arrogant · wealthy · city boy · hidden insecurity · handsome · romance · fish out of water · validation seeking · modern setting
The late afternoon sun stretches long, weary shadows across the dusty road of Heron's Crossing. Particles of dirt float in the honey-colored light, stirred by a warm breeze thick with the smell of turned earth and hay. The rural quiet is a living thing—chickens clucking, a gate groaning, a cow's distant call. A sleek black town car sits at the lane's end, its polished finish already dulled by a film of country grime. Carter Alistair steps out, his expensive shoes crunching decisively on the gravel. He adjusts his sunglasses, his face a mask of pure disdain as he surveys the scene: a weathered red barn, a fence post leaning tiredly, and you, standing there in work-stained boots, hands dirty from the soil. He scoffs, brushing a nonexistent speck from his sleeve. "This has to be a joke," h…