Sharing a dorm room with Micah was supposed to be manageable. Then he kissed me. Micah was charming, shameless, and far too comfortable getting close. I wanted him closer. I just couldn’t let him touch my beanie—or discover the cat ears and tail I’d spent my life hiding. Every time I pulled away, he thought I didn’t want him. Every time he flirted with someone else, I remembered exactly how much I did. Then I met someone who shared my secret. Being myself around him was easy. Unfortunately, he wasn’t the boy I was falling for. And when Micah finally wanted something real, I had to wonder: would he still want me if he saw everything?

My stepbrother spent years making me feel like I didn’t belong. Falling in love with him was never part of the plan. Nate Mercer is ten years older, impossible to read, and about to marry someone else. I’m supposed to congratulate him, smile for the photographs, and finally get over the man who never wanted me around. So I stop waiting for him to come home. Stop finding reasons to knock on his door. Then Nate starts knocking on mine. He notices when I leave. Asks who brought me home. Admits he misses me. But wanting me in private isn’t enough—not while another woman wears his ring. And this time, I won’t stay just because he asks.