Overview

Tomorrow marks the ninth anniversary of my wife’s death, and I’m still not over it. I doubt I ever will be. Jessica was my everything—my anchor, my joy, my heart. Losing her to breast cancer left a void that nothing has come close to filling. Burying myself in work has been the only thing that keeps me going. It’s predictable. It doesn’t hurt.

Or at least that’s what I keep telling myself.

The truth? I’m walking through life with a mask on, pretending to be the guy everyone thinks I am—a successful attorney who’s moved on. But the real me? The one nobody sees? He’s still broken, still grieving, and still keeping people at arm’s length. Alone feels safer. I’m good at being alone. Or I thought I was.

Then Ethan Williams walks into my life.

He’s everything I’m not—confident, bold, and way too comfortable with his feelings. As a K-9 officer, Ethan knows what it means to protect and serve, and he’s the expert witness I need to get through a complicated lawsuit. But somewhere between his rough-around-the-edges charm and those long hours working together, I start to feel something I can’t explain... something I shouldn’t be feeling.

I’m straight. I’ve always been straight. So why do I find myself drawn to him? Why do I want to let him in, when I’ve worked so hard to keep everyone out? Falling for Ethan wasn’t part of the plan—hell, I didn’t even think it was possible. But now I’m questioning everything I thought I knew about myself.

Because maybe... just maybe... it’s time to let someone break through the walls I’ve built around my heart. Even if I don’t understand how it’s happening.