My Phony Valentine (Holidays with Hart, #1)

by Courtney Walsh

Most people outgrow their bullying once they graduate high school, but it turns out that’s not true for boxed-wine sociopaths like Margot.

Then, to his grandma, “Are you comfortable? I think you should sit in the living room.” He reaches out to help her and she smacks his hand away. “I think you should go sit in traffic.”

“You think she’s pretty?” “Yes, she’s beautif. . .” he blurts that out, and abruptly stops, caught.

It’s not the kind of smile that would alert the paparazzi, but it’s the kind of smile that a person could hold onto. The kind that could make, say, a man in a tough spot hope that things could turn around again. Like an anchor. A safe space to land.

Adulting is hard. Even at twenty-eight, I haven’t mastered it. There are moments when I don't want to be strong, or independent, or responsible. There are moments I want someone else to take the risk, or make the decision, or tell me what to do.

People don’t always let us become who we are. They try to keep us in the box of who we were.

That’s the danger of wanting to be loved—you start to see possibilities everywhere. Even where there are none.

Pretending to be dating might not be the difficult part of this whole arrangement. Not letting myself actually develop feelings for her is a bigger concern.

The way he encourages them and points out what they’re doing well before giving them advice on how to get better. I can see the boys soaking up every word.

She’s standing in front of me in pajamas, with her dark hair in a bun on her head and not a stitch of makeup on, and she’s never looked more beautiful.

It goes against everything I believe about relationships, but Poppy is safe. In a way nobody else in the world is safe.

She watches me so intently I feel like she can see straight through my crap and right into my soul. Nobody else has even bothered to look before.

“I’m only thinking about what I’ll gain.” “Which is what?” “You,” he says simply. “You are all I want.”

“Haven’t you ever been that crazy over someone? That you were willing to make a complete fool of yourself?”

“I’m scared of what tomorrow is going to feel like if you’re not there. I’m scared of going another day without telling you how I really feel.”