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“Yeah, you’ll find them in every romance novel. Right after the black moment.”
He relaxed, leaning forward too. “Okay, I’ll bite. Break that all down for me.”
“The black moment is the inevitable breakup, and the grand gesture is the big thing the hero—or heroine—does after they realize they love the other person and can’t live without them.”
“Well, in my parents’ case, theTop Gunthing was how they met. Is there a fancy name for that?”
“Meet-cute,” I supplied with a smile.
“Huh. I assume two people have to meet in some sort of cute way or they’re not meant to be, then. Right?”
“Well, in books, if it’s just a random, boring thing, it’s kind of a clue to the reader that the other person isn’t significant. Otherwise, their meeting would have made an impact on them. So, I guess it doesn’t have to becuteas long as it’s…” I trailed off, realizing he was staring at me with his lips pulled into a thin smile. “Wait, why are you looking at me like that?”
“Like what? I’m just listening.”
“No, you’re not. You’re thinking something.”
“I’m not allowed to think something?” Whether or not he’d meant it as a rhetorical question, I didn’t know. But when I didn’t answer, he sighed. “Fine. I was thinking that I love how passionate you are when you talk about books and how they work. You should have some kind of book review channel on YouTube or something.”
I snorted. “Um, no. I’m not good at being in front of the camera. That’s Layla’s area. I’m better behind it.”
Beau dipped his chin and gave me a pointed look. “Do I really need to tell you not to talk like that? We already went over this.”
“Well,” I started, then paused to clear my throat as the playful dominance in his tone made my belly flip, “since you have no way of knowing what I’m like in front of the camera because I rarely allow it to happen, you won’t win this time.”
He held his hands up, leaning back in his chair. “Valid point. I’ll hold out.”
“For what?”
“For Layla’s wedding this weekend.”
I frowned. “What?”
“You’re the maid of honor, Lyndi. You’ll be in front of the camera plenty. And when the wedding video that cost Zac—and I quote, ‘almost as much as Grayson’s school supplies’—comes back, I’ll prove it to you.”
Again, more reactions deep in my belly. I had to hand it to him, the guy had a way with words that would make any romance reader call him her newest book boyfriend. It was working like a charm on me, that was for sure. Too bad it was likely all part of his ever-important act.
But since that was probably all it was, I didn’t have a problem telling him I was onto him. “You know, for a guy who doesn’t date forreal, you sure say all the swoony things my book boyfriends say.”
“Book boyfriends, huh?”
“Yep.”
The chuckle he’d tossed out a second ago faded into the night air, and he leaned forward again, genuine curiosity on his smooth features. “What if I told you that you were playing a losing game with all that?”
“With what?”
“The book boyfriend thing. No man can actually be like the fictional guys you’re comparing them to. They have problems, they say the wrong thing, and they mess stuff up. The perfect guy is a fantasy. And I would know, because I may not date forreal, but I get paid tobethe fantasy.”
All the fluttering from before melted into a hard stone, and I swallowed, shaking my head. Okay, enough torture for one evening.
Yeah, sure, I fell in love with the unattainable men within the pages of my books, but sitting here, letting Beau make me swoon only to remind me it wasn’t real, was nowherenearthe same thing.
“Well, I guess we’d better get in there,” I said, standing. “I just remembered I ordered some food right before I left, so I bet it’s there by now.”
Beau nodded, then got up and wordlessly led me back into the pub. And he didn’t say anything else as we walked back to the table to rejoin our friends, so by the time we were seated, all the sparks between us had faded away.
“Where were you guys?” Layla asked me as I slid back further into my seat.
