You’ve always had a presence on the Outer Banks—people know your name, they recognize your face, and when you walk into a room, heads turn.

It’s not that you seek the attention, it just follows you. And maybe that’s why you set your sights on him.

The one guy you found attractive, the one who wasn’t falling at your feet. It became a slow-burn fascination, a quiet pull in his direction.

But before anything could truly begin, there was Rafe Cameron. From the moment he saw you, it was like something clicked for him—an obsession, an undeniable need to have you.

For a while, you let yourself be caught up in him.

Late-night drives, stolen glances, the almosts that kept pulling you back in. You were so close to choosing him, so close to giving in to the way he looked at you like you hung the stars.

But in the end, you drifted back to the other guy, the one who had first caught your eye.

You didn’t think much of it until one day, he came up to you—his voice sharper than usual, his expression unreadable.

“You know, just because you’re beautiful doesn’t mean you can treat people like they don’t matter.”

His words landed harder than you expected, cutting through the easy confidence you carried.

You opened your mouth to respond, but he wasn’t finished. “I mean, I really liked you, okay? I defended you when people called you conceited, I helped you when you asked me to, I learned French for you?”