E. Dahlia
"“You've been avoiding me all week,” Niccolo said.
“I haven't.”
“Then why do you disappear every time I walk into the room?”
I hesitated, searching for an excuse that might actually sound convincing.
Niccolo studied me for a moment.
“You're staying in my home, Talia. If something is bothering you, tell me.”
“You really want to know?”
“Yes.”
I took a breath.
“Maybe living here is more complicated than I expected.”
His expression changed.
For once, Niccolo Gonzalez had nothing to say.
***
When a sudden fire leaves Talia Wilson's dormitory uninhabitable, she needs somewhere to stay while she figures out what comes next.
Her father has the perfect solution.
She can temporarily stay with his younger friend, Niccolo Gonzalez.
Talia immediately realizes there is one problem with that plan.
She has admired Niccolo since meeting him at her birthday dinner three years earlier.
Confident, successful, and effortlessly charming, Niccolo has always seemed completely beyond her reach. Talia assumes he still sees her simply as his friend's daughter, so she promises herself that sharing his home will change nothing.
But living together makes keeping emotional distance increasingly difficult.
Niccolo begins paying closer attention to her.
Their casual conversations become more personal.
And Talia starts wondering whether she has misunderstood him all along.
Niccolo, meanwhile, knows that becoming too involved in Talia's life could damage one of his oldest friendships. He tries to maintain clear boundaries, but the more time they spend together, the more complicated those boundaries become.
Then one unexpected evening leads to an honest conversation neither of them can take back.
Now they must decide what matters more: protecting the comfortable lives they already know or acknowledging that their relationship has changed.
And if Talia's father discovers what they have been hiding, their biggest challenge may only be beginning."
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