Wrapped in Comfort

MARLEY

I despise Blaine Foster.

I mean, I used to like him back when we were young. Our family home was a place of refuge for him. My brother, Blaine, and I used to do everything together. Until we didn’t. Until he became too cool to hang out with me. Until he started teasing me about everything. Like everything I do.

It irks me how he’s ridiculously handsome and charming, and how everyone in town, including my parents, adores him. Because he is sweet and kind to everyone. Just not me.

And then something shifts between us while working on our holiday parade entry. Those kind eyes, those sweet gestures, the gorgeous smile that makes all the ladies swoon are directed at me.

But what if I’m misreading it as something more? He’s a charmer who can’t possibly see me as anything besides his best friend’s kid sister, and not as a woman who has secretly been in love with him for years.

BLAINE

Marley Hudson is always so serious, organized, and fiercely competitive. Which makes riling her up so much fun.

When we’re forced to work together, I’m finally able to see the walls she put around herself crumble. To be fair, those walls only go up when I’m around. She’s a kindhearted angel to everyone else in the world.

The sizzle in the air is no longer from snappy comebacks but from long gazes, blushing cheeks, and simple brushes of our fingers. When I take the chance and hint at my attraction, she throws it back in my face.

I’m comfortable, she says. Like an old couch. Worn slippers. I don’t think I’ll ever be good enough for a woman like Marley. Will she always see me as her brother’s best friend or will she be the only person who actually sees inside my heart?