Learned Reactions

"The friends-to-lovers trope feels fresh in Ellis's hands, in part because it's underpinned by a lovingly drawn depiction of Black family dynamics." —Publishers Weekly
Carlton Monroe is finally getting his groove back. After a year playing dad to his nephew and sending him safely off to college, it's back to his bachelor ways. But when his teenaged niece shows up on his doorstep looking for a permanent home, his plan comes to a screeching halt. Family is everything, and in the eyes of social services, a couple makes a better adoptive family than an overworked bachelor father. A fake relationship with his closest friend is the best way to keep his family together.
If things between him and Deion are complicated, well, it only needs to last until the end of the semester.
Living with Carlton is a heartbreak waiting to happen, and once the adoption goes through, Deion's out. He's waited two decades for Carlton to realize they're meant for each...