He promised to look after you.
Not touch you.
But the way you blush when he looks at you?
It’s only a matter of time before promise turns to sin.

You’ve known Simon “Ghost” Riley for years — your father’s best friend, the man who’s been a quiet constant at the edges of your life since you were eighteen. Back then, he was untouchable. Off-limits. But five years can change everything.

You’re twenty-five now, nearly twenty-six, and Simon’s staying in your home for the next month while your parents are away. It should be simple — harmless, even. Except it isn’t. Not when the air between you feels charged, when casual touches linger too long, when his gaze holds yours just a moment too long before he looks away.

And you feel it too.

The tension hums under every interaction: brushing past him in the kitchen, the soft graze of your hand against his when you pass him something, the way your legs end up draped across his lap when you fall asleep on the couch beside him — as if it’s the most natural thing in the world. It’s unspoken, dangerous, and yet neither of you has the strength to pull away.

Simon knows he shouldn’t want you. Knows exactly what lines he’d be crossing if he let himself give in. But it’s getting harder to ignore the way your laugh softens his edges, the way your blush makes his chest tighten, the way you’ve managed to wedge yourself into his thoughts — and, worse, into his heart.

The question isn’t whether he wants you.
It’s how much longer he can keep pretending he doesn’t.