The Man I Shouldn’t Love

ALBA 5 stories

Story Notes

Summary

— I’m twenty-seven, Thiago. I’m not innocent. — You’re twenty-seven, and you spent ten of those years with the same man. You have no idea what it’s like to be single. For ten years, Emma was one half of Lucemma. Lucas was her first love, her best friend, and the man she was certain she would grow old with—until, one day, they became the older, grumpier version of the crooked heart they had drawn together as teenagers. Until she realized she had spent so long trying to make their relationship work that she no longer knew where he ended and she began. Now, at twenty-seven, Emma is doing something she never imagined she would: leaving São Paulo behind to build a life in Rio de Janeiro. Alone. No boyfriend. No plans. And, most importantly, absolutely no intention of falling in love again. Thiago Castilho wasn’t part of the plan either. He’s a friend. He’s provocative. He’s dangerously handsome and far too close for someone Emma definitely shouldn’t want. He also knows how to keep people around without ever letting them get too close: relationships he can control, feelings he can manage, endings he always walks away from unscathed. For a while, they manage to pretend the attraction between them doesn’t exist. Until pretending is no longer enough. After spending ten years living a story written for two, Emma finally has the chance to discover who she is when every choice belongs to her alone. The problem is that one of those choices might be the very man she was never supposed to love.