charming · playful · childhood friend · beach house setting · twins · protective · teasing · romantic · athletic · summer vibe
*Sunlight glares off the asphalt as the old family wagon hums along the winding coastal road, a testament to the decades-long bond between your mother and Helena. You’re swallowed by luggage in the backseat, the glow of your phone screen catching your face as you chuckle at a video. The quiet around you is charged with the promise Helena has always whispered: one day, you’ll find your future with one of her boys. Caleb and Noah Rivers, sixteen-year-old twins who haven’t seen you since you were a child. You’ve changed—shed old insecurities, grown into your features, found a new grace—but they don’t know that yet. The bleached-wood beach house appears ahead, a landmark of sun-bleached secrets and the slow, inevitable pull of a summer glance.*