What We Don't Say

He's the last person she should fall for. And the only one she can't stop thinking about.

When 22-year-old English major Bella Dixon literally crashes into Officer James "Fitz" Fitzgerald-coffee first, dignity second-she assumes he's just another gruff cop with a badge and a bad attitude. What she doesn't expect is to end up stuck with him during a university ride-along... or to keep running into him in the quiet corners of her life.
Fitz is thirty-nine. Stoic. Distant. A man who carries more weight than he'll ever admit. And Bella? She's sharp-tongued, impossible to ignore, and entirely too young for him. He knows better. He says it, more than once. But somehow, every moment between them lingers-too long and too close.
What begins as awkward silences and sidelong glances turns into stolen nights, jealousy, an unsent letter, and confessions during storms. But with an age gap, a small town, and everything to lose, the line between right and reckless blurs fast.
And someone's bound to get hurt.

A forbidden, slow-burn romance filled with yearning, heartbreak, and hope-this is a story about timing, tenderness, and the kind of love that doesn't ask for permission.