The Sweet Dream

Cody Thompson is off-limits to me.

1. My friend Grace has a crush on him.
2. He’s the breakout male model of the year and a paparazzi magnet.
3. I hate being in front of cameras.

Now, Cody and I are paired for a portrait project in photography class. This gives me a chance to be a sweet friend and help Grace get a date to prom with him. But things turn sour.

Why? Because we fall for each other. But caring for Cody means being shoved in the limelight and facing my fears.

When a photo I take of Cody is leaked to the media, along with the secret which could destroy his career, I’m blamed. Cody may be off-limits, but I’m going to test the limits. How far will I go to prove my love?

The Sweet Dream is a standalone sweet romance in the Dream Prep Academy series. Books in this series can be read in any order. It’s ideal for fans of off-limits romance, electrifying touches, yummy treats, and swoony moments. Find your perfect book boyfriend at Dream Prep Academy.

“Do you like it sweet?”

My hand pauses at the deep voice. It’s lower and more melodic than I imagined and has the early morning gravel sound to it. I turn to look at the boy next to me. I’m pretty sure it’s Cody Thompson, but he wears a school sweatshirt with the hood up and it drapes around his face. I can’t see the hair he’s known for. Dark sunglasses cover his eyes, even though we’re inside and it’s a typical gray March day in Minnesota. Everyone at Dream Prep Academy knows Cody attends school here, but it’s a secret to the rest of the world. The secret stays within the bubble of DPA and is protected by serious nondisclosure agreements.

“Yeah,” I reply. My scratchy morning voice matches Cody’s. I grab two sugar packets from the bowl I was reaching for before Cody mysteriously talked to me.

“You don’t let the barista make you a fancy sweetened coffee?” Cody asks. He points to my reusable cup of black coffee from which I’ve removed the lid to add my own sweetener.

Cody has never talked to me before and the only time I’ve heard him speak is when he rescued Lizzie’s peanut free donuts from Case at our winter senior brunch. Grace will be excited to hear about this small conversation. Cody doesn’t talk to many people at our school.

I rip the two packets open at the same time and dump them in my cup of coffee. “They make it a little too sweet and I prefer to do it myself so I can get the right-”

“Ratio,” Cody fills in. “Me too.” He grabs two sugar packets and two small cream cups from the counter near Java Dream, the coffee shop in the commons building of our private school. “We have some classes together this term, right?” Cody asks as he opens a cream and pours it in his coffee.

“Yeah,” I reply. We have two classes together, but Cody is rarely here lately. I’m surprised he even knows I’m in class with him. He keeps to himself, and I don’t have a large social circle.

“You’re keeping an eye on me,” Cody says as he dumps the second cream in his cup.

“What? No, I…” Oh, no. How does he know I’m keeping tabs on him for Grace?

Cody gestures at the bowl containing individual containers of cream. “I mean, you’re watching me put cream in my coffee and I’m blocking you from it. Do you take cream?”

“Two please,” I reply and hold my hand out. Cody drops two small cream containers into my cupped palm. A small electric charge passes through the sensitive skin when Cody’s fingers brush the surface of my hand. I shiver a tiny amount. “Thanks.”

“You’re-” Cody is interrupted by the squawking tone of a rooster crowing in the morning. Startled, Cody violently rips a sugar packet open and tiny crystals fly all over the counter. He groans as he pulls a phone out of his hoodie pocket and looks at it. He lifts his ice blue eyes to me with a frown. “I need to take this.”

“It’s fine.” I grab a napkin. “I’ll clean this up. You take your call.”

“You’d do that for me?” Cody rubs his left eyebrow with the back of his hand while he holds the crowing phone.

“You’d better take your call before it goes to voicemail,” I say and start to brush the scattered sugar crystals into a pile with my fingertips.

“Thanks.” Cody grabs his coffee cup. “You’re the sweetest.”

He heads off before I can say anything. That’s me. As sweet as the sugar I sweep up.