Hot Under the Collar

After my dad moved to a retirement community, he left me with the big, old house I grew up in and a whole lot of loneliness. I thought by now I’d be settled down, but no one’s looking for the guy who likes long hikes with his dog, stargazing, and fixing shit around the house. They want fun, entertaining, flashy—not me. Except when I give Rhys my private line for an emergency house call, I show up for the job to discover it’s a date. It seems like I might’ve met the one man on earth who’s just as interested as I am—if only we can find the guts to admit it.

I’ve dated every shade of guy imaginable, yet I keep boyfriending them. Mostly because my empty house doesn’t align with the happily-ever-after fantasies I’ve had since I was a kid. No more. After my last boyfriend cheated on me, I’m flings only, even if temptation dangles my way. And when Lex shows up to fix my wiring issue, he’s pure temptation.

Ollie: The last thing I expected from my wife was a divorce. I’d checked all the boxes off—cozy house near my folks, joined the family business as a contractor, and married right out of high school. Except the more I think about how distant we’ve been, the more our split makes sense. And the more time I spend blowing off steam with my best friend, the more I want to actually...blow him.