The Bookworm and The Stranger

Ongoing story, sporadic posting schedule, chronically ill author. Feedback welcome. First attempt. This book WILL HAVE SMUT in it later, and is recommended for readers 18+.

An interabled romance. Enter the quiet girl, the one who is too damn smart for her own good, beautiful but doesn't know it, and hiding a hell of a lot of trauma behind a snarky inner monologue, elite level sarcasm, and a stubborn streak a mile wide. Oh, and she's sick. Like, really sick, and getting worse. Fiercely fighting to hang on to her independence and the walls she's built over the years, Christine tries to be content with her books and her own company in her careful, quiet little world. She has no idea that a visit to her favorite bookstore is going to have her leaving with far more than she bargained for.

From nearly the moment she caught his attention, Xavier was intrigued. That quickly grew to being captivated, before morphing into concern and a surprisingly strong protective inclination he didn't know he had. He has a massive soft spot for his pretty little bibliophile, and its obvious to him that something is VERY wrong and if he's not mistaken, getting worse. He desperately wants to help her, be there for her, but he can also tell she is TERRIFIED of accepting that kind of support and if he pushes too hard she will run. That's okay, though. He's a patient man and he wants her to feel comfortable trusting him with the secrets shadowing her eyes and heart. Can she be brave enough to tell the truth, for both their sakes? Can he coax her into accepting him fully into her life so he can give her the love and support she so desperately needs? And maybe even the happily ever after they both deserve 😏🖤

**Please check out the spoon theory story by Christine Miserandino for more understanding and clarification about "spoonies" and some of the jargon, it will be referenced in Christine's POV often.**