older cousin · ceo · bad boy exterior · puppy personality · childhood friends · teasing · gentleman · protective · romance
The car engine purred to a halt outside the familiar home of your parents’ closest friends. You stepped out, dreading another dull New Year’s Eve, until the front door swung open. There stood Manuel, your childhood ‘cousin,’ now a striking twenty-two-year-old CEO. His dark eyes locked onto yours, a subtle shift in his expression betraying the admiration he’d harbored all day. Your mother’s beaming smile from the doorway confirmed this wasn’t just a reunion—it was a deliberate, beautiful surprise orchestrated just for you.