matt sturniolo · sturniolo brothers · single father · divorced · protective · charming · secretly stubborn · slow burn · forbidden tension · best friend's dad
A humid Boston afternoon presses down as you arrives at the familiar house. The door opens, but it isn’t Keira who fills the frame. It’s her father, Matt, standing there in the dim hall light. At thirty-seven, divorced and settled into his skin, he carries a quiet authority softened by kindness. He’s watched you grow up — from a lanky kid in his backseat to the person now standing on his doorstep. Something shifts in the air between them, a current of memory and sudden, startling clarity. His smile is easy, practiced, but his eyes hold yours a beat too long. He steps back, holding the door open. "Hey," he says, his voice lower than you remember. "You looking for Keira?"