Mark Dauphin loves his nephews, Sam and Logan, and he'll do anything his brother-in-law Cole asks, but when Cole wants Mark to play nice with Stefano Magnussi, Mark isn't sure he can comply. Stefano is hotter than fire, but Mark can't see past the fact that Stefano is one of those guys, the type of men who date guys half their age, the type of guys who made Mark give up on dating.<br><br>Of course, a little wine and several cocktails later, Mark finds himself dropping more than his defenses with Stefano. But when Logan and the rest of Mark's family surprise them in the morning, Mark and Stefano are suddenly at odds.<br><br>When Logan's ego is wounded, not only does Mark find himself desperate to fix his relationship with his nephew, but he also questions whether his night with this beautiful man meant anything to either of them. Mark isn't given much time to reflect though, as the war that's been brewing between the shivers comes to a violent head, and he soon learns that sometimes you just have to trust in those around you.

Mark's Midlife

“It’s not you I’m not sure about, it’s the move. I just went to war to keep my home and restaurant. I’m successful. I don’t know if I want to move here and be your kept man,” he said. “I’m still getting used to this idea of not being a shiver leader, of not having all those people depend on me. I also am still getting used to the idea that I have no family I can rely on anymore. With that being said, there are many reasons for me not to want to go back to Shark Beach, but I built my business there, and I bought my house there, and I’m not sure that I want to give those up.”


I nodded my head while my face made a half-smile.


Chapter 55