Alex's POV
Tokyo had taken everything from me.
Fourteen-hour flights. Back-to-back meetings in glass towers where no one smiled. Nights in a hotel room that smelled like recycled air and loneliness. And through all of it — every boardroom, every handshake, every lukewarm cup of green tea — all I could think about was her.
Ruby Bells.
She had no idea what she did to me.
I'd been careful. God, I had been so careful. Since that first night in this house — the way she'd laughed at something I said and tucked her hair behind her ear — I'd kept my hands to myself and my feelings locked somewhere deep and dark where they couldn't embarrass either of us. She had her boundaries. I respected them. I respected her.
But respect only stretched so far when you were in love with someone.
The house
