SIENNA POV
I'm gripping the steering wheel so hard my knuckles turn white when my phone buzzes for the tenth time.
"WHERE ARE YOU??? I'm dying without you!" Mara's text lights up my screen.
My best friend. The girl who shared her lunch with me on my first day of middle school when I sat alone in the cafeteria. The girl who held my hair back when I got sick at her thirteenth birthday party. The girl whose father I'm about to seduce this summer.
I'm a terrible person.
I press the gas pedal harder.
The thing is, I stopped caring about being good exactly three years ago. That's when I learned the most important lesson of my life: wanting something doesn't make you bad. Waiting for permission to take it makes you dead inside.
Just ask my mother.
She's home right now, probably on her third glass of wine, staring at the husband she settled for because he was "appropriate." Because he had money and status and checked all the right boxes. Never mind that he treats her like expensive furniture. Never mind that I've never seen them touch except for family photos.
"Be realistic, Sienna," she told me last week, her voice already fuzzy from afternoon drinking. "Passion fades. Choose security."
I'd rather die.
My phone buzzes again. This time it's a photo—Mara making a ridiculous face, her dark hair wild around her face, green eyes crossed. The text reads: "Mom's here with Chad. Save me. Dad's pretending everything is fine. HELP."
Right. Julian's ex-wife Vanessa decided to grace them with her presence this summer. The woman who abandoned her family three years ago for a yoga instructor named Chad. The woman who taught me that even mothers will choose themselves over their kids if the desire is strong enough.
I should judge her. I don't. At least she was honest about what she wanted.
Unlike me.
I'm twenty minutes from Willow Creek now. Twenty minutes from the Cross family lake house where I've spent every summer since I was fifteen. Twenty minutes from Julian.
My heart starts racing just thinking his name.
Julian Cross. Forty-two years old. Architect. Single father. The most beautiful man I've ever seen and completely, totally off-limits.
I remember the exact moment I fell in love with him.
I was fifteen, all braces and awkward limbs, staying at Mara's house for the first time. His marriage was already falling apart—you could feel it in how Vanessa looked through him instead of at him. How he spent more time in his office than with his family. How he smiled for Mara but the smile never reached his eyes.
I woke up early one morning, couldn't sleep. Found him on the dock watching the sunrise.
"Can't sleep?" he asked. His voice was kind. Not the fake-nice adults usually use on teenagers. Actually kind.
I should've said something normal. Instead, I blurted out: "Do you ever feel like you're waiting for your real life to start?"
He turned to look at me then. Really look. Like I wasn't just his daughter's weird friend. Like I was a person who'd asked a real question.
"Every single day," he said quietly.
Then Mara bounded out yelling about breakfast and the moment ended. But I carried it with me like a secret. Julian Cross was lonely. Julian Cross was waiting for something.
I decided right then: someday, I'd be what he was waiting for.
Three years of planning. Three years of watching him during family dinners, learning what makes him laugh, what makes him tense. Three years of transforming myself from that awkward fifteen-year-old into someone he couldn't ignore.
I'm eighteen now. Legal. Finally.
The Willow Creek town sign flashes past my window. My stomach does a flip. I check my reflection in the rearview mirror one last time. Honey-blonde hair falling in waves. Amber eyes that my mom says are "too knowing for a girl your age." Lips painted soft pink. The sundress I chose specifically because it looks innocent but fits like sin.
I practiced this. Every detail. Every word I'll say. Every look I'll give him.
Julian thinks I'm just Mara's friend coming for one last summer before college.
He has no idea he's the only reason I'm here.
My phone buzzes. Mara again: "I SEE YOUR CAR! Finally!!"
I turn onto the long driveway leading to the lake house. My hands start shaking. Three years of planning come down to this moment.
The house appears through the trees—all glass and beautiful wood, sitting right on the lake. Julian designed it himself. It's gorgeous. Like him.
I park and take a deep breath. You can do this. You've planned everything.
The car door opens and Mara's squealing before I can even step out. She crashes into me with a hug that almost knocks me over.
"Oh my God, I missed you so much! This summer is going to be perfect! Just you, me, and—"
She keeps talking but I'm not listening anymore.
Because Julian just stepped onto the porch.
He's wearing jeans and a simple t-shirt. His dark hair has more silver in it than last summer. He looks tired. Stressed. Beautiful.
Our eyes meet across the driveway.
Something electric passes between us. Recognition. Awareness. Danger.
His eyes widen slightly. He's seeing me. Really seeing me. Not as Mara's little friend anymore. As a woman.
I smile slowly. Let him see exactly what I'm thinking.
Game on, Julian Cross.
He swallows hard. Looks away. But his jaw tightens and I know—I KNOW—he felt it too.
"Dad!" Mara drags me toward the porch. "Doesn't Sienna look amazing? I told her she got so pretty!"
"Hi, Mr. Cross," I say sweetly. Innocently.
"Sienna." His voice sounds rough. "Welcome. It's... good to see you."
I step closer to hug him hello—that's normal, right? We always hug hello. His body goes rigid when I press against him. I make sure he feels every curve. Make sure my lips brush close to his ear when I whisper, just loud enough for him to hear:
"I'm not a little girl anymore."
He jerks back like I burned him.
Perfect.
Mara doesn't notice. She's already grabbing my bag, chattering about room assignments and tonight's dinner plans. I follow her inside, feeling Julian's eyes on my back the whole way.
I'm unpacking when Mara flops on my bed. "So Tyler Morrison has been asking about you. He's cute, right? Maybe we can all hang out and—"
"Mara." I cut her off. My heart is pounding. "Where's your dad's room?"
She blinks. "What? Why?"
I recover quickly. "I just realized I left my phone charger in my car. I was going to ask if I could borrow his until I grab mine later."
"Oh! His room is at the end of the hall. But he's probably in his office. Why do you—"
A scream cuts through the air.
We both freeze.
It came from outside. From the lake.
Mara's face goes white. "That sounded like Dad."
We run. My heart is in my throat. We burst through the back door and I see him.
Julian. In the water. Struggling.
No. Not struggling.
Drowning.
"DAD!" Mara screams.
And something red blooms in the water around his head.
Blood.