Billy Daley hasn’t been home in years, and he likes it that way. He’s just fine on his own—he has a cash-in-hand job at a scrapyard, a half-feral cat to keep him company, and many miles between him, his hometown and all the baggage that comes with it.
Until the job goes sideways. Suddenly he’s back in Rushmere, working for none other than his brother’s best friend—a man whose kiss Billy can’t seem to forget.
Gus Amour’s memories of Billy Daley are all spiky edges, lips crushed against lips and a reckless streak that always ended in trouble. But when Billy needs a place to stay, Gus steps in. He’d do anything for the Daley family, including living, and working, side by side with a man who makes his heart beat too fast and his blood run too hot—two things he’s been running from for years.
It doesn’t take long before their easy banter, lingering touches and heated glances become a temptation too hard to resist. But falling into bed and falling in love are two different things, and love has never come easy to either Billy or Gus. Only when fate threatens to steal away their opportunity for a second chance will they realize they don’t need easy.
They just need each other.
Billy and Gus grew up together, always in each other’s lives. They even shared a sneaky kiss once. But family events forced the two onto very different paths.
Now Billy is back in town, and he’s staying at Gus’ place. They’re very different men, but the spark between is just the same.
I really liked the set-up of this book - family drama, moody boys, sexual tension, unspoken feelings, and a judgy cat.
A winning recipe!
This is very much so a character-driven story - all of the focus is on Gus and Billy, and on their respective siblings, Mia and Luke. What a tricky web that family is.
This isn’t an overly angsty book, at least not by Garrett Leigh’s standards, but it’s definitely heavy on the family drama and dynamics. That being said, Billy and Gus were still pretty cute from the get-go.
Their relationship grows very naturally, and it’s easy to see how well they fit together. Whether the two were trading insults, working, attempting to cook, or trying to ignore the growing heat, the connection between them was obvious.
Sure, both have some unresolved issues with their families, but the shared experience made it easier for Gus and Billy to address their problems.
They’re adorable once they finally give in to the tension between them. Years worth of longing paid off!
Where the book took a bit of a left turn was the second half.
so. much. miscommunication.
Or lack of communication, more accurately.
Both men just jumped to one inaccurate conclusion after another, and it all seemed to snowball into the perfect storm. I was a bit miffed, and just not as invested for a while.
Luckily, the big resolution set it all to rights. And everyone accepted their responsibility. Growth is amazing to see.
Even better, the happy ever after was perfect. Overall, I quite enjoyed Billy and Gus’ story!
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