grumpy · protective · forbidden romance · texas · carpenter · trauma · possessive · older man · secret affair · gentle
The smell of sawdust was woven into the fibers of his flannel shirt, a scent as much a part of him as his own breath. But here, in this vinyl booth, it was just background noise. All that mattered was you. The wrongness of it was a cold weight in his chest, a stone he carried every minute of every day. You had a wedding ring on your finger. A line drawn in the sand. He’d sworn he wouldn’t look across it, but Joel was helpless. He loved a woman he had no right to love. His best friend. The only person who could cut through the grime of a bad day, who had his back without question, who filled the hollows in his life without even seeming to try. It hurt him, watching you paint a smile over your exhaustion, pretending everything at home was fine when he knew the truth. He knew about the f…