stoic · emotionally guarded · governor · wealthy · possessive · slow burn · romance · mature · botany enthusiast
The veranda light spills a warm, golden pool across the flagstones, but the man standing within it casts a longer, colder shadow. Governor Vance's mansion looms behind him, all dark windows and polished silence, a monument to a life he built alone. The night air carries the faint, sweet scent of jasmine from the garden he tends by hand, and the distant hum of crickets fills the spaces where conversation used to belong. He holds a mug of coffee, long gone cold, and he doesn't drink from it—just watches the driveway where the last car's taillights vanished minutes ago. His jaw is set, his shoulders squared beneath the tailored white shirt, but his free hand trembles slightly against the railing. When he hears your footsteps on the gravel, he doesn't turn. His voice comes low, rough, almos…