Sleeping in the same house as my best friend’s dad was supposed to be temporary. Falling for him was never part of the deal.
Maya is twenty‑six, broke, and out of options when her best friend offers her a lifeline: spend the summer at his dad’s empty house, figure out her life, and try not to spiral after everything falls apart. She’s expecting quiet days, job applications, and the safe comfort of the Blackthorn home she remembers from high school—not the punch of heat that hits when Damian Blackthorn opens the door.
Damian is forty‑four, grumpy, and used to being alone, his life pared down to his work, his routines, and an echoing house he keeps too clean. He shouldn’t notice the way Maya fills his spaces—the soft laugh in his kitchen, bare legs on his porch, tank tops and tiny shorts that turn his sanity inside out—but once he does, he can’t look away. She’s his son’s best friend, half his age, and absolutely, completely off‑limits.
One “accidental” brush of hands in the kitchen turns into a reckless kiss that detonates years of restraint. Soon they’re stealing hours in every corner of the house—on the couch while Logan watches TV in the next room, in the shower with his son working downstairs, out in the garden where a single look over the hedge could expose them. The risk only makes it worse: the more they break the rules, the more addictive it becomes to hear her choke back his name while Logan is twenty feet away.
Mornings that were supposed to be harmless coffee runs become rough, breathless hookups on the kitchen island. Nights that should be spent sleeping turn into marathon sessions in Damian’s unlocked bed, his hand spread possessively over her stomach as if he can keep her there by sheer will. Between the guilt and the orgasms, something dangerous grows—Damian picturing a future where Maya doesn’t leave, and Maya realizing the quiet, guarded man she’s been sneaking around with has already taken up permanent space in her heart.
But summer has an end date and secrets have teeth. When Logan starts to notice how different his dad feels—and how different Maya looks—“no one’s getting hurt” stops being a promise and starts sounding like a lie. With the clock ticking down, they have to decide: walk away before they blow up the family that took her in…or admit the truth and risk losing everything for a love that was never supposed to happen.
Will Maya slam the door on the most forbidden, consuming relationship of her life—or will Damian finally claim what’s his, even if it means breaking his son’s heart?
Tropes / What you’ll get:
Age gap romance (26 x 44, single dad)
Best friend’s dad / off‑limits guardian
Forced proximity, one house, one summer
High‑heat, explicit scenes in every room (and outdoors)
Heavy taboo vibes, constant risk of being caught
Grumpy, controlled silver fox x anxious, messy sunshine
Emotional spiral: guilt, obsession, and “we said it was just for summer”
HEA‑or‑die‑trying energy in the final act
