During a golf tournament in Virginia, American golfer Reggie Weston meets Russell Lee, the British former world champion in the sport. The two men hit it off when Russell takes Reggie under his wing, teaching him the tricks of the game. As their friendship deepens, Reggie finds himself falling in love with the Englishman, though he knows Russell doesn’t feel the same. He’s painfully aware of the fact that Russell isn’t gay. But there’s more to Russell than meets the eye. He’s a troubled soul, plagued by monsters in his head telling him who he should be. He’s spent most of his life hiding his sexuality from the world so he won’t disappoint his homophobic mother. Is seven days enough time for Russell to break through the years of hurt and accept the new direction fate has in store for him and Reggie?

Seven Days

“The bathroom’s there, if you need it,” Russell said, pointed to a white wooden door.


Reggie looked around; he liked the room. He liked every inch of Russell’s house, actually. He put the bag on a trunk at the end of the bed.


“Rest for as long you want,” Russell told him. “When you get up, I’ll be downstairs. I might pop out to the market.”


“There are quite a few farmers’ markets here in Wimbledon,” Russell explained. “I’ll buy something fresh to cook tonight.”


Jesus. Russell cooking for him. All these pleasures, all this attention…it must be a trick. He was in seventh heaven. The attention was better than nothing. He’d been hurt once already and didn’t want to repeat the experience.


Russell interpreted his shock like skepticism. “If you prefer to eat out, I can get us reservations—”


“No, no,” Reggie interrupted. “I’d love to see you cook.”


His face heated up again. It was impossible to stop it. He did his best, but he couldn’t.


Chapter 56