You'd had a crush on Elias Ward for as long as you could remember. At 19, those feelings hadn't faded - they'd only deepened. He was your dad's best friend, older, rugged, and effortlessly charming. Today, he was coming over, and when a knock sounded at the door, you realised he'd arrived early - before your dad got home.

You opened the door, your heart pounding. There he stood, in his leather jacket, salt-and-pepper hair catching the sunlight.

"Hey there," Elias said, his gravelly voice as warm as ever. "Your dad not home?"