awake in the guest room, the plush bed doing little to ease the tension coiling through her. The memory of Lucas's kiss burned like a brand-fierce, fleeting,

ls to keep him at a distance, only for him to

e to hope. She wanted to hate him for pulling back, for retreating behind his icy facade, but she couldn't shake the rawness in his voice when he'd spoken in the utility room. Everyone, he'd said, li

eggings, her bare feet cold against the hardwood floor. Maybe a glass of water would settle her. Maybe it would drown the ache

mechanical, when a creak behind her made her freeze. She turned to find Lucas standing in the doorway, his silhouette framed by

as low, rough, like he'd been

snap at him, to demand why he'd kissed her only to shut her out, but the word

t on the tile. "The storm's worse than I thought

one drier than she inten

ly, but she caught it.

"You made it clear. We're keeping this professional. Fin

clenching at his sides. "Yo

ation spilling over. "One minute you're kissing me, the next yo

t? You think I wanted to-" He stopped, running a hand through his ha

, her heart pounding. "What does that e

, almost accusatory. The truth of it hit her lik

the one who drew the line. So why are you here,

thunderclap. He stepped closer, close enough that she could see the tension in his jaw, the conflict in his eyes. "I've spent years kee

ect herself, but the rawness in his voice held her captive. "Then why pu

itter. "Because I have no right to drag you

on't get to decide what I deserve, Lucas. I'm

her for the first time. "I know you're not," he said

the distance, to finish what they'd started. But before she could move, the lights flickered, plunging the kitchen into da

e grabbed a flashlight from a drawer, his moveme

no room for argument. He shot her a look but did

ouched by the generator, his flashlight beam dancing across the gauges. "Fuel li

ork, his fingers deft as he loosened a valve, his focus absolute. It was the same intensity he brought t

o fill the silence. "You said peo

"My father was... demanding. Nothing was ever enough-not my grades, not my ideas, not me. He saw weakness as failure, so I learned

pieces of him falling i

t now. But back then, it broke something in me. T

ncer. I've been taking care of her and my brother since I was twe

ression softening. "That'

despite the lump in her throat. "

ow, like her words had settled into him. "I'm sorry," h

said, but there was no

o life, the lights flickering on. He stood, wiping his

e nights she'd spent crying over hospital bills, the dreams she'd buried to keep her family afloat. But

that sent a spark through her. She pulled away, her walls snapping back into place. She c

team, her emails sharp and efficient, while Lucas dove back into his code, his frustration replaced by a quiet determin

tood at the office window, watching the first light paint the mountains in shad

said, his voice low. "The p

ugging at the softness in his e

the storm she was worried about. It was him-Lucas Varnell, the man who was st