Tides Of Your Love

Owen Wheaton isn’t just a soccer icon—he’s also my brother’s off-limits best friend.

My once-upon-a-time protector. My first everything.

When an injury sends him home to our small California town, we end up living under the same roof. Only Owen isn’t the boy who left—he’s a world-famous athlete who dates models, tops hottest man alive lists, and has full stadiums singing his praise.

But I know the version of him the world doesn’t see. The one who made me believe I was more than my stutter. The one I trusted to be my first—all those years ago.

I’ve built a quiet, full life—crafting handmade products for the shop I manage, filming YouTube videos to face my stutter head-on, and finding strength in my own voice. But now he’s everywhere—on my porch, in my kitchen, under my skin.

The simmering tension between us starts to boil ... and nothing will ever be the same. He’s looking at me like I’ve always been his. But I keep telling myself I never really was.

Because if I was—if I am—what happens when he goes back to his game and takes my heart with him as a trophy?