July Heat — K.C. Kendricks

Drew Bernard's life was shattered in a single, breathless moment. His one action made reconciliation with his family impossible. He can't change it, but he's determined to move his life forward and not be defined by a single, horrific moment. When a friend reaches out to him with the offer of a place to stay and a temporary job, Drew makes the move to Centerville.-Morgan Osborne made choices for the benefit of his son, but now the child is a grown man and determined to sever all ties with him – except for the monetary ones. When an unsuspecting Drew witnesses a particularly heated exchange, Morgan makes his apologies and ends up asking Drew to go out with him. -Drew is drawn to Morgan, but he's afraid to trust his heart. His vision of his new life never included someone like Morgan, someone who would need to know the truth.* * *EXCERPT:All clean and shiny, I hoped to snap a quick nap before my dinner date. I expected a call or text from Morgan to let me know what time he'd pick me up. I didn't anticipate a knock on the door. I pulled on a pair of faded blue jean shorts and opened the front door to find Morgan standing there.He looked me over, his gaze going up and down and back up again. He finally looked me in the eye. Wow. You have the nicest…eyes.I laughed in spite of myself. It wasn't my baby blues you were looking at, Osborne. I know what you're really interested in.Can't get much by you. Hey. Your eyes are brown. He narrowed his eyes and gave me a fake glare. Okay. I get the joke. I, um, was driving by…on my way home… and I saw your car. Is six too early for tonight?How'd you know it was my car?He grinned and flicked his thumb over his shoulder toward the driveway. Pfft. Mick Ambrose wouldn't own something like that, that's how. And it has a Virginia license plate.I laughed. Fair enough. So where are we going tonight?There's this little authentic Greek place over in Easton I like. It's very casual, but the atmosphere is great, and the food is even better.Cool. I'd invite you in--No. No, I don't want to put you on the spot like that.We stared at each other for a moment, but neither of us spoke. Whatever Logan thought about the man it was obvious Morgan knew and wouldn't cross some imaginary line. The problem was I didn't want Morgan to drive away now that he was here.I rolled the dice. We could start the evening early.I swear the man's ears pricked up like a collie. I'll just wait in the truck while you get dressed.With that, he was down the steps, nimble as a mountain goat and twice as fast.