So what’d you think of Weston?

Did he piss you off in the beginning? Did you love him by the end? Yeah, me too.

The core ideas for this book came from a few different places. I already had Kendra lined up to be a heroine—after writing Book Boyfriend, clearly Kendra needed her HEA. I also wanted to do a roommate story. There’s something so tantalizing about that version of forced proximity. And it gave me the admittedly cheeky title of Cocky Roommate.

But who was the hero?

Here was where I set myself up with a challenge. Actually, it’s more like the challenge was hurled at me (although the hurling of it wasn’t intentional) by my friend Nikki. She said something to the effect of, “I’d love it if you wrote a hero who was a champion asshole.”

So, of course I had to do it.

I loved the challenge of making Weston a dick in the beginning and finding ways to redeem him by the end. I knew it was possible. I’ve read some great books with asshole heroes who you grow to love. But it required careful attention to his motives, his backstory, his decisions, and his thought processes.

Believe it or not, I had a harder time making him an asshole than I did making him lovable by the end. Probably because I knew why he was that way. There always has to be a really solid why, particularly if I’m giving a character undesirable traits (or traits that make it difficult for them to get to the HEA). Understanding where Weston was coming from made it easier for me to dig beneath his asshole armor and find his good side.

Weston broke when his mom died. He didn’t have anyone to care for him, so he quickly grew accustomed to being swept out of the way. Between spending so much of his childhood without anyone who was the least bit nurturing (arguably when he needed it most), and the pain of losing his mother, he becomes an adult who intentionally pushes people away before they can get close to him. But deep down, he craves the connection he’s been working so hard to avoid.

Kendra came alive for me in Book Boyfriend. She was straightforward and sassy with her brothers, but also very supportive. Alex might have been the one doing the heavy lifting for their dad financially, but Kendra was always there, quietly getting things done.

So why throw a guy like Weston at a sweetheart like Kendra? Well, I knew she could handle him.

Kendra isn’t about to take Weston’s shit. But she also believes that most people are generally decent, and from the beginning, she tries to see the good in Weston. And when he’s hurt, and she realizes he literally has no one else to help him, she doesn’t really see it as a choice. Of course she’s going to take care of him. To her it’s not an amazing feat of generosity; it’s just what she does.

And that’s kind of the heart of it. This isn’t a story about a woman trying to show a man how to be different. Kendra isn’t trying to change Weston. She just goes on doing what she always does. And that’s what starts to unravel Weston’s assholedom.

Kendra doesn’t seduce Weston with her sex appeal (although he fully admits she has it). It’s how she treats him, and the people around her, that gets under his skin. He can’t help but begin to care about her. She makes it impossible not to. She cares about him, and she doesn’t try to hide it. Because again, to her, it isn’t anything extraordinary. Of course she remembers what kind of pasta sauce he likes. Of course she packages up leftovers and leaves a little note. Of course she knows he loved her lasagna. That’s just Kendra.

But Weston has never been the recipient of that kind of care and consideration. As a child, he should have, but his parents were unable or unwilling to give it to him. As an adult, he doesn’t let anyone in his life; he stops them by being a jerk before they can begin to care for him. Kendra gets the chance to show him what it feels like to be cared for, and to care for someone in return. And it’s life changing.

Writing Weston through that transformation was really satisfying. I loved him in the middle, when he’s confused and frustrated. I joked more than once about poor Weston and all his damn FEELINGS. He didn’t know what to do with himself for a while there. I like it when characters really have to struggle against their flaws—when their view of the world is turned upside down. They have to reorient themselves and figure out what it all means, and who they really are.

I hope you enjoyed the book! And if you’re hoping for more from the Lawson family, I’m happy to say you’re in luck. Caleb and little Charlotte also have a story to tell.

Thanks for reading!