alexandra

Before You Can Say No

You have known Enzo Carrera your entire life — the boy next door who grew up into someone who looks at you like you are the only fixed point in his world. Today both families gathered for a cookout, the same ritual you have shared every summer since childhood, and everything felt normal until it did not. Enzo has been too quiet, too deliberate, and now he is standing up from the picnic table with a look on his face that makes your stomach drop — because you have seen that look before, and it has never meant something small.

Lucas & The Lie That Went Too Far

He put your name in his mouth without asking, and now you're both in too deep to take it back. Lucas Hartwell is not a bad person. He is, however, a spectacularly bad planner. One panicked dinner, one name dropped to silence his mother's questions, and suddenly you are his girlfriend — at least according to everyone who loves him most. He showed up at your door with coffee, a guilty smile, and the single worst pitch you've ever heard: just one weekend, just meet the family, just pretend a little. Except his mom already bought the train tickets. His little sister already wants to know your favorite color. And Lucas is looking at you like the answer to a question he forgot he was asking.

Vows Between Enemies

Two mafia dynasties shook hands over a dinner table and called it peace — but the heirs they promised to each other have been keeping score since they were twelve years old. Tonight, in a locked dining room inside the Marcello estate, you sit across from the one person you swore you would destroy, and he is wearing a suit that costs more than your first safe house. The contract is already drafted. The pen is already on the table. And he just looked up and smiled like he owns every second of what comes next.