over the engagement, but I also notice the looks they exchange. I was the first to get married, wanting to fall in love so badly, but clearly I didn’t get my happily ever after like I thought I would.

I’m barely functioning, but somehow, I got myself to the airport on time. There’s a snowstorm moving in, and the last thing I need is to get stuck in Colorado. I need to get home to South Carolina, and quickly, to ensure I don’t fall behind on my work. We begin boarding and with my sunglasses on and head down, I take the seat by the window. For the first time, I’m actually happy I’m hungover. I’m more focused on my pounding head and rolling stomach than the fact I'm about to be thirty thousand feet in the air.

I replay the last two days and how much fun I had with the girls. Every time we’re together, it makes me wish we all lived on the same block. Though, with some of Libby's crazy ideas, that could get dangerous. I’d settle for the same state, at least. Last night got wild. After the signing, we ordered Chinese food and drank until our little hearts couldn’t feel any past heart breaks. But I’m paying for it today. I doze on and off, never completely sleeping, just hitting that twilight stage where I’m between hearing real life around me versus my mind pulling crazy ideas.

And, speaking of crazy ideas, my brain can’t stop fixating on the business idea the four of us came up with last night.

“Every woman wants a man like what we read and write about. I wish I could find my own hero. I’d love to teach men what women are really looking for.”

“What if we started a business to do that? Would it be an online course?”

Visions of Libby with a whip dance through my head.

“It would be more personal if we met the clients face-to-face.”

More of JoJo’s drinks were passed around the room.

I feel like I can almost taste the alcohol again and my stomach rolls.

“Are you guys cool showing your faces? ”

Despite the agony in my head, a small laugh escapes me as I remember the silly TikTok videos we made with atrocious dancing and something about counting ‘doots’.

“We’re about to build a book boyfriend, ladies. Are you ready?”

“Activate the website.”

The website for our new book-boyfriend-building business. What in the actual hell were we thinking? And now I’m supposed to take on my first client when I get home. Me! The woman who loves hiding from the spotlight and attention. How am I going to get through this?