Chapter 2

January 1st

It's official. I agreed to the resolution that will change my life one way or the other. I just hope I experience fireworks and find love instead of blowing up my life. Watch out world, this bookworm is stepping out from the pages of her own book.

Paige closed her diary and looked out the window of her New York City apartment. She was on the fifth floor of the walk-up, but all four hundred and nineteen square feet were hers. The small one foot tall Christmas tree was covered with mini ornaments she'd made. They had the covers of all her favorite books on them. It sat on the table by the window, giving off a warm glow as the New Year's fireworks went off outside the window.

"Happy New Year, Monty." Paige smiled as she picked up her pet rabbit and nuzzled his white fur. "It's going to be an interesting one," she muttered.

Paige glanced at the largest piece of furniture in her entire apartment—her bookcase. There were so many tropes, so many books, and so many subgenres of romance that she could try a new one every day. It was time to get down to business. Was she brave enough to actually do it?

She would start with baby steps. How all romance novels started. The meet-cutes: the sometimes ordinary or sometimes extraordinary ways couples meet for the first time. There was a spark and a moment you knew that was it. That was the man you wanted in your life. What a perfect way to start this adventure. How hard could it be to orchestrate some of the most famous meet-cutes from her favorite books? It was as simple as bumping into the right person at the right time. This was going to be easy!

Paige opened her diary and wrote:

Adventure One: Meet-Cutes.

Meet-cutes were those perfect moments when love interests met. That first glance, that first touch, that first smile, that first introduction. It could happen in so many ways and that gave Paige lots of options. Paige went back to her bookshelf. So many choices. So many ways to meet your happily ever after. Then she grinned as she pulled a book from her shelf. This was perfect.

Twelve hours later, Paige entered Café Felix during the afternoon coffee fix rush. It was the perfect place for the tried and true "spilled drink meet-cute." People had been up late and needed their caffeine. Plus, it was Saturday of a long weekend, so people were still in full-on party mode, the perfect time for this classic meet-cute. Paige glanced around the full café while she waited in line. Felix and his staff were working at double speed behind the bar, making drinks for the large line. It gave Paige time to scope out the men.

It was easy to narrow them down, even though there were a lot of them. The ones who were already in party mode would be too much for her. She was a bookworm after all. Drunk partying in the middle of the day was not her thing unless her favorite book came out and she was reading it with a pitcher of mimosas. Her eyes traveled past any men with a woman on their arms. When she found a man that looked nice, she dropped her eyes to check out his ring finger.

Paige's eyes kept moving as the line did. However, she found them constantly going back to the man directly behind her. He was so handsome in a laid-back, confident way. His blond hair was wild from the winter wind. His blue eyes laughed as he talked to his friend. His friend was equally attractive, but all dark and brooding compared to the blond Adonis.

"Happy New Year, Paige. What can I get you?" Felix asked. "Something spicy to start the new year off right?"

"Small black coffee. And not too hot," Paige ordered.

Felix's eyebrow rose. She never ordered a black coffee and she certainly never ordered a small. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Just trying new things," Paige said as she glanced behind her as if looking out the door.

Adonis winked. Brooding didn't.

"Here you go. One small black coffee. Hope it changes your world," Felix said sarcastically.

It was now or never. Paige smiled at Felix as she turned. "I'm sure it will." Then Paige stumbled as she smiled at Felix, but since she was in the process of turning, she tripped forward sending the coffee splashing onto Adonis's winter jacket.

"Oh my goodness!" Paige gasped with all the faux surprise she could muster. "I am so sorry. Let me buy you your coffee and pay to have your coat cleaned to make it up to you." Luckily the guy's coat was waterproof and the coffee rolled right off it. However, Paige took a risk and reached out for him with her napkin. She was ready to become the main character in this meet-cute.

"What the fuck?" Adonis cursed. "You clumsy cow. I have plans tonight and now I smell like coffee."

Paige was so taken back she froze with her hand on his chest in the middle of wiping the coffee off. Her eyes were wide and her heart broke. He called her a cow and was definitely not laughing this off.

"Thomas," Brooding snapped. "Chill. It was just a little coffee and it didn't even stain."

Well, Thomas the Adonis was clearly not book boyfriend or real-world boyfriend material.

Brooding looked over to her, but still didn't smile. His brown eyes were as deep as the coffee she'd just spilled and he looked into her as if seeing straight through to her soul. "What were you drinking?"

"Stop touching me," Thomas snapped, drawing Paige out of the strange depths of Brooding's eyes. It was then she realized she was still trying to clean Thomas off.

Paige dropped her hand trying not to show how hurt she was at being called a cow. "It was just a small black coffee. Again. I'm so sorry."

Brooding nodded and turned to Felix. "Two black coffees. One small. One large."

It dawned on Paige that Brooding was buying her a coffee instead of her buying Thomas one. "You don't have to do that. I should be buying it for you all since I made a mess of things."

"You should be," Thomas muttered before Brooding smacked his arm.

"Stop being such an ass, Thomas. It was an accident."

"Here you go," Felix said as Brooding handed over a ten and told Felix to keep the change.

"Thank you." Paige had never felt so defeated. She tried her first trope and it blew up in her face. She'd been called a name, and while a man had bought her coffee, it was pity coffee. How embarrassing. "Again, I'm so very sorry." Her voice had faded to a near whisper at this point.

Brooding nodded as Thomas ignored her and placed his order for an overly complicated drink. Tears threatened to fall as Paige rushed out of the café. Before she left, she heard Felix say they were out of whatever Thomas wanted and she couldn't help a little smile even as the first tear fell.

Paige closed the door to her apartment and went straight for the bunny hutch. It was a large rectangular cage with a ramp to Monty's own penthouse. "Oh Monty, it was horrible."

Monty's pink nose pressed against the wire door in his upstairs hutch before he hopped down the ramp into his play area. Paige opened the door and Monty hopped out and into her arms.

Paige buried her nose in his white fur. "He called me a cow."

Paige stood with Monty in her arms and closed the bathroom door. Hanging on the outside was a full-length mirror. Sure, her red hair was a mess from the wind, but she thought she looked cute with her poofy pink hat and her cute glasses instead of contacts. And it wasn't like her red hair was a carrot top red. She had naturally red hair that was more red and copper than brown and it made her greenish-brown eyes pop. Sure, she wasn't a stick-thin model who stalked down the sidewalks of New York as if they were on a catwalk, but she had great curves. And okay, she might have too much black in her closet. And sure, she might like comfort over style...

Paige picked up her phone and sent a text. Okay, new plan. Operation Be Your Own Main Character was about to launch.