The Merger

Crushes are harmless—unless they involve your best friend’s grumpy, off-limits brother.

Gannon Brewer is the epitome of my type. He’s at least ten years older than me, emotionally unavailable, and highly disagreeable—a walking red flag in a tailored suit. But do I listen to that? No. In fact, when his office plants start dying, I convince myself that I can ignore the pheromones and save the philodendron. Now I’m in his office every week, dodging sinful smirks and heated stares, reminding myself to reach for the watering can—not him. But one “ivy incident” changes everything. Suddenly, we’re sneaking around, indulging in...

Crushes are harmless—unless they involve your best friend’s grumpy, off-limits brother.

Gannon Brewer is the epitome of my type. He’s at least ten years older than me, emotionally unavailable, and highly disagreeable—a walking red flag in a tailored suit. But do I listen to that? No. In fact, when his office plants start dying, I convince myself that I can ignore the pheromones and save the philodendron. Now I’m in his office every week, dodging sinful smirks and heated stares, reminding myself to reach for the watering can—not him. But one “ivy incident” changes everything. Suddenly, we’re sneaking around, indulging in a steamy, forbidden fling that’s supposed to be nothing more than (a lot of) fun. After all, he swears he’ll never fall in love. I assure him that I only want one thing, and it’s not his heart. But the closer we get, the more lines we blur, and the harder it becomes to keep our promises … Especially when the secret I’m keeping threatens to shatter everything.