Don't Fool Yourself

Who knew my little white lie would spiral into fake dating my grumpy boss?

It was an accident, I swear. But when my parents think I'm dating my boss, I don't correct them. They hover over my life enough as it is. A make-believe boyfriend could take some of the pressure off.

They're half a world away. Nobody will even find out.

Except for the nosiest women in Sunshine, Oregon. And possibly everyone who watched that video of us that went viral...

Reed Bridger doesn't do small talk, hates anything that throws off his routine, and regularly scares away our coffee shop customers with his perma-frown. But I know he's not a gargoyle, even if he tries to pretend he's made of stone.

He suggests a fake relationship could help us both. Now, I'm practicing PDA with Reed, making up romantic stories on the fly, and being embraced by his entire family.

The longer we pretend to date, the more I see the man behind the scowl. A man who would drop everything to help his family. One who's living under unmet expectations of his own. And the only man who's ever truly seen me.

But I can't risk developing very real feelings for my very fake boyfriend, or the biggest fool of all could be me.