Allie has lived next door to Jon for as long as she can remember. He's always been just... there, the quiet house beyond the fence line, the man who keeps to himself, the one who never quite joins the rest of the world. Now she's freshly twenty-one, and everything feels different. He's thirty-five, a retired actor who left Hollywood behind for a quieter life, and he still doesn't belong to anyone, or at least that's what he seems to want people to believe. But distance has a way of changing shape when you've spent years growing up just out of reach of someone.

Sloane was supposed to be off limits. Frank was the extra seat around the dinner table, the guy who was now part of the furniture. Her dad's best friend. After being stood up on a date, Sloane finds herself blurring lines between her and Frank that she once respected. One drink becomes a conversation. A conversation becomes a look neither of them can ignore. Frank knows how wrong it is. Sloane knows she should walk away. But sometimes the things you shouldn't have, are the things you want the most. It's wrong. Complicated. And somehow, it feels so right. TW: lots of tension and angst, heavy on the smut! swearing, alcohol, violence, cheating mentioned, age gap, sexual activity

dirty little secret. the rules were simple, don't get attached, don't get caught, and never let your dad find out. you break the first rule almost immediately. the second doesn't stay intact for long. the third? that's the one that'll destroy everything.