An early snow on the ground. A frozen body in the yard. It wasn't your average Monday.

Blue:
You know the saying that you shouldn't trust anyone over 30? Well, I've spent the last month learning to appreciate that bit of wisdom. Whoever said it needs to start a podcast and enlighten the masses.

Because of people who fit that description, I've lost everything: my family, a shot at a college degree, even a place to live. Part of me thinks I should have seen this coming. I didn't.

I didn't see him coming, either.

Brady is definitely over 30. He's also the kindest man I've met in ages. I don't quite understand what drives him. All I know is that anytime I need someone to rescue me, no strings attached, there he is. If ever there was a man worth learning to trust – learning to love – it might be him.

Brady:
I expected several things from that premature snowstorm. A teenager almost freezing to death in my backyard wasn't on the list. The paramedics, the hospitals, the revelation of what his own parents had put him through, it's obvious the kid needs someone to be there for him. He literally doesn't have anyone else. I have the time. I have an empty guest room. It might as well be me.

The disturbing part isn't just what Blue's endured. It's that, after a year of playing benefactor and friend, I'm starting to feel things I wish I didn't.

Love is complicated. Love with a traumatized and angry man seems destined to fail. I know all that, but, God help me, I'm falling for him anyway.

cw: past SA, self-harm, emotional trauma, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

age gap · rescue · damaged lead · millionaire romance