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But then I did think of something else worth mentioning, as hard as it was to be honest about. “Last thing—when you meet my family, don’t tease me.”
His face jerked back, and then he shook his head in short, rapid bursts as if to clear it. “What?”
“You know, like… point out my little quirks and pretend they’re cute and try to use them to relate with my family. It’s annoying.”
His jaw dropped. “Someonedidthat?”
My fingers tingled, so I clicked the pen a few times before answering. “Yeah. I dated this one guy for a few months over the holidays and made the mistake of inviting him to our Christmas dinner.”
“What kinds of things did he point out?”
I shrugged. “You know, the usual. The reading obsession, the number of reminders I have on my phone, the system I use to organize my bookshelf… howsensitiveI can be.”
“None of those things sound like anything to tease you about,” he said, the quiet kindness in his eyes making my chest hurt.
“He managed.”
Beau held up a hand. “Hang on, I’m not touching the sensitive comment with a ten-foot pole, but how do you organize your bookshelves?”
I managed a laugh and clicked my pen. “Um… well, I guess most people either don’t have a system, or they just do it like a library… alphabetically by author and then by title. But my system is a little more… intense.”
“I gotta know.”
I glared at him. “Why? Is that in the checklist, too?”
“No. But you have me curious now, and it’s gonna drive me nuts.”
After only a moment’s hesitation, I gave in with a sigh. “Fine. I have a separate bookcase for my TBRs, which is organized by sub-genre and trope, so I can easily find something I’m in the mood for.”
“Okay…”
“Then once I’ve read one of those, I either move it to my bookcase for keepers, or I pack it in a box to trade in. The keepers are organized alphabetically by the author, grouped in series, with the series in chronological order. If it’s an author who writes multiple series in the same world, of course.”
“Of course. How big are these shelves?”
I bit my lip. “Pretty big.”
He let out a breathy laugh, then jerked a shoulder. “Okay, I mean, it’s intense but it’s notthatbad. I’m sure any fellow bookaholic has their own system. The fact that you have an entirebookcaseof books you haven’t read yet is a little surprising, but—”
“Hey, I can’t help it. I buy more books than I have time to read!”
“I’m not judging, I promise.” His laughter was infectious, so I giggled a little, but then he sobered and held my gaze. “Also, the fact that any guy would think it was a good idea to tease you about any of that in front of your family just blows my mind. Don’t worry, that’s not something I’d even think to do.”
I felt a blush creep up my neck, so I looked down at the pen before he could see it on my cheeks. “Thanks.”
“Okay, so I think I have a pretty good handle on hownotto be your fake boyfriend. But is there anything you want to tell me about how youdowant me to act?”
“Uh… I don’t know. Like, what characteristics I’d want my boyfriend to have?”
“Yeah.”
Wow.How ridiculous was it that this was a normal part of his process? He sounded like an actor trying to get to know the character he was supposed to play in a movie.
No, that’s exactly what he’s doing. And the sooner you remember that, the better.
“I don’t really know,” I replied. “Book boyfriend qualities come to mind, but it feels a little too much like I’m crafting you out of Play-Doh.”
A wide smile stretched across his too-handsome face. “That’s part of the fun, trust me. I can be whoever you want me to be.”
