Chapter 1

Scott's POV

Emma Marshall looked at me in confusion and instinctively touched the hearing aid behind her ear.

"What did you say? I didn't catch that."

She rarely made much effort to listen because she knew I would always repeat myself until she understood.

But this time, I didn't feel like saying it again.

"Nothing." I kept my voice even. "Cancel the deal. I told you I wanted a house in Blackmere, so that's where we should be buying one."

Her expression immediately soured.

"You can't just back out of buying a house because you changed your mind.

"You designed the whole place, and I spent weeks overseeing the renovations. Now you're suddenly saying you don't want it anymore?

"Can you stop being so unreasonable?"

The tension between us was thick when the lock suddenly beeped and the front door opened.

Kevin Stone walked in using his fingerprint like he lived there.

The three of us froze and stared at one another.

The moment he realized we were arguing, Kevin stepped in without hesitation, acting more like Emma's boyfriend than I was.

"Scott, cut her some slack. She has hearing loss. It's not like she did it on purpose. Just stay for dinner. I'll cook, and we can celebrate the new place a little early."

He started washing and chopping vegetables, then moved around the kitchen like he had done it a hundred times before.

He looked completely at home.

Emma watched him with a softness in her eyes that was impossible to miss. Then, like always, she went over to help.

The two of them worked side by side without even needing to talk, moving around each other with the easy familiarity of a couple who had been doing this for years.

They seemed to have forgotten one small detail: this was supposed to be our future home.

I turned to leave, but Emma rushed over and grabbed my arm.

"Kevin's going out of his way to cook us a housewarming dinner, and you're still acting like this? Can you at least try to be grateful?"

Was this really supposed to be a housewarming dinner for me?

The second I walked in, I could tell the place looked nothing like the home I designed.

The guest room, which was only supposed to be for friends and family visiting from out of town, was now twice the size of the primary bedroom.

They even took space from the gaming room I had spent so much time planning, shrinking it down until it was barely bigger than a closet. Even the walls were covered in the glossy tile I rejected from the beginning.

Every change had clearly been made with Kevin in mind.

"You two eat without me," I said flatly.

I had just reached for the door when Kevin stepped in front of me. His expression immediately turned hurt.

"I don't know what your problem is, Scott, but if you're pissed off, take it out on me. Emma has hearing loss. She doesn't need you raising your voice at her."

My hands curled into fists as a sharp ache twisted through my chest.

I had seen Kevin lose his temper with Emma more times than I could count.

Once, he even smacked the hearing aid she treasured most right out of her ear. But she immediately picked it up and begged him to repeat every cruel thing he just said.

She was afraid she might have missed even a single word.

Yet whenever Emma and I argued, she would simply take out her hearing aids. Then she would leave me talking to myself until I looked like some unhinged idiot throwing a fit for no reason.

But I was done making a fool of myself.

From now on, I wouldn't argue with her again.