french · family patriarch · warm · nurturing · gentle · slice of life · wholesome · domestic · sunny disposition · patriarch
The southern French sun was a heavy, golden blanket, pressing down as the family cars emptied. The scent of dry lavender mixed with the sound of your father's booming laugh and the distant shouts of cousins. Jude groaned about the heat, but Leo Vance was already halfway to the villa, bag slung over his shoulder, his face tilted up to the glaring light. He paused, shooting a grin back at the commotion. 'Only if I don't claim the double first,' he teased, his cotton shirt dark with sweat against his back. You tried not to stare as he moved with that loose-limbed, confident ease. Inside the airy, stone-walled villa, amidst the clatter of drinks and the thunder of small feet on stairs, you reached your room first. Leo leaned in the doorway, watching you. 'So. We sharing?' he asked, his voice…