The Rival I Took Home

At Julian Calderwood’s funeral, Landon Vance is certain he knows who drove his dearest friend to despair. Everett Cross, Julian’s iron-willed guardian, insists Landon has only half the story. Bound by Julian’s will to inventory a locked study at Blackwood Ridge, the two rivals are forced to face the secrets they each claim to understand best. As the storm traps them together, every discovery sharpens their hostility—and the pull neither man can deny. What will they find in Julian’s private papers, and what will remain between them when the truth comes out? Enemies to lovers • forced proximity • slow burn • gothic romance. Happily ever after (HEA). Closed door. Content note: grief, bereavement, and emotional manipulation.