“I’m the president of the Manhattan chapter of the Book Boyfriend Connoisseurs,” Sophie offered.
Frankie rolled her eyes. “And that matters why?”
“Because they are a national club of romance readers with an impressive number of members,” Ms. Birdie said.
“And you’re the president of the Manhattan chapter?” Isabella asked Sophie.
Sophie grinned. “I am, and it’s a hoot. We get together once a week and rate the boyfriends from our latest read.”
“How many are in the Manhattan Book Boyfriend Connoisseurs?” Frankie asked, a glint of interest in her eyes.
“We have around ten thousand members. Over a thousand active ones, who show up for our meetings which requires us to have a multitude of meeting locations throughout Manhattan.”
“Hmm. It’s not a terrible idea,” Frankie said. “Ms. Birdie, what do you think?”
Ms. Birdie studied Sophie with kind eyes. “Your proposal had me atbook boyfriend, but I do have a concern, which is why, after reading your inquiry, I decided to attend this interview today.”
“And what is that?” Sophie asked.
“Your safety. You propose to travel all around Manhattan, interviewing men as prospective living book boyfriends, and, well… That could be dangerous. Rom-com sounds benign, but some of their heroes have unsavory reputations…in the beginning. For instance, Lucian Rollins, the hero in the third book from Lucy Score’sKnockemoutseries.”
Sophie’s jaw dropped. Ms. Birdie read romances.
“I’ve read that book—fell in book-boyfriend lust with Lucian—and you have an excellent point,” Isabella said. “I hadn’t thought about Sophie’s pitch from that angle. It’s one thing to droolover a man like Lucian while reading a book, but interviewing a living, breathing duplicate of Lucian might not be safe.”
Sophie closed her mouth as her spirits plummeted. She’d thought for certain this was it. She’d get the gig and could finally stop worrying that everyone was right—that her daydreams were a waste of time.
“Ms. Birdie, are you vetoing her proposal?” Frankie asked in a neutral tone.
For three very long seconds, Ms. Birdie didn’t reply.
“Not at all,” the queen bee finally said. “But, as the owner ofNaked Runwayand the one who could be ultimately slapped with a lawsuit, should Sophie’s journey go awry, I feel the need to demand she hire a bodyguard.”
“A bodyguard?” Sophie couldn’t afford to hire a bodyguard, and if they deducted one from her paycheck, that would undo all her have-the-cake-and-eat-it-too plans. Plans that would allow her to live out her dreams and still manage to cover the cost of the rent hike on her grandfather’s apartment. A hike he couldn’t afford, thanks to Sophie’s last good-for-nothing rotten son-of-a-bitch boyfriend.
“Yes, dear,” Ms. Birdie replied.
“Surely, that’s not necessary,” Sophie replied, scrambling for a way to ensure it wasn’t. “I mean, I know a little jiu-jitsu, carry mace, and have a very healthy set of lungs in case a scream is required.”
“I can’t risk being sued because I deemed those adequate ways for a star columnist to protect herself,” Ms. Birdie said.
“I promise not to sue in case of a mishap,” Sophie said.Star columnisthad a nice ring to it.
“Darling, don’t look so glum. It will be fine. We can start by hiring someone for a month. If, at the end of the month, the expert feels you’re not in need of protection, then I’ll reconsider my stance.”
“A month,” Sophie repeated. Maybe she could pick up some extra shifts at her current, non-daydreaming gig. “Do I get a say in who it is?”
“Do you know a bodyguard?” Isabella asked.
Sophie blushed. “Not an actual one…but I know a few bouncers who—”
“Nothing against bouncers, but I think we need someone with better credentials,” Isabella said. “And I have just the person in mind. He’s a former Navy SEAL who I’m pretty sure would be up for some light duty while he recovers from an injury. He’s part owner of a security firm.”
“He doesn’t sound that impressive at what he does if he’s been injured.” Frankie’s tone could have taught classes on how to kill with inflection.
Isabella didn’t die. Instead, she turned her back on Frankie and spoke to Ms. Birdie and Sophie. “Anyway, because of his injury, he hasn’t been cleared for the type of security situations they specialize in, but I think his doctor would give the go-ahead for being your bodyguard.”
“Excellent idea,” Ms. Birdie said, clapping her hands. “Which one of them was injured?”
