Rating: 3 stars
Buy Link: Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK
Length: Novella
Alec has always known that his brother’s best friend, Patrick, has a crush on him. They tease one another, flirting back and forth, but it’s all just two guys messing around. Until, one night while on vacation in Bali — and after a few drinks — Alec finds himself wondering what it would be like to kiss Patrick. He’s known the man forever, likes him, and knows how nice Pat is, how attentive, how considerate.
But Alec is straight, isn’t he? However, when a girl offers to take Pat and Alec home for a threesome … Alec has to wonder. It isn’t the girl whose gotten him hot and heavy; it’s the thought of Patrick right there. Touching him. Kissing him. And so, taking a chance, Alec confesses his attraction. One kiss leads to another, and then to the two of them in bed together, but Patrick leaves without spending the night, leaving Alec confused and a little hurt.
Patrick has had a crush on Alec for years now, and their night together was amazing. But Alec’s breathless laughter at the end, his casual comment about ticking something off of his bucket list leaves Patrick cold. He doesn’t want to be a pity fuck, or a notch on Alec’s belt. He wants something more, a deeper connection. He’s getting older; he’s sown his oats and wants to find someone to have a relationship with, not a quickie.
When Patrick’s father injures himself and needs help on the ranch, Patrick asks his friend Trevor to help. Along with Trevor comes Alec … and with him, maybe Patrick’s second chance at love.
This book is part of the Love Abroad series, a multi-author collection featuring romances taking place all over the globe. This one takes place in Bali and Australia. I don’t think you need to have read any of the other books in the series to enjoy any particular story.
This one ls light and breezy, with a very surface level romance and pleasant enough characters. Alec is a nice guy, Patrick is a nice guy, and the misunderstandings between them — about Alec’s comment and Patrick’s history of love ‘em and leave ‘em — is quickly smoothed over. I enjoyed Patrick’s statement that sex was whatever the two of them wanted it to be, penetration or not, with as much or as little contact as they wanted. That it was up to them and them alone and what worked for them.
The setting is well established and the writing is decent. All in all, this is a quick summer read.
