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

None of his clients had minded—in fact, he’d gotten compliments—but then one evening he’d been there to close when Trev had come in to fetch something he’d forgotten at work, and…. Kaos forced himself to breathe in slowly and blinked rapidly. No, he wouldn’t ruin a perfectly good set of false lashes and cat eye eyeliner for that piece of shit, dammit!


He hit Play again and watched another couple of minutes of the tutorial before continuing the application of lip liner. The colors he was using were pretty neutral—he didn’t feel brave enough for anything more. His skin color and blond hair went nice with the gold and brown tones he’d chosen for the eye shadow. He’d also read somewhere that hazel eyes were supposedly nice enough to hold their own, so he didn’t do much to his lips, just some slightly rosy color and he was pretty much done.


Chapter 39