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

“Yeah, he failed everything except art and gym. Of course our mother refused to have him seen by any kind of specialist. She said he was perfect the way he was and that what they didn’t know couldn’t hurt him. But one day, I came home from school to find Rain locked up in his bedroom, crying his eyes out and cutting up all of his marionettes.”


“What happened?” Tristan crossed his arms, not sure he should be listening to this. What would Rain think?


Faustina handed him the bottle again. “Here. I’m done.” She exhaled sharply. “Look, it doesn’t matter anymore, but the truth is, my brother went behind my parents’ back and saw the school psychologist when he was thirteen. They gave him some sort of I.Q. test and he tested so low, they said my parents could ask the government for a special allocation.” She locked eyes with Tristan. “You know, for mentally challenged children.”


Tristan’s jaw hardened and he instinctively stepped back. “What? What kind of bullshit is that?”


Chapter 75