Owen swore he’d never love again. Matt never got the memo.
 

Matt Daley thought the summer would be simple. A dissertation to finish, then figuring out what comes next after his master’s. When Owen Lane, his dad’s best friend from his university days, moves in next door and offers him a paid gig maintaining the pool and garden, it feels like an easy yes. What Matt doesn’t plan on is Owen himself—fifty-two, silver-haired, broad-shouldered, confident, and openly gay.
And Matt discovers very quickly that curiosity can be a dangerous thing when the man teaching you is this tempting.
 

Owen hires Matt for the help, not the way he fills out a pair of shorts or how the summer sun turns his skin golden. He did not expect Matt’s curiosity, or the slow burn of attraction that crackles between them as days stretch long and hot. Conversations turn intimate. Boundaries blur. Desire simmers just beneath the surface.
Until it doesn’t. 

What starts as a summer job becomes an exploration of desire, trust, and firsts, and the more time Matt spends with Owen, the harder it becomes to pretend it's only about sex.   

One summer could change everything.
If they can survive what happens when casual stops being enough.
 

One summer. One pool. Two men about to dive headfirst into everything they want—but are afraid to claim.