He’s always been the one I never let myself have. And the one I never truly let go. 

​

Luke Wilder has been part of my life since high school–one of my closest friends, full of late night laughter and almost moments that felt like something more. 

​

But I learned early that men leave.

 

So, I leave first.

​

No relationships. No hope. No staying long enough to get hurt. Those were the rules that kept my heart safe… until Luke came home to Hawthorne Hills.

 

Now he’s back with that easy smile, a house that feels too much like a future, and a way of seeing straight through every wall I’ve built. 

One weekend at the lake puts us in the same bed–too close, too familiar–and suddenly the line between friendship and something more disappears. 

 

Luke says I’m safe with him. 
That he’s not going anywhere.

 

But love has always been the one thing capable of breaking me. 

 

And if I fall for him now, there’s no walking away.