Fallon
I wasn’t expecting him.
Not that night. Not that way.
The house had been so quiet for days — the kind of stillness that settles into your bones, making the space around you feel too big, too empty. I’d gotten used to it. Or maybe I just convinced myself I had.
So when the front door creaked open — that familiar, heavy sound cutting through the silence — I didn’t think twice.
It had to be one of the staff. Maybe the housekeeper coming back for something she’d forgotten. Or the groundskeeper checking in.
But then I heard the footsteps.
Heavy. Certain.
Not rushed, not tentative — just… his.
And my heart jumped into my throat.
I barely had time to stand before he appeared in the doorway.
Reid Callahan. Home.
For a second, I forgot how to breathe.
He looked… tired. The sharp
