peter pumpkin just became fertilizer

The title is from Frozen II, "somethings never change."

Valentina Garcia is a misfit in her own mind.
She's socially awkward, an absolute klutz, and so wrapped up in her own world that she's forgotten that other human beings exist. Her comfort zone is so big, that it practically extends out of her dingy rented apartment in New York, all the way to Seattle. And as well as it keeps her from going out, it prevents anyone from coming in, too.

On paper, Elijah Mariani's got it all. He's one of the partners in a fairly established publishing company, and he doesn't constantly worry about how expensive his toilet paper is, so that says something. And Elijah and Valentina seem like they're worlds apart... Except that his walls are as impenetrable as her bubble.
When Elijah falls in love with Valentina's writing, he has to hire her, because... Because. The only issue is, he's been halfway gone for her since the first time they met in college, but she seems to despise him. And he doesn't know if he can control his feelings any longer. He's not going to tell her anytime soon, because he doesn't want her to run away. Again.

PS: The cover isn't mine. I don't know whose it is, though I have a strong suspicion it's AI generated. But I did edit it a little bit on Canva (the writing is all mine). So..... just don't sue me, okay?