When unlikely attraction blossoms between a twentysomething genderqueer tattoo artist and an older, small-town veterinarian, both are forced to face their pasts for a chance at a loving future. Four years ago Padraig Donovan lost his husband, the only man he’d ever been with. Now his life consists of the work he loves, a big empty house, and the possibility of a lonely future. Kaos’s experiments with makeup landed him in the hospital at the hands of his disapproving ex. With nowhere else to turn, he flees to Acker, Wisconsin ... and runs into a sexy widower and the kindest man he’s ever met. Padraig and Kaos know there’s something worth exploring between them, and as they raise a puppy and deal with the ups and downs of their respective jobs, they fit into each other’s lives in ways they never expected. Being with Kaos -- who is so different than the guys he’s always been attracted to -- opens up an exciting new world for Padraig. But can he convince Kaos to trust another man with his body ... let alone his heart?

Four

When his phone buzzed with an incoming message, he dug it out from between his thigh and the chair’s arm, then smiled widely at the silly selfie Lake had sent him.


“Who’s that?” Makai asked, grinning at Kaos’s expression, it seemed.


“It’s my friend LaKeisha, or Lake, as she prefers to be called.” Kaos turned the phone so that the guys could see the photo.


They both laughed, and Emil ended up giggling so hard that he had to hide his face in Makai’s shoulder.


“She’s a goofball. I think with me here, she’s able to not be so stressed out. It wasn’t easy for her when I took out the restraining order on her brother,” Kaos mused as he sent her a photo of the cats he’d taken earlier. He hadn’t really paid attention to what he was saying, but the sudden silence from the couch made him look up. “What?”


“You have a restraining order for someone?” Emil asked quietly, his hand finding Makai’s where he’d gone deadly still.


Chapter 26