Page 29 of Grumpy Darling

“Maybe she does, but she doesn’t realize it yet,” Owen suggested.

“Or maybe she would if you gave her a chance to see you that way,” Matt added.

I let out a sigh, knowing the sooner I gave in and let them say their piece, the sooner I could leave and pretend this whole thing had never happened.

“Okay, I’ll play along,” I said. “But what exactly am I supposed to do?”

“Well, the first stage of any good intervention is admitting you have a problem,” Parker said.

This all seemed so much worse when it was coming from him.

“And then . . .” I prompted through gritted teeth.

“And then, allowing your friends to help,” Reed answered and nodded at Parker.

The smirk my younger brother had been wearing since this all started grew even wider. He practically skipped across the room to where Coach Ray’s tactics whiteboard was. He wheeled it back toward us and then flipped it over so all the plays that had been scribbled on the board disappeared and were replaced by something else. It was a list. And I stared, frozen in horror, as I read the title at the top.

“Operation Shrek?”

“We could hardly call it Operation Prince Charming...” Parker laughed.

As I scanned my gaze down the list, I realized the title was the least of my worries.

Operation Shrek

Makeover. Dress nicer and get your hair cut

Compliment her — but not too much

Flirt with her — but don’t be creepy

Show your sensitive side — if you don’t have one, fake it!

Touch her more– show her you have chemistry!

Be charming — or at least try

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