Picking Daisies on Sundays by Liana Cincotti

Daniella Daisy Maria wanted love. It’s all she hoped for when watching endless rom-coms every Friday night. What she hadn’t hoped for was to find it in her childhood best friend Levi. It was the hand-trembling, heart-thumping kind of love that wasn’t supposed to happen when you saw your best friend. But it all ended when he didn’t feel the same way and she vowed to never see him again.

Four years later and one night in a crowded bar in the West Village, there he was, just as perfect as ever. Maybe it was the lighting or the way his hair curled above his brow, but she couldn’t say no when he asked her to be his fake girlfriend for his sister’s wedding. Another chance at being his friend and mending her immature mistake? How was she supposed to say no?

The weight of possible rejection from her dream grad school quickly became the least of her problems. With old, resurfacing feelings at every staged, romantic interaction and stolen glance, she struggles to find confidence. She couldn’t help but think that maybe she should’ve said no to protect her heart for a second time.