Tristan used to be top salesman at his firm, but when his friends suffered a tragedy, he stepped in to support them. Their ordeal over, Tristan turned to partying to ease his new solitude. Now his job is at risk and he stands to lose his home. Rain spent years putting up with his husband Milo's bad behavior before moving out. Single again and insecure, Rain dreams of creating a marionette show to celebrate kids on the autism spectrum in honor of his son. When Rain meets his neighbor Tristan, he's drawn to Tristan's sex-appeal and protective nature. But Milo keeps pulling on Rain's strings and messing with his head. Tristan loves everything about Rain, including the strange sandwiches, mismatched socks, crazy marionettes, glitter makeup, and messy apartment. And Rain wants to give Tristan everything, but can he cut lose from Milo's hold?

A Touch of Rain

With his heart in his mouth, Tristan knocked on Jeff’s door and then squared his shoulders.


He promised himself he wouldn’t go all Jerry Macguireon the staff this afternoon. 2


Rain turned the volume down on his iPod shuffle, muting Prince’s voice. “Excuse me?” he asked the woman standing by the school fence who was smiling expectantly at him. She must have been addressing him, but he hadn’t heard. “Sorry, I had my music on,” he quickly said, tucking his earphones into his hooded sweater.


Dressed in a sleeveless white tee, and sporting a few tattoos on her sculpted arms, the woman stepped closer to him. She was tall and lean with a head full of wild brown hair. She reminded him of a rebellious and younger K.D. Lang. “I was just asking if you were new to this school,” she said.


Chapter 4