slack when we pull up the driveway of my childhood home, thankful to find the spot behind Wren's car in the driveway empty as I park. "Holy shit," he mumbles.

"What?" I ask as I pull the key out of the ignition.

"4A, you're rich," he says as he looks up at the giant stone house in front of us. When I was little, my dad used to tell me it was a castle fit for a princess and it is. It's a fairytale of sorts, my very first and the beginning of the rest of my life.

"My parents have money, Luke. Not me," I tell him as I reach for the door handle.

"Trust fund baby." He teases.

"I don't have one of those," I say as I climb out, opening the door to the backseat to grab my duffle bag off the leather seat as Luke does the same.

"You grew up in a house like this and you're telling me you don't have a trust fund."

"I do," I say. "I didn't take it."

He narrows his eyes as he walks around the back of the truck and stops next to me. "You get more and more interesting by the second, 4A."

I hum softly and head to the front door with Luke trailing slowly behind me. I don't bother with the doorbell, knowing that they won't hear it with the herd of people inside and reach for the door handle. We're instantly meant by the warmth of people as we step inside. Luke shutting the door behind us as my mom steps out of the kitchen and spots us.

"Emery!" She happily cheers as she drops whatever she was about to do to give me all her attention. "Hi sweetheart," she hums in my ear as she wraps her arms around me.

"Hi Mama," I say with a smile as I pull back and look into the living room, quickly scanning the room for my dad. "Where's Dad?"

"Right here, Emmy," he says as he steps off the last stair. "Who's this?"

Before I get the chance to introduce Luke, he steps forward himself and extends his hand out. "Luke Alexander," he says his name with his usual charming smile. "It's nice to meet you, sir. I'm Emery's neighbor."

"The famous neighbor," Dad says as he takes his hand.

Luke shoots me a look, but I wave it off as I turn to my parents. "He was going to spend the holidays alone so I invited him to join us. I hope that's okay."

"Of course," Mom says as she rests her hand on Luke's arm. "We're glad to have you, Luke. I'm Cassandra and this is my husband, Dominic."

"Thank you," Luke says.

"Well, make yourself at home," Dad says as he moves toward the living room. "Emmy, you'll show the boy around? And then join the party? The White's are around here somewhere. They've been asking about you."

"Yeah," I say as I turn to Luke. "Shall we?"

"Am I going to see the great 4A's childhood bedroom?" Luke asks as he follows me up the stairs and down the hall towards the room I grew up in. I stop in front of the door as I turn to face him with a gentle smile.

"Don't get your hopes up," I say as I lean back into the door, reaching behind my back for the silver doorknob. "I doubt it's even close to what you're imagining right now."

His lips curl up in a teasing smile as I open the door and take a step inside, letting him step inside after me as I move towards the queen size bed in the middle. I chew my bottom lip as he takes in the space, stopping next to me, he sets his bag down on the mattress as his eyes track the bookshelves covering the walls.

"You weren't kidding when you said you love to read," he says as he turns to look at me. "This is somehow exactly what I expected it to look like. Do you have a favorite?"

"I have a whole shelf," I tell him as I reach for his hand and pull him to the white shelf closest to the closet door. "It's alphabetized by genre and author."

He turns to me with a grin. "You nerd."

I rest my hands on my hips as look at him. "I take offense to that."

"It was a compliment, 4A," he says as he steps toward me, hooking his finger just under the button of my silk dress shirt. "Did I mention how beautiful you look today?"

My lips curl up. "Nerd."

He leans down toward me with a bright smile lingering on his lips. "What can I say? You're my favorite subject."

"Yeah, you're definitely the nerd," I whisper as I feel the warmth of his breath on my skin. I tilt my head back at a slight angle to look up at him, our chests nearly touching as he moves his fingers towards my cheek. If he leaned any closer, our lips would be touching and I wouldn't hesitate to give into him, but we're interrupted by the clearing of a throat.

I turn my head to find Charlie standing in the open doorway of my room. A sigh of frustration falls from my lips as Luke drops his hands to his side, taking a small step back from me as Charlie steps into the room.

"There you are, Em," Charlie says with a smile. "I was beginning to think you weren't going to show."

"It's my family's party," I say as I slide my coat off and rest it on the bed. "What are you doing up here? You should be downstairs."

"I thought we should finish our conversation," he says as he stands a little taller, taking in Luke, "considering how we left things last time."

"I don't believe there's anything to finish," I tell him as I reach for Luke's hand. "I don't want to hear anything you have to say. I didn't last time either, but you don't seem to get that."

"Em, baby." He frowns, reaching for me when we step toward the door. "Don't be ridiculous. I just want things to be okay between us."

"You should have thought about that before you slept with your receptionist, man," Luke says, patting his hand against the shoulder. He doesn't need to say anything else to get under Charlie's skin, who lips sew together in a tight line as we put more space between the two of us and him. Luke keeping a gentle grip on my hand as I pull him along to the staircase.

When I come to a stop at the top of the stairs, Luke's free hand moves to the small of my back. Even the gentlest touch from him can soothe my worries and I begin to wonder why I've spent so long fighting this. Fighting what deep down, I've always wanted.

"You okay?" he asks.

I nod as I look up at him. "I'm okay," I say. "I'm sorry for putting you in the middle of all of this. You­–"

His fingers untangle from mine as he holds his finger up to my lips, cutting me off. "So worth it," he says. "You don't have to worry about me, 4A. I'm not going anywhere."

"I don't know about that. You haven't met Wren yet," I tell him with a small smile as I take his hand again, gently tugging on it as I head down the stairs. "Or Grams."

"Well, lead the way," he says and the corners of my lips curl up as I drag him into the crowded living room. This party has been tradition for as long as I can remember. A way to celebrate the time with friends and family.

"And who might this be?" Wren asks as he wanders over to us.

"Wren, this is my neighbor, Luke," I say. "Luke, this is my brother, Wren and his wife, Layla," I introduce them to each other.

"Ah, the famous neighbor," Wren says.

Luke turns to me with the same questioning look. "You're going to have to explain that one to me."

"Charlie may have announced your presence in my life when he barged in on our family dinner a few weeks ago," I explain.

"Yeah, and your kissing."

Luke hums, nodding his head. "We're just friends," he says as he looks at me, a small smirk creeping onto his lips. "Friends don't kiss."

I hum softly as I nod my head. "Yeah."

"And I'm sure everyone believes that," Wren says.

"Hush!" I point at Wren as I reach for Luke's hand. "Come on, there's a few more introductions for you."

"It was nice meeting you," Luke says, waving to Wren and Layla as his fingers sink between the gap of mine. "Who's next on the list, 4A?"

I answer with a smile when I spot my grandparents cuddled close on the loveseat in the den. "Hi," I say as I break away from Luke to greet them. I lean down to kiss my grams cheek, before moving to hug my papa. I'm instantly hit with the joy of his squealing hearing aid in my ear as I lean into him. "I've missed you."

"It's been far too long, my Emmy girl," Grams says as she reaches for my hand.

"I know," I say. "I'm sorry. I should visit more," I tell them before gesturing to Luke. "This is my friend, Luke," I introduce. "Luke, this is my Grams and Papa."

"Hey," Luke says as he extends his hand out, ready to shake. To my surprise, my grandma climbs up to her feet and pulls him into a hug. My lips tugging up at the height difference as he leans down to return it. "It's nice to meet you both."

"Friend?" Papa asks.

I nod. "He's my neighbor actually. He was going to spend the holidays alone, so I invited him to join us and our traditions."

"Speaking of tradition," he says as he holds up the fake piece of mistletoe with a mischievous grin. "I think you owe me a kiss."

My lips curl up as he holds it up, waiting as I lean in and press a kiss to his cheek. "I love you," I hum softly as my eyes drift back to Luke. His gaze warm on my skin, before my attention moves to Charlie who's heading in our direction. I stand to my full height as I move towards Luke, my lips curling up as I say, "I'll be right back."

"Everything okay?" he asks, turning to follow my line of sight.

I nod. "This will only take a second."

He moves his hand over mine where it rests on his arm, giving it a small squeeze of assurance as I head towards Charlie. Before he can stop and say anything, I grab his arm and pull him toward the front foyer. He follows me without a missed step and when I come to a stop, so does he. His hand hanging dangerously close to my waist.

"Came to your senses?" he asks with a look of triumph.

"No, you don't get to do that," I say. "You spent most of our relationship not respecting me, but that stops today, Charlie. I'm done letting you act like this." I step towards the door and pull it open. "I'd like you to leave."

"All of this for him?"

"No, Charlie," I say as I rest my hand on the door. "All of this for me."

"Is everything okay?" Dad asks as he steps into the foyer with Mr. White at his side. "What's going on here?"

"Everything's fine, Dad," I say, my gaze never weaving. "Charlie was just leaving."

"Em..." he says my name as a plea, almost like he thinks it'll change my mind. "You can't be serious right now."

"I've never been more serious," I say. "I'm tired of your bullshit, Charlie, and I would like you to leave."

"Emery," Dad warns as he looks at me.

"Charlie cheated on me," I say, no longer hesitating with the truth. "That's why we broke up. Not because we decided to part ways. We broke up because I came home to find him in our bed with his receptionist, and I'm no longer okay with him inserting himself in my life. And I'm sorry for doing this now, but I'm tired of pretending like everything is fine when it's not."

"Em, please," Charlie says.

"Get out."

"Mr. Wheel­–"

My dad steps towards me, standing tall next to me. "You heard my daughter, Charlie," he says. "It's time for you to leave," he says before shifting his attention to Mr. White. "And Will, you and Marissa are welcome to stay for the rest of the party but your son will no longer be welcome here."

My heart feels like it might combust as Mr. White studies his son, before taking a step toward him. "Charlie, go wait by the car. Your mother and I will be out in a moment," he says before turning towards me. "Emery, I apologize for my son's behavior. I can assure you he will no longer be a problem for you."

I feel Charlie's gaze on my skin before he turns and heads down the walk way as I tighten my grip on the door handle. Mr. White moves towards the living room and with him, he takes the air in the room as I move to shut the door before turning to face my dad.

"I'm sorry," I say and shake my head. "I didn't mean t­–"

"Emmy, why didn't you tell us?"

"I didn't want to make things awkward for you and mom with the White's."

He steps towards me and rests his hands on my cheeks, lifting my head to meet his eyes. "You come first, Emery. Always," he says. "I don't want you to ever think you can't tell us anything. Especially if you're uncomfortable."

I nod. "Okay."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm kind of relieved."

"I love you," he says as he pulls me into a hug. "Don't keep anymore secrets, okay?"

"I love you, too."

He kisses the top of my head and moves towards the kitchen as I catch my breath, running my fingers into my hair. My skin glowing warm as Luke leans into the archway, folding his arms over his chest with a small smile.

"You okay?"

I smile as he steps into the foyer, walking towards me. "I'm good."

"Yeah?" he asks. "I have a surprise for you."

"You do, do you?" I ask as I tilt my head back. His smile brings shivers to my skin as he holds his arm up above us and my gaze moves to the fake piece of mistletoe my papa had earlier. "How'd you get that?"

"Turns out your Grams likes how much you smile around me," he says. "Come on, 4A. Time to pay up."

"I'm not kissing you."

"You have to! It's Wheeler family tradition."

I shake my head. "You're not a Wheeler."

"But you are."

"That's not fair," I mumble as he leans down toward me. "I hate you."

He hums in agreement as his lips meet mine in a slow and gentle kiss. I move my hand toward his chest, curling my fingers into the soft fabric of his shirt as his arm drops to the side.

"I win," he whispers against my lips.

"You cheated," I whisper back before moving my hand to his cheek and stepping into him fully as I press my lips back to his. This time, it's hungry, more passionate as his arm moves around my waist and pulls me flush to his chest. My eyes flutter open as we part, our chests still touching as I say, "Now you win."

"I've missed you."

My lips curl up as my hand moves to his neck, brushing my thumb over his jaw. "Luke?"

He hums.

"I don't want to be friends anymore."

His lips curl up into a bright grin as he leans down and catches my lips again and in that moment, nothing else matters. Just him and me, and this. I'm tired of putting space between us to protect my heart. It's his and I'll happily hand it over. Over and over and over again.