Page 80 of Faking the Book Boyfriend

He tickles me and we both laugh, trying to stuff down the emotions of our impending separation.

Three WeeksLater

“Knock, knock.”

I look up from my office desk and see Darian and her husband, Jackson, at the door. He’s got his arms around her from behind. He’s constantly touching her. I always thought they had this magical, fairytale of a relationship. One thatnormalpeople don’t have. It turns out that it can happen. Trey treats me the way Jackson treats Darian. Trey loves me the way Jackson loves her. Special, all-encompassing love does exist beyond the pages of romance novels.

I try to plaster a fake smile on my face. “Are you two headed out for the day?”

She nods. “We are. Reagan and Carter are picking us up for dinner.” Reagan is her daughter and Carter is her son-in-law. “I just wanted to check on you before we leave.”

“I’m fine. The Morton deal went through today. I’m finalizing the paperwork.”

“I don’t mean work, Gemma. I know the past few weeks have been hard on you. You miss him. It’s okay to admit it.”

I pinch my lips together and nod. “Only a little over a week until he’s back in New York. I’m sure the partners of all baseball players miss their men.”

“I’m not worried about them. I’m worried about you. Listen,Jackson and I have talked about it. He does a lot of real estate deals in New York City. He’d welcome in-house counsel. If you want to move, I’ll understand. There’s a job waiting there for you.”

I look up at Jackson. “You’d hire me?”

He smiles at me. “For Darian’s tenth favorite employee? Of course.”

We all laugh at the ongoing joke.

“I appreciate the offer. Can I think about it? I’ve never seen myself living anywhere but Philly, and I’ve never seen myself as the kind of woman who would uproot everything in her life for a man.”

Darian gives me a small smile. “You’re in love, sweetheart. It’s okay to change course. Love changes you, and there’s no shame in that. It’s well worth it. And of course you can think about it. It’s an open-ended offer.”

“Thank you. I might go visit my grandmother for the weekend, leaving tomorrow after work. Maybe I’ll surprise Trey at his game on Saturday.”

She only lives an hour from where he’s playing this Saturday.

“Why don’t you make it a long weekend? Call in sick tomorrow.”

“You’re literally my boss. You can’t encourage me to lie and call in sick.”

She giggles. “Happy employees are productive employees. How about you work on the plane ride, and we’ll call it even?”

I smile at the best boss in the world. The one I can’t imagine ever leaving. “Deal.”

Just then, Reagan appears in my doorway. She’s about my age and is beautiful, with blonde hair and blue eyes, but looks nothing like Darian. She and I have always gotten along well, both with a sarcastic, dry sense of humor.

She gives me her mischievous smile. “Well, well. If it isn’t my mother’s secret love child.” She always cracks jokes about how much more I look like Darian than she does.

I grin widely. “Hey,sis. Did you bring me a belated holiday gift?”

“I did.” She reaches into her purse and pretends to search for one before lifting out her middle finger, turning it upright, and flipping me off.

I let out a laugh. “Good one. What a coincidence. I got the same thing for you.” I use my middle finger to simulate putting on my lipstick.

She wiggles her eyebrows. “I hear you’re banging Trey DePaul. Nice pull.”

I nod in agreement. “Yep. Mom and I pull all the hotties.”

I wink at Jackson, and they all laugh.

I Uberto Grammy Jane’s house by late morning. She’s standing outside to greet me. I immediately fall into her comforting arms and start sobbing.

---