She was never supposed to want her. And she was never supposed to be wanted back. At twenty-six, Aria Cole is rebuilding her life from the ashes of a broken past-new city, new job, new rules. Love is not part of the plan. Especially not with a woman who is older, untouchable, and completely off-limits. Dr. Evelyn Hart is everything Aria shouldn't crave, confident, composed, devastatingly beautiful, and twenty-two years her senior. She's built her life on discipline and distance, burying her desires under respectability and silence. But desire doesn't stay buried. What begins as stolen glances and restrained conversations ignites into something far more dangerous: a connection neither of them can deny, and neither can afford. Because some love stories don't ask for permission. They demand courage. A slow-burn, emotionally charged LGBTQ+ romance about longing, age-gap desire, and the terrifying beauty of choosing love anyway.