How to Fake Date Your Grumpy Boss (How to Rom-com #1)

by Camilla Evergreen

A breath like a laugh pours out of his lips as the joy Mom stole returns in breathless bits and pieces. His eyes—twinkling and intent and so dang beautiful—fix on me, softening into puddles of molten warmth. “And my girl, my girl, gets to be a part of the next one.” I have chills, and Levi’s gone blurry. Tears fill my eyes, overflowing, and I lose myself into a gurgled sound as the drops fall down my cheeks, racing for the books in my arms. I hold them away to keep them safe as I sniffle, trembling. It’s the my girl. It’s the pure, uninhibited joy that I’ve never seen swallow Levi up like this before. It’s the fact that joy is for me. It’s the fact my mother is standing behind me, her usual beacon of disapproval, and I’m actually proud of myself despite it. I croak, “Yeah.” Levi’s mouth breaks into a full, toothy grin as he throws his fingers into his hair, tousling the dark strands silly before he throws his arm around me and pulls me, sobbing, in against his chest. His lips dapple across my head and temple. “I’m so proud of you.”