Her Book Boyfriend
The
Awkward Duckling Series
by
K.R. Grace
Release Date: August
25th 2017
Cover Designer: Okay Creations, LLC
Genre: Mature YA
Romantic Comedy
She believes
the secret to love is in the tropes of her favorite romance novels. He’s the
best friend prepared to prove her wrong.
Then comes
the bet.
If she can’t
land a boyfriend for prom by recreating the ten popular tropes in her favorite
romance author’s books, she has to go to the prom with her.
The glitch?
They’ve been
close their entire lives. He’s the rock god and school legend, while she’s the
brainy sidekick who does all his dirty breakups. Thus, finding a guy who
doesn’t think they’re already an item is going to be a lot harder than she
thinks.
Will she land
the book boyfriend of her dreams? Or will she be forced to go to prom with her
best friend?
The truth is
in the pages.
“Are we going to talk about whatever is really
bothering you or do I have to stare at you like this for the rest of the day?
We both know I can.”
He could. When we were seven, we’d had a staring
contest. First one to look away had to eat a refrigerator concoction. I got
distracted within fifteen seconds…he’d followed me around for the rest of the
day, staring at me just to prove a point. And the refrigerator concoction…I
still got cold chills when I thought about it. Yuck!
“There’s nothing to talk about. I had an idea.
You think it’s stupid. I’m still doing it. End of story.”
“I didn’t say it was stupid. I said it was
unnecessary.”
Appetite lost, I shoved the remainder of my
sandwich into my lunch bag. “You know what, I don’t expect you to ever
understand why I would need to resort to a book for dating advice.”
I occupied myself with searching for my iPad in
the bottomless pit that was my backpack.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” he
demanded.
I shoved my hair out of my face as I looked him
dead in the eye. “It means you, oh great one, don’t know what it’s like to be
rejected. All you have to do is wink and girls throw themselves at you.”
“That’s not true.”
“I just broke up with a girl for you because you
were already too preoccupied with the new girl you were dry humping in the
parking lot, for crying out loud!” I’d hit “drama queen” mode: arms flailing,
voice at falsetto levels, spit flying, and face flaming red.
He blinked once before taking in a deep breath.
“I don’t want to see you get hurt, Mace.”
“I can’t go through life only known as someone’s
friend or someone’s daughter. I need to be someone’s world. It might be a
foreign concept to you, but I crave it.”
“But a romance novel, Mace? Those things are
nothing but unrealistic fantasies.”
I closed my eyes so I couldn’t see the truth in
his. He didn’t think I could pull it off. Was I really that undesirable?
He took in a deep breath and let it out. “Okay.
Here’s what we’re going to do. I’ll let you prove me wrong, but if I’m right,
you have to be my date to prom.”
“What?” My eyes flung open. “Why do you want to
go to prom with me?”
“Because, like you said, prom isn’t supposed to
be spent with someone you don’t know.”
“I figured you had an orgy extravaganza in the
works for prom night.” I snorted.
He pulled the green pick from his pocket and
began twirling it across his knuckles. “Nah, too wild for me. I don’t want to
go down in high school history as the guy who banged a girl on prom night. Too
cliché.”
~~~~~~~~~~
“Slow down!” I whined. “My feet are killing me.”
“I can fix that!” Cam called before he scooped me
up into his arms. I squealed as I went airborne and settled hard against his
chest. On instinct, I wrapped my arm around his neck for support.
“Put me down, Cam. I’m too heavy.”
He did a few arm curls and rolled his eyes.
“You’re a featherweight, Mace. Don’t insult me.”
It did feel good to be carried.
“You spoil me,” I said softly so the others
couldn’t hear.
He swallowed hard before his carefree smile
returned. “What else are best friends good for?”
Since Bruce and Wen Li piled into Morgan’s car, I
was forced to ride with Cam in the Land Rover. Not that it took much
persuading. I loved riding in the car with Cam. He always sang along to every song,
gifting me with my own private concert.
We drove down the road with the windows rolled
down and classic rock blaring over the surround sound system. I closed my eyes
and enjoyed the feel of the wind weaving its calming fingers through my hair.
The song ended, but another didn’t pick up shortly after. I cracked my eyes to
see Cam’s jaw set as he glared at the road.
“Something bothering you?” I asked, giving him my
full attention.
I didn’t think he was going to respond, but he
finally answered, “Don’t be like me, Mace.”
My head jerked back as if I’d been slapped. “What
the heck does that mean?”
His grip tightened on the steering wheel so hard
the leather cracked in protest. “Don’t date mindlessly. It’ll lead you down a
road you’ll regret.”
“Says the guy who went to second base on the hood
of a car in front of the whole school?” I tossed back. Who the hell did he
think he was trying to give me relationship advice?
“Exactly. Don’t be like me, Mace. You’re so much
better than that.”
“Where is this coming from? What makes you think
you have the right to tell me how to live my life?”
His jaw flexed as he struggled with his words. “I
saw the list, and I know what’s next.”
As
a child, K.R. Grace had an overactive imagination. When it was obvious she
wasn’t going to change anytime soon, her mom shoved a pen and paper in her hand
and said, “Write it down.” So, at the age of eight, her first story was born,
and the writing hasn’t stopped since. When she’s not running with wolves,
sleeping with bears, or flying with falcons, she can be found checking out
local bands or watching movies about things that go “boo” in the night. She
lives in East Tennessee with a dog that is afraid of his own shadow and a cat
that was a mob leader in a former life.
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