"I knew him as my father's best friend. Now I know how his breath sounds when he's breaking all the rules." When twenty-two-year-old Nicholas Bianchi moves to a new city for love, he never expects heartbreak to greet him at the door. Freshly betrayed and newly homeless, he finds himself crashing on the couch of Lorenzo Salvatore - his father's best friend, his new boss, and the man he's admired since he was a boy. Lorenzo Salvatore is forty, private, and painfully controlled. Divorced and long used to keeping his emotions in check, he knows better than to look twice at someone half his age-especially his best friend's son. But when Nico enters his life with steady hands and stubborn warmth, everything begins to unravel... Hugs linger... Glances burn.... And what begins as protection starts to feel a lot like temptation.... 💭 Themes: • MM / Gay slow-burn romance • Age gap (40×22) • Forbidden Romance • Trauma recovery and first-time healing • Housemates-to-lovers