Blurb:
Not everyone gets a second chance with their first love.
Cost of Repairs, Book 5
David Weller thought he had it all—a loving partner who gave him a ring, a steady job he didn’t hate, and so much hope for the future. But in the wake of a devastating diagnosis, everything he thought was solid and real lay in pieces at his feet.
Four years later, he’s still sifting through the rubble of his life. His catering partnership occupies his days, while his nights are filled with dangerous sexual hookups and very bad decisions. Then the last person he ever expected to see again walks back into his life.
Owen Hart’s single biggest regret is the way he was forced to leave David behind—no explanations, no chance to make it right. Until now. Finally free of eight years of lies, Owen’s back for the only man he’s ever loved.
An incendiary encounter in a club proves that time hasn’t weakened their physical connection, but David’s wounds run deeper than Owen’s deception. And if David can’t first forgive, Owen doesn’t have a second chance in hell.
Warning: This book contains an Australian transplant with a head full of secrets, a party planner with enough baggage to sink a battleship, and a surly teenager who just wants them both to get over themselves.
Excerpt:
“Table for two?” the hostess asked.
“We’re actually meeting a third,” Rey said. “Do you know if a Mr. wenson has been seated?”
“Yes, he has. If you’ll follow me?”
he led them through a sea of diners and bustling wait staff, to a table near the rear of the dining
room. A man was already sitting at a table set for three, and the back of his head sent a strange
tingle through David’s chest. The sounds of the restaurant dimmed under the building roar in his
head.
No, no fucking way. Not again.
“Here you are,” the hostess said. “Your waitress will be right with you.”
David spotted the bottle of ierra Nevada Pale Ale and knew before the man stood and turned to
face them.
“Mr. wenson?” Rey asked.
“You must be Rey King,” Owen said. “A pleasure.”
“Likewise. This is my business partner David Weller.”
“We’ve met,” David said. His voice was soft, hoarse. He couldn’t get enough air. Owen had lied
to Rey and set him up, the bastard.
“You have?” Rey glanced between them, his confusion plain. He also seemed to pick up on the tension stretching out like an invisible cord. “You didn’t know his name in the car.”
“That’s because I never told him my real name,” Owen said.
Real name? What does that mean?
Their conversation had been fairly hushed so far, but David still felt like every eyeball in the
restaurant was on them. He needed to leave or sit down, or do something besides stand there and feel like an ambushed idiot. “This is Owen,” he said to Rey.
Rey frowned. “Owen? Who—?” His eyebrows shot up. “The Owen?”
“Yeah.”
The frown shifted into a furious glare. “What the hell is this?” he asked Owen.
“Please, can we sit down?” Owen asked. “People are staring.”
“We’re not staying,” Rey said as they sat across the table from Owen. He deliberately took the
chair directly in front of Owen, keeping David as physically far away as possible. mall gestures
like that made David value their friendship even more.
“I’m sorry for the roundabout, but David wouldn’t talk to me last night, and I need to explain
myself.”
“Last night.” He looked at David. “He’s why you were upset last night?”
“I ran into him at the party,” David replied. He didn’t feel like getting into the details of Owen’s
responsibility for them even being there.
“I never meant for our first conversation to happen like that,” Owen said. “I’d hoped to plan the
whole thing better.”
Owen always did like having a plan. “That didn’t work out, so you use my business partner to
get a little face time with me? How big of a dick are you?”
“I didn’t lie in my e-mail. My given name is Hadley Bradford Wenson, and I do want to throw a
small anniversary party in July. July fifth, actually.”
“Don’t.”
“What’s July fifth?” Rey asked.
“The day we met,” Owen replied.
“You know what anniversary I remember the most?” David said. “April twenty-seventh. The day
I came home and you were both gone. That one’s pretty damn clear in my mind.”
“In mine as well, and I really want you to let me explain.”
Their waitress interrupted the flow of the argument. David forwent alcohol and ordered tonic water. His stomach was too upset to handle anything stronger. Rey ordered a bottle of Sam Adams.
David waited for her to leave before asking, “Why did you change your name?” A
shadow drifted across Owen’s face—the same shadow that had been there almost constantly
that first year. An angry shadow that had diminished under the brilliance of their love for each
other. “We had to, me and my son both. Michael was born Benjamin Hadley Wenson.”
“But why?” David needed to know why he’d been lied to for so long. Why he’d fallen in love
with a man whose name he never really knew.
“To protect us from the man who killed Michael’s mother and grandfather.”
“You told me his mother was killed during a home invasion.”
“I used parts of the truth to fashion the lie. Makes it easier to remember. he was killed by a man
who had no business in that house, but he wasn’t there to rob anyone. He was a dangerous man, and I did what I had to do to protect my son.”
The drinks arrived. Owen shooed the waitress away before she could ask if they were ready to
order. Rude, but necessary. David stared at his bubbling glass of tonic, torn in a dozen different
directions. He wanted to know more, but he also didn’t want to give Owen a break on this.
Versions of the truth. Assumed names. He felt as if he’d fallen into some kind of espionage drama, and he didn’t know his part or his lines.
“I want to tell you the whole truth, start to finish,” Owen said. “Then you can make your judgments of me. Two hours, David, please?” He was tired, aching in embarrassing places, and a little on the queasy side. He still said, “Fine.
Two hours. We can talk at my place.”
“Is that a good idea?” Rey asked.
David shrugged, and the muscles in his shoulders burned. This whole thing could end up being a monumentally bad idea. “If you don’t hear from me in two hours, five minutes, call the police.”
“Count on it.”
“I’m assuming you have a car?” he asked Owen.
“I do,” Owen said. “You live close by?”
“Yes.”
“I’m going to stay and drink my beer,” Rey said. “ Sam would never forgive me if I let it go to
waste.”
Owen put a twenty on the table. “My shout.” Rey gave David’s forearm a supportive squeeze as David stood up. It felt both strange and
natural to follow Owen out of the restaurant. They hadn’t eaten out much as a couple. They preferred cooking together and spending the evening as a threesome, until it was Michael’s
bedtime. Plus, neither of them could afford regular nights out.
Owen unlocked a beat-up Honda Civic. David opened the passenger door and immediately
pushed the seat back to give his legs more room. The car was kind of small for his taste, but he
also had a few inches on Owen. They didn’t speak beyond David giving him directions to his
building. At his door, David fumbled his keys. Nervous now, he struggled to unlock the door. He didn’t believe Owen was a danger to him, and his apartment was tidy, so the nerves made no real sense. He wanted to press a bruise, to feel that sharp ache and let it clear his mind.
Not while Owen’s here. He can’t know that shit.
“We’re actually meeting a third,” Rey said. “Do you know if a Mr. wenson has been seated?”
“Yes, he has. If you’ll follow me?”
he led them through a sea of diners and bustling wait staff, to a table near the rear of the dining
room. A man was already sitting at a table set for three, and the back of his head sent a strange
tingle through David’s chest. The sounds of the restaurant dimmed under the building roar in his
head.
No, no fucking way. Not again.
“Here you are,” the hostess said. “Your waitress will be right with you.”
David spotted the bottle of ierra Nevada Pale Ale and knew before the man stood and turned to
face them.
“Mr. wenson?” Rey asked.
“You must be Rey King,” Owen said. “A pleasure.”
“Likewise. This is my business partner David Weller.”
“We’ve met,” David said. His voice was soft, hoarse. He couldn’t get enough air. Owen had lied
to Rey and set him up, the bastard.
“You have?” Rey glanced between them, his confusion plain. He also seemed to pick up on the tension stretching out like an invisible cord. “You didn’t know his name in the car.”
“That’s because I never told him my real name,” Owen said.
Real name? What does that mean?
Their conversation had been fairly hushed so far, but David still felt like every eyeball in the
restaurant was on them. He needed to leave or sit down, or do something besides stand there and feel like an ambushed idiot. “This is Owen,” he said to Rey.
Rey frowned. “Owen? Who—?” His eyebrows shot up. “The Owen?”
“Yeah.”
The frown shifted into a furious glare. “What the hell is this?” he asked Owen.
“Please, can we sit down?” Owen asked. “People are staring.”
“We’re not staying,” Rey said as they sat across the table from Owen. He deliberately took the
chair directly in front of Owen, keeping David as physically far away as possible. mall gestures
like that made David value their friendship even more.
“I’m sorry for the roundabout, but David wouldn’t talk to me last night, and I need to explain
myself.”
“Last night.” He looked at David. “He’s why you were upset last night?”
“I ran into him at the party,” David replied. He didn’t feel like getting into the details of Owen’s
responsibility for them even being there.
“I never meant for our first conversation to happen like that,” Owen said. “I’d hoped to plan the
whole thing better.”
Owen always did like having a plan. “That didn’t work out, so you use my business partner to
get a little face time with me? How big of a dick are you?”
“I didn’t lie in my e-mail. My given name is Hadley Bradford Wenson, and I do want to throw a
small anniversary party in July. July fifth, actually.”
“Don’t.”
“What’s July fifth?” Rey asked.
“The day we met,” Owen replied.
“You know what anniversary I remember the most?” David said. “April twenty-seventh. The day
I came home and you were both gone. That one’s pretty damn clear in my mind.”
“In mine as well, and I really want you to let me explain.”
Their waitress interrupted the flow of the argument. David forwent alcohol and ordered tonic water. His stomach was too upset to handle anything stronger. Rey ordered a bottle of Sam Adams.
David waited for her to leave before asking, “Why did you change your name?” A
shadow drifted across Owen’s face—the same shadow that had been there almost constantly
that first year. An angry shadow that had diminished under the brilliance of their love for each
other. “We had to, me and my son both. Michael was born Benjamin Hadley Wenson.”
“But why?” David needed to know why he’d been lied to for so long. Why he’d fallen in love
with a man whose name he never really knew.
“To protect us from the man who killed Michael’s mother and grandfather.”
“You told me his mother was killed during a home invasion.”
“I used parts of the truth to fashion the lie. Makes it easier to remember. he was killed by a man
who had no business in that house, but he wasn’t there to rob anyone. He was a dangerous man, and I did what I had to do to protect my son.”
The drinks arrived. Owen shooed the waitress away before she could ask if they were ready to
order. Rude, but necessary. David stared at his bubbling glass of tonic, torn in a dozen different
directions. He wanted to know more, but he also didn’t want to give Owen a break on this.
Versions of the truth. Assumed names. He felt as if he’d fallen into some kind of espionage drama, and he didn’t know his part or his lines.
“I want to tell you the whole truth, start to finish,” Owen said. “Then you can make your judgments of me. Two hours, David, please?” He was tired, aching in embarrassing places, and a little on the queasy side. He still said, “Fine.
Two hours. We can talk at my place.”
“Is that a good idea?” Rey asked.
David shrugged, and the muscles in his shoulders burned. This whole thing could end up being a monumentally bad idea. “If you don’t hear from me in two hours, five minutes, call the police.”
“Count on it.”
“I’m assuming you have a car?” he asked Owen.
“I do,” Owen said. “You live close by?”
“Yes.”
“I’m going to stay and drink my beer,” Rey said. “ Sam would never forgive me if I let it go to
waste.”
Owen put a twenty on the table. “My shout.” Rey gave David’s forearm a supportive squeeze as David stood up. It felt both strange and
natural to follow Owen out of the restaurant. They hadn’t eaten out much as a couple. They preferred cooking together and spending the evening as a threesome, until it was Michael’s
bedtime. Plus, neither of them could afford regular nights out.
Owen unlocked a beat-up Honda Civic. David opened the passenger door and immediately
pushed the seat back to give his legs more room. The car was kind of small for his taste, but he
also had a few inches on Owen. They didn’t speak beyond David giving him directions to his
building. At his door, David fumbled his keys. Nervous now, he struggled to unlock the door. He didn’t believe Owen was a danger to him, and his apartment was tidy, so the nerves made no real sense. He wanted to press a bruise, to feel that sharp ache and let it clear his mind.
Not while Owen’s here. He can’t know that shit.
Tracy's Review:
I wish I could give it more than 5 stars!
David has been Rey's business partner for about the past 6 months, and things are going well with their catering business. At a party they are catering, David comes face to face with his past. His ex Owen, who disappeared, with his son, Michael suddenly 4 years ago.
Owen wants to explain why he left so suddenly. David and Owen still love each other, but will David forgive him? David has lived the last 4 years thinking Owen left, after he tested positive for Huntington's. Thinking Owen abandoned him so he didn't have to face the uncertain and debilitating future that awaits David, with this horrible diagnosis.
I loved David and Owens story. A.M. always writes the best broken characters. I always love watching them heal and getting their HEA!
David and Owen were no exception. They both have to confess and come to terms with pasts that they kept secret from one another, the 1st time around in their relationship. David and Owens story kept me on the edge of my seat turning the pages to see what would happen next. The story flows so well and never lags or drags. I never wanted to skim ahead.
The chemistry between the characters is spectacular. The sex was hot, and I felt the love coming off the pages. This story had broken people, love, self hate, sadness, and eventually forgiveness.
Another thing I absolutely loved, was Michael, Owens son. He was the little cheerleader pushing David and Owen to reconcile. You could see how much he loved not just his father, but David as well. I loved that a 14 year old boy world be so accepting of his father and Davids relationship. I have loved all of the characters in this series, but I truly think these guys have a special place in my heart, and I hope to see maybe a Novella or even a short story. Maybe a family vacation, A.M.?? Hint hint
Ms. Arthur is truly not just one of my favorite m/m writers, but one of my favorite writers period! If you haven't read any of her books you are missing out!!
About the Author:
No stranger to the writing world, A.M. Arthur has been creating stories in her head since she was a child and scribbling them down nearly as long. She credits an early fascination with male friendships and "bromance" (and "The Young Riders") with her later discovery of and subsequent affair with m/m romance stories. When not writing, she can be found in her kitchen, pretending she's an amateur chef and trying to not poison herself or others with her cuisine experiments.
Contacting A.M.
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