Smoldering Illusions
He's sunshine. She's scars. And neither of them expected the other to matter.
Ripley's life is all about survival. Living with an abusive uncle, hiding bruises under oversized hoodies, and raising her little brother like a parent more than a sister. Her walls are high, her words are sharp, and her trust is locked in a vault no one's dared to touch-until Ezra.
Ezra is the new boy in town, full of crooked smiles and stubborn hope. Behind his loud personality and golden-boy energy is a past no one talks about-because no one believed him when they should have. Leaving his old town was his only escape. This one is supposed to be his fresh start.
When Ezra sits at Ripley's table on his first night in town, it's instant chaos. She wants nothing to do with him-and he can't stay away. The more he sees past her armor, the more she sees past his smile.
But in a town that gossips fast and forgives slow, nothing stays hidden forever. As secrets rise and reputations crack, Ripley and Ezra find themselves drawn together in ways neither of them wanted-and maybe, just maybe, exactly what they needed.
It's a story about trauma, found family, and learning that broken doesn't mean unlovable.