English professor Gavin Dozier hasn’t had much luck when it comes to love. When his last boyfriend cheated on him, he was driven to experiment with women. Sex with Marian, though, had its own dangers, and before he knew it, he was a father. Now estranged, the only thing Gavin and Marian have in common is their daughter Evie, a precocious seven-year-old who stays with Gavin every other weekend. While out with her daddy, Evie meets the heavily-tattooed Brody Phelps, a sketch artist with serious talent who still dresses like a brooding punk rocker, even though he’s in his thirties. Brody is instantly attracted to the sexy college professor, but knows Gavin is out of his league -- the man has a kid, which probably means he isn’t gay, and besides, Brody never even graduated from high school. Guys like Gavin don’t go for guys like him. But when Evie leaves Gavin’s cell phone behind, Brody has the perfect excuse to meet up with them again. To his surprise they hit it off, and when he asks Gavin out, the professor accepts. Even though Evie brought them together, will her demanding personality pull them apart? Is Gavin ready to trust his heart to someone else again? Can Brody overcome his own fears of inadequacy and let Gavin in? And what will Marian have to say when the father of her child starts dating again?

Never Met a Stranger

Now it’s Gavin’s turn to be surprised. “Really? You don’t look it. I mean, with the punk hair and the earrings, and your clothes.”


Brody smooths a hand down the front of his T-shirt. “This is just sort of left over from my teenage years. Everyone looks good in black, right? And it’s an easy look to maintain—doesn’t matter what I put on because it all matches. Scaring people away is just a side effect.”


“Aw, come on,” Gavin says, scooting even closer. His hip rests against the iPhone separating Brody’s end of the bench from his. “I don’t think you’re scary. You’re just…I don’t know, artistic.”


That earns him a smirk. “Yeah, right. You’re only saying that because you saw my sketchbook.”


Gavin thinks back to the realistic drawing Brody had been working on of Evie—just a few pencil strokes in and it was already evident who he was sketching. “No, man, you’re really good. And you haven’t had any training?”


“I just doodle,” Brody says, as if anyone can do what he does.


Chapter 23