stop calling me little sister

I was fourteen the first time I met Luca Bennett.

Five years later, I still couldn't decide whether meeting him had been the best thing that ever happened to me... or the worst.

"My annoying little sister is in the backyard," my older brother, Noah Carter, called over his shoulder as he walked into the house with his best friend.

Curiosity got the better of me, so I peeked around the corner.

That was the moment I saw him.

Luca Bennett.

Dark hair that looked like he'd run his fingers through it one too many times, hazel eyes that seemed to laugh before his lips ever did, and a smile so unfairly perfect it should've come with a warning label.

He caught me staring.

"Who's this?" he asked, tilting his head toward me.

Noah sighed dramatically. "My little sister, Evelyn Carter. Don't let the innocent face fool you. She's a menace."

"I am not," I protested.

Luca chuckled.

"Nice to meet you, Evelyn."

That smile.

God, that smile.

I was fourteen, awkward, wearing oversized pajamas and braces I hated with every fiber of my being.

I didn't know it then, but that single smile would ruin every boy who came after him.

From that day on, Luca became a permanent fixture in our lives.

Movie nights.

Football games.

Family barbecues.

Late-night pizza raids.

He and Noah were inseparable, which meant Luca was always around.

To him, I was just Noah's little sister—the kid who stole fries off his plate, argued over the TV remote, and occasionally beat him at Mario Kart.

To me...

He was everything.

Every birthday candle I blew out carried the same secret wish.

Every relationship he had quietly broke my heart in ways no one ever noticed.

Every year, I promised myself I was over him.

Every year, I lied.

The first rule of having a crush on your brother's best friend is simple:

Never let him know.

The second rule?

Never, ever let him move into your house.

Unfortunately, the universe seemed determined to make me break both.

"You're seriously okay with this?" Noah asked, dropping another box onto the living room floor.

I looked away from the staircase, where Luca had disappeared a few minutes ago with his bags.

"Of course I'm okay with it," I said too quickly.

Too quickly.

Noah narrowed his eyes.

"Why do you sound like you're trying to convince yourself?"

I grabbed a pillow from the couch and threw it at him.

"Because you're annoying."

He caught it easily, laughing.

"You're still my little sister, Evie. I know when you're acting weird."

My stomach twisted.

If Noah knew the truth, my entire life would end.

Because there was no way I could explain to my protective older brother that his best friend—the guy he'd trusted since high school—had been the main character in every embarrassing daydream I'd ever had.

"Maybe I'm just tired," I lied.

Noah studied me for another second before shaking his head.

"Whatever you say."

A voice came from behind me.

"Still terrible at lying, Evie."

My entire body froze.

I didn't even need to turn around.

I knew that voice.

Luca.

Slow, deep, and annoyingly familiar.

I turned around and found him leaning against the hallway wall, arms crossed, a small smirk playing on his lips.

Five years.

Five years of trying to act normal around him.

And somehow one look was enough to make me feel like I was fourteen again.

"Excuse me?" I asked, forcing myself to sound confident.

"You heard me."

He walked closer, carrying the same effortless confidence that had always made him impossible to ignore.

"You used to lie when you broke Noah's expensive headphones."

"I was fourteen."

"You blamed the dog."

"We had a very suspicious dog."

Luca laughed.

And there it was.

That laugh.

The one that made me forget every intelligent thought I ever had.

"You haven't changed," he said.

I smiled slightly.

Neither have you.

But I didn't say it.

Because the truth was dangerous.

The truth was that Luca Bennett wasn't just my brother's best friend anymore.

He was a man.

And I was no longer the fourteen-year-old girl hiding behind the kitchen door whenever he came over.

I was nineteen.

I was in college.

I had grown up.

But standing there, watching him look at me with those familiar hazel eyes, I realized something terrifying.

Growing up didn't mean my feelings disappeared.

Sometimes...

It just meant they became harder to hide.

"Your room is still next to mine, right?" Luca asked casually.

My heart stopped.

"Yeah."

"Good. I was worried I'd have to deal with Noah's terrible snoring alone."

I laughed, grateful for the distraction.

But deep down, I knew something had changed.

Because Luca Bennett was under the same roof as me now.

And no matter how many times I told myself I could handle it...

I knew I was lying.

The boy I had loved from a distance was finally close enough to touch.

And that was the most dangerous thing that had ever happened to me.Now I was nineteen.

A freshman in college.

Ready for a new chapter.

A new life.

Maybe even a new crush.

Then the universe decided to test my sanity.

A pipe burst in Luca's apartment, leaving it unlivable for weeks.

Without thinking twice, Noah offered him our guest room.

Just like that, the boy I'd spent five years secretly loving wasn't just visiting anymore.

He was moving in.

I should've been thrilled.

Instead, I felt two completely opposite emotions fighting inside me.

Pure excitement...

And absolute suffocation.

Because how was I supposed to survive sharing a house with the only man I'd ever loved...

When he still looked at me like I was just his best friend's little sister?