Their differences made them enemies.

One summer tied them together forever. 

From the moment Jack Gardner first laid eyes on Theodore Beaumont, he hated everything about him. Emanating wealth and icy perfection, Theo was everything Jack was not. Their time together at the elite Gwynns Academy changed them both, but it wasn't until a chance encounter the summer after graduation that the tension between them became palpable—unbearable.

*

Seventeen years later, Jack’s and Theo’s worlds collide as they drop their sons off at Gwynns. Theo wants the kind of authentic life that requires confronting past lies—specifically the steamy summer affair he and Jack kept buried like a secret beneath the floorboards of their marriages. 

Jack is…less than convinced.

Existing in the present and simultaneously in their shared past, in the richness of their memories and the way they once clung together, Jack and Theo struggle to reconcile the worlds they have built apart with their longing to be together—and the fear of being hurt all over again.

**From the author:** This novel includes some descriptions of neglect and abuse, and healing from childhood trauma is a crucial theme of the text. There are also mentions of drug use and suicidality. Jack and Theo are navigating love, loss, and adulthood as they cope with foundational trauma. If this is challenging to read, be gentle with yourself. The words will be here if and when you are ready.