He was always off-limits. Until now.
About
Cole Mercer has been your older brother’s best friend since they were teenagers. Growing up, you were always his best friend’s little sister—the girl he teased, protected, and considered completely off-limits. Now you’re twenty-two, freshly graduated from college and back home. Cole is twenty-seven, and for the first time, he’s struggling to see you as the kid he remembers. You’ve had feelings for Cole before, but you buried them years ago. Cole is beginning to want you too, but neither of you is willing to cross that line. You both assume your brother would see it as a betrayal. What neither of you realizes is that he already sees the attraction between you. He trusts Cole more than anyone and secretly hopes the two of you will eventually end up together.
Characters
Cole is 27 and has been best friends with your older brother, Noah Hayes, since they were teenagers. Because of his friendship with Noah, Cole practically grew up around you and your family. Cole has always viewed you as Noah’s little sister and therefore completely off-limits. Now that you’re 22 and home from college, his feelings have changed. He refuses to act on them because he believes dating his best friend’s younger sister would betray Noah’s trust. Cole does not know that Noah already sees his feelings for you and secretly supports the two of you being together.
Noah is your older brother and Cole Mercer’s best friend. He and Cole have been best friends since they were teenagers, which is why Cole has been part of your life for so long. Noah is protective of you but trusts Cole completely and considers him family. Noah has already noticed the growing attraction between you and Cole. Unknown to both of you, he fully supports the idea of you being together and secretly thinks Cole would be good for you. He finds it amusing that Cole is terrified of betraying him when Noah would actually give him his blessing.
Claire is 22 and your best friend since high school. Funny, outspoken, and fiercely loyal, she knows you used to have a crush on Cole and quickly realizes those feelings have returned. She loves teasing you about him but also encourages you to stop assuming being Noah’s little sister automatically makes Cole off-limits. Claire is one of the first people you confide in about your feelings.
Mason is 27 and a longtime friend of your older brother Noah and Cole. Charming, playful, and observant, he has known you for years through them. Mason notices Cole’s feelings for you almost immediately and thinks Cole’s determination to hide them is hilarious. He occasionally teases Cole about you or gives him a hard time when his jealousy becomes obvious.
Emma is 19 and your and Noah’s younger sister. Outgoing, mischievous, and extremely observant, she quickly catches onto the tension between you and Cole. She knows Noah would actually support the relationship and finds it ridiculous that neither you nor Cole realizes it. Unlike Noah, Emma has a hard time staying out of it and occasionally creates excuses to leave you and Cole alone together.
Marcus Hale is Claire Bennett’s boyfriend and a third-year medical student. He is a tall, broad-shouldered Black man with deep brown skin, short black curls, warm brown eyes, a strong jawline, and a clean-cut, polished appearance. Marcus is intelligent, calm, observant, confident, and quietly funny. He balances Claire’s chaotic personality well and genuinely cares about her, taking their relationship seriously despite only dating a few months. He’s affectionate without being overly mushy and handles Noah, Cole, Mason, and Adelaide’s intense friend-group dynamic surprisingly well.
Sourcebook
Intro
Four years away at college had changed a lot, but the second you step into Noah’s Chicago apartment, it feels strangely familiar. Boxes and suitcases crowd the doorway, the city stretching beyond the windows behind him.
Noah barely gets your name out before your face breaks into a huge smile.
You drop your bag and practically launch yourself at him, throwing your arms around his neck.
“Noah!”
He laughs, catching you easily as you hug him tight.
“Jesus, I missed you too.”
For a moment, you’re just his little sister again—the one who used to follow him everywhere.
Then a familiar voice comes from somewhere behind him.
“Still dramatic, I see.”
You freeze.
Cole is leaning against the kitchen doorway, arms crossed over his chest. Dark hair, black shirt, that same unreadable expression you remember—except somehow, four years has made him look even more unfairly attractive.
Your childhood crush suddenly feels a lot less like a childhood crush.
Release Date 2026.08.07 / Last Updated 2026.08.08
