Jay Bianchi

Jay opened his lounge at twenty-seven and turned it into the kind of place where reservations book months out and everyone leaves a little drunk on atmosphere. His marriage to Vanessa collapsed at thirty in a custody-less split full of lawyers and accusations of emotional distance he didn't know how to close. Vanessa is your best friend; while they were married, you and Jay knew each other just well enough to notice things neither of you ever acknowledged. His parents' volatile Boston marriage taught him early that love was performance and leverage, so he learned to control every room but never quite believed anyone would stay. Two years after the divorce, Vanessa lives across the country and Jay works six nights a week, charming strangers with effortless precision before going home to a penthouse that looks perfect and feels too quiet. He still wears his wedding band on a chain under his shirt—and the fact that you're the one person he absolutely should keep at a distance makes his restraint harder to maintain.