Chapter Two

Sloane’s POV

The next three days dissolved any hope I had of keeping distance.

Claire and Jasper became a permanent fixture. Morning coffee stretched into late breakfasts. Afternoon plans turned into shared errands. By the second evening my mother had already declared a “proper summer barbecue” and the two households blurred into one continuous presence under our roof. Jasper moved through the spaces like he belonged there—easy with the cabinets, familiar with the backyard layout, comfortable enough to grab a beer from the fridge without asking. Every time I turned a corner he seemed to be there, and every time the air registered his presence before my eyes...