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Leaving her is hard. Her perfect naked body is my new favorite thing to look at, and she’s climbing into that big shower where I know there’s plenty of room for two.

Instead, I leave her and head back downstairs. When I get to the living room, I don’t look my sister in the eye.

“Jesus, Alexander,” she mutters.

“Don’t start.” As I fill the coffeepot, I ignore my sister’s presence behind me, looking around my house like it belongs to her. It doesn’t matter that I’m forty. She will always try to control me and convince me I’m a fuckup.

“Just answer this one question, and I’ll drop it.”

I don’t answer.

“She’s of legal age…right?”

“Fucking A, Charlotte!” Slamming the coffeepot on the counter, I’m surprised it doesn't shatter.

“You can’t blame me for asking. She looks young enough to be your kid, Alex.”

“So, what if she is?” I argue back.

“You moved here to settle down, remember? Not start banging teenagers.”

“It’s not like that, Charlotte. Sunny means a lot to me.”

“That’s exactly what I’m worried about,” she stutters before walking away.

Seething, I finish loading the coffeepot. My phone buzzes from the counter where it’s been plugged all night. Reaching over I notice there are a bunch of notifications, mostly social media alerts.

“You and your new friend were spotted on a jog yesterday. You’re lucky they didn’t catch you doing whatever you were doing in that pool house. Maybe invest in some curtains before they do.”

My heart stops, remembering Sunny prancing around my backyard fully naked. I don’t answer her as I open my phone, seeing the pics of me tagged all over Instagram. Sunny hugging my side as I smile down at her. We look like a comfortable couple. The caption below our picture reads, “Caldwell and his barely legal new suburban catch.”

I want to throw up. I guess I should be glad there aren’t any of her from the pool house.

The comments don’t get any prettier.

He’s fucked everything in the city. Recruiting them straight out of high school now.

He’s old enough to be her dad. That’s just disgusting.

Poor girl. Get out now!

Shutting the screen, I toss it onto the counter. I know how this part goes. They’ll call me every name in the book. In the end, they’ll hail me as a ladies’ man, but Sunny will live with this label forever.

“Have you unpacked anything?” Charlotte calls from the dining room.

“Get off my back.”

Just then, I hear the quiet steps coming out of the bedroom. Sunny is in her long cotton dress with her wet hair draped over her shoulder. My shoulders immediately soften when I see her, remembering how it felt to hold her in my arms last night, fucking her against the counter when she told me she was mine. That moment was ours—just ours.

I know I should feel like shit, giving in to something I tried so hard to avoid, but I don’t. I feel good, and I can’t tell if it’s false hope, but this time is different than any time before.

Sunny is different.

We’re different.

She smiles at me, ready to walk into my arms, until my sister enters the room.

“You must be Sunny,” my sister says, holding out a hand and a fake smile. “Sorry about barging in on you earlier. My brother failed to mention that he had company.”