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

The flash wall had had a few pieces of Christa’s original art removed due to them being used. They’d been tattooed on clients who had paid extra for the art to remain exclusive, just for them. That meant there was now room on the wall, and Christa had told Kaos he could fix it and add his own pieces there if he didn’t mind her tattooing any of them onto potential clients who might want them before he got his license. It didn’t bother him at all for Christa to do the actual ink work—it would still be his art—so Kaos had come up with a handful of different pieces in a few styles and was going to put them up. On anything bigger, though, he wanted to tattoo his own stuff, just for the sake of his vision and artistic integrity.


He got his coffee from upstairs, then came back to the counter, where he stood, looking at the flash wall, trying to visualize what he wanted it to look like with his art added to the mix.


Chapter 49