In Love With My Son's Best Friend
“Funny how the best things are the ones you are not supposed to touch,” he murmured. His voice was low and husky. It curled under my skin and made me shiver. I bit down on my lip, remembering his kiss from nights ago.
“Do not,” I whispered, but my voice cracked.
He lifted a hand, his fingers grazing my arm before he tugged me closer. “Knowing we should not be doing this makes me want you more.”
June Wallace believed she had the perfect life: a wealthy husband, two beautiful children, and the admiration of everyone in her social circle. But when she walks in on her husband of twenty years with a secretary young enough to be their daughter, her world shatters.
One night of heartbreak pulls her into the arms of Luca, a stranger with piercing blue eyes who is half her age and makes her feel alive again. It was meant to be a single night. Fake names. No strings. Until he walks into her home weeks later as her son’s best friend.
Now June is caught in the most forbidden desire. Luca does not care about their age difference. He does not care about the risks. He wants her, and he is not afraid to fight for her even if it tears her family apart. But secrets never stay hidden, and when the truth emerges, June must choose between the perfect life everyone expects and the messy, consuming love she never knew she needed until Luca.
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Chapter: EPILOGUEJUNE’S POVOne Year LaterMorning sunlight filled the nursery, so I paused in the doorway and watched Luca holding our son close.One of his big hands covered the baby’s entire back while the other supported his small head. He rocked gently, steady and practiced from all the hours we’d spent learning together. Noah’s eyes stayed closed, his tiny mouth slightly open, his body completely relaxed with that kind of trust only newborns have.“Easy now,” Luca murmured. “Daddy’s got you. I’ll always have you.”I pressed my hand to my chest.Noah James Brooks.He was born three months ago after eighteen long hours of labor that left Luca crying almost as much as the baby. He weighed seven pounds, six ounces, and had a full head of dark hair. Everyone said he already had his father’s eyes.I saw mine instead. Maybe I just wanted that to be true.My shoulders relaxed as I stood there, taking them in.Everything it took to get here ran through my mind.It was never simple. There were turns I did
Last Updated: 2026-04-07
Chapter: 0181: HOME SWEET CHAOSJUNE’S POVI slid the key into the lock and paused for a second.This apartment was ours now. We had chosen it together, fixed it up side by side, and filled it with mismatched chairs, stacks of books, and photos that told our story.After two weeks away, walking back in felt natural.Luca nudged the door open with his hip, juggling both suitcases. The smell hit me first. No ocean breeze or tropical flowers. Just coffee, old books, and the faint trace of candles Marlene had burned while taking care of the plants.“Home,” he said, dropping the bags.I shut the door and leaned against it. “Home.”He crossed the room in a few quick steps and pulled me into his arms. We stayed there, wrapped in the quiet.“It’s good to be back,” he murmured into my hair.“It’s good to be back with you.”He gave a soft laugh. “I was with you the whole trip.”“That’s what made it good.”We unpacked slowly. The shells for Ashley went into a glass bowl on the coffee table. The champagne we saved went into the
Last Updated: 2026-04-07
Chapter: 0180: WIFE ON DECKJUNE’S POVOur plane touched down on the runway just as the sun started to set.I kept my cheek pressed to the little window, watching the coastline slide into view below us. Turquoise waves met golden sand while palm trees swayed in a breeze I could almost feel through the glass. Luca sat beside me, seatbelt already off, fidgeting like he always did when he got excited.He brought it up again, for what felt like the hundredth time. “Two weeks straight. Just you and me.”“You keep saying that like you still can’t believe we’re actually here.”He leaned in and kissed my temple. “I can’t. Pinch me so I know this is real.”I gave his arm a firm pinch.“Ouch. I meant something softer.”“You left that part out.”Once the plane stopped, we grabbed our luggage—one suitcase each, plus the small duffel with sunscreen, that book I’d been putting off for ages, and the champagne we’d picked up at duty-free.The second we stepped outside, warm humid air wrapped around me, thick with salt. It felt
Last Updated: 2026-04-07
Chapter: 0179: TWO WEEKS NAKEDJUNE’S POVI stayed curled up next to Luca in bed for the next hour. Our phones glowed between us as we searched for honeymoon destinations, stealing kisses whenever one of us looked up.The mountains came up first. He ruled them out quickly because sunshine was at the top of his list.Europe tempted us for a minute, but the flight would eat up too much of our two weeks.I shut down the cruise idea immediately. “Boats make me queasy even when I just look at them from shore.”Luca rejected camping just as fast. “I love you, but I’m not sleeping on the ground for our honeymoon.”Then I found it.A small town on the southern coast with private villas right on the ocean. Miles of empty beach, no crowds, just palm trees, salt air, and a hammock Luca would claim instantly.“This,” I said, turning my phone toward him.He studied the photos. The first showed turquoise water and a villa with an outdoor shower and a king bed facing the ocean.“Book it,” he said.“Seriously? That fast?”“June, I
Last Updated: 2026-04-07
Chapter: 0178: HUSBAND PROVES ITJUNE’S POVThe party lights were still glowing in the backyard as my new husband swept me up along the flower-lined walkway. My wedding gown’s lace spilled across his jacket. Cheers and songs followed us—Adrian hollered, Marlene sniffled happily, Ashley yelped—but Luca never slowed down. He carried me straight to the small stone cottage at the far end of the property, the one Marlene had decorated with extra peonies, candles, and a chilled bottle of champagne on the nightstand.Our first night as a married couple.Husband and wife.Those words still felt brand-new on my tongue, just like the simple gold band circling my finger. We’d picked it out together because it matched us—solid and real.He kicked the door shut and eased me down so my back pressed against the cool wood. We paused, staring at each other in the soft lamp light. His eyes were still puffy from the ceremony. Mine probably were too. Heat flared between us now, built from every touch and glance out in the yard.“Mrs. Br
Last Updated: 2026-04-07
Chapter: 0177: FOREVER STARTSJUNE’S POVThe rain had finally eased.I paused right at the garden entrance, fingers resting lightly on Adrian’s arm while I watched those clouds split open above us. Sunlight poured down warmly through the opening.Marlene had called me radiant earlier that morning. Confident. Free.The ivory lace gown had sleeves brushing my wrists, and the train brushed softly over the damp grass. No veil. Peonies pinned right into my hair matched the ones Marlene had set out on the tables. My face stayed open now.Adrian glanced down at me. His eyes looked a little red from the tears he’d shed back in the hallway before we headed out, though he’d brush it aside if asked.“You ready, Mom?”I gave his arm a light squeeze. “Been ready for three years now.”He smiled. “Then let’s get you to him before he waits any longer.”The music kicked in right then. It skipped the usual march for a gentler tune that took me back to the summer I first met Luca. He’d picked this piano melody himself months earlier
Last Updated: 2026-04-07
Chapter: 16. He's the Child I WantedHannah's POVLeo woke me at six, wide awake and ready to start the day. By seven he was fed, changed and cool to the touch, sleeping again in the white crib. The guest house was so quiet that I could hear the refrigerator hum. I had just poured my first coffee when Gabriel knocked.He stood on the step in dark trousers and a pale blue shirt, holding a second cup. He hadn't slept, and it showed."Good morning," he said. "I thought you might want another.""I already made some.""Then I'll drink this one." He glanced toward the nursery. "How is he?""Still cool, and he's eating like nothing happened."His shoulders loosened. He had kept the rule this time, so I stepped back and held the door. He set the cup on the counter and pulled out the chair across from mine at the small kitchen table."Can we talk about Elise?" he asked.My fingers tightened around my mug. I had read about her in an interview on the night I found Tessa's name, sitting at Rosa's with Leo in the drawer. She was the
Last Updated: 2026-11-05
Chapter: 15. Questions About Her JudgmentGabriel's POVLeo lay on the changing mat in his open sleeper, red-faced, his cries thin and tired. Hannah already had the thermometer out."He's burning up, Hannah," I said, standing over them. "That's dangerous for a baby this small. Why haven't you taken him to the hospital? We should call an ambulance right now, or I'll carry him to my car and drive him there myself. Let's go now.""Not yet." She slid the thermometer under his arm, keeping her eyes on him. "Don't pick him up. I need the reading first."The thermometer beeped."A hundred and one point three," she said. "That's a fever, and I expected one after his shots this morning, so we don't need to panic yet. First I'm going to check him properly, and then I'm calling the clinic's night line."She ran her fingers over his chest, watching his breathing. She checked his skin. She touched his cheek."Leo, sweetheart. Look at Mommy."He turned toward her and made a small sound.She called the clinic with the phone pinned against h
Last Updated: 2026-11-04
Chapter: 14. Then There's No AgreementHannah's POV"First, I pay rent," I said, holding the phone tight against my ear. "I'll pay you from my first paycheck, and until then, you can call it a debt.""There's no need," Gabriel said. "I'm not taking rent from you while you have no income.""Then there's no agreement. I'm not living on your land for free so your lawyers can tell a judge you bought us a roof." I didn't give him time to argue. "Second, you knock before you come into the guest house, every single time. I don't care that you own it or that Leo is your son. While we live there, it's my home. Third, your lawyers never speak to me directly. If they have questions or want papers, they go through June. I won't have Howard Greene cornering me in my own kitchen."I waited for him to fight me on at least one of them."Agreed, all three," he said. "I'll make sure Howard understands. But I have one of my own. Leo needs a real crib with a firm mattress and nothing loose in it. Dr. Kessler is going to look at both homes, an
Last Updated: 2026-11-03
Chapter: 13. The Story About Your HusbandHannah's POVMr. Collins's notice stayed taped to Rosa's door all night. Rosa called him that night, begging, but he refused to change his mind: one tenant, or she was out too. I kept walking past that door, thinking about Rosa losing her home because she had taken us in.The next morning, Gabriel Locke's name lit up my phone. I let it ring three times before I answered."I heard about the landlord," he said.I gripped the phone. "How?""Dr. Kessler mentioned it on a call with Howard. She didn't give details, so I asked a few questions of my own.""Then you know Rosa and I are handling it," I said."Are you? Where will you go, Hannah?" he asked, not waiting for an answer. "I have a guest house in Winnetka, behind the main house. It's furnished and has its own entrance, so you'd have your privacy. You and Leo can stay there."I said no before he finished."You haven't even seen it," he said, his voice hardening. "This is for my son.""And I'm his mother," I said. "Every time you offer
Last Updated: 2026-11-03
Chapter: 12. I Didn't Rent a ShelterHannah's POVDr. Ruth Kessler was due at nine, so I spent the hour before it trying to make Rosa's apartment seem bigger than it was. I folded the blanket, wiped the counter twice and hid the laundry basket beside the refrigerator, but none of it helped.The apartment had one bedroom, one bathroom, a tiny kitchen and a living room barely big enough for the couch. Leo's drawer sat against the wall. I had lined it with clean towels and tucked the blanket tight, so nothing could slide over his face. I had checked it a dozen times.Rosa stood beside me in her scrubs, arms folded. "Stop looking at that drawer," she whispered. "You're making yourself nervous.""I'm not nervous," I lied.Three firm knocks sounded on the door. The woman outside was about fifty, with short brown hair, glasses and a leather folder."Ms. Ashcroft? I'm Ruth Kessler. May I come in?"I stepped aside. She introduced herself to Rosa, then set her folder down and sat on the edge of the couch instead of the chair I off
Last Updated: 2026-11-02
Chapter: 11. A Billionaire Buying a BabyGabriel's POVBrett Ashcroft's letter had been on my desk since Friday morning. By ten on Monday, ten million dollars was sitting in an account, ready to leave the minute he signed.Arranging it took one phone call. I wanted Brett out of Leo's life for good. I didn't want any legal tie left between my son and the man who had publicly disowned him.Howard Greene ruined that plan by storming in and dropping a copy of the letter on my desk."Tell me you haven't approved that payment," he said."The money's ready," I said."Ten million dollars, Gabriel?" Howard asked."It's cheaper than fighting him in court for years," I said, leaning back.Howard sat down in front of my desk. "A judge will see a billionaire buying a baby. Brett's lawyers will say you bought a child, and every question about your motives will hurt your custody case.""He's asking for money, not custody.""Today," Howard said. "He could change his mind tomorrow.""I'm not buying Leo," I said."Then don't make it look that
Last Updated: 2026-11-02
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