I thought this was a really sweet love story, albeit with hot AF sexy time. Lorenzo (Lo) was still kind of getting over the breakup of a long-term relationship even though it happened two years ago and Pierce was getting tired of having to deal with so much of the stuff related to being a celebrity. They were two kind of lost souls who ended up needing each other more than they ever anticipated

I really enjoyed the first book in this series, which was kind of a redemption story for Seb, but Pierce and Lorenzo stole my heart. I don’t often highlight quotes while reading but this one, where Lorenzo is thinking to himself, really spoke to me: “I closed my eyes and took a mental snapshot. I never wanted to forget this feeling. Unchecked joy with a new lover who felt like an old friend.”

One of my favorite things about this book was the character of Mr. Gowan. I loved hearing him tell Lorenzo and Pierce about his life and relationship. How sad that he had to live most of his life in the closet. He was just the sweetest character and he was so understanding of Pierce and his questions and feelings. I think he helped Pierce and Lorenzo see each other more clearly and perhaps unknowingly facilitated their becoming more than friends.

Lane Hayes descriptive writing always keeps me captivated. The way she described the four different homes in this story – Lorenzo’s apartment, Pierce’s huge home, Mr. G’s house and his cottage in Carmel – allowed me to see them clearly in my mind and made me want to visit them.

There wasn’t anything I didn’t love about this book. You don’t have to have read The Real Baxter to enjoy this one but that is also a great story so I recommend checking it out. The only thing that could make me love this story more is to listen to it when it comes out as an audiobook.

Reviews for Lane Hayes

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“So…you’re here. In my apartment.”

“I guess I am.”

“This is weird,” Lorenzo mumbled under his breath.

“Do you want me to leave?”

He shook his head as he gathered some ingredients and set them on the counter. “Don’t be silly. I invited you.”

“Actually, I invited myself when you bragged about this soup.”

Lorenzo chuckled. “That’s true.”

“Can I help?”

“Do you know how to make a salad?”

I cracked my knuckles and made a production of rolling up my sleeves. “Dude. I am hands down the world’s best salad maker. Ever.”

Lorenzo raised a brow. “Here you go…lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, pepitas, avocado. Do you like those ingredients? Wait, before I attempt to feed you, are there any allergies I should know about? I don’t want to accidentally poison you and end up on the news.”

“Everything sounds good, and no allergies,” I declared, picking up the cucumber and smacking it on my palm.

“No playing with the cucumber, sicko. Here’s a bowl. Knock yourself out.”

I studied the lettuce and frowned. Tear or cut? Cut…probably. I reached for the knife he’d left on the cutting board and tried to decide where to start chopping—middle or end?

“Am I supposed to wash this first?”

“I did that already. But you do need to wash your hands.”

Right. I obeyed and spent more time than necessary drying them methodically as I peeked over his shoulder to watch him stir meatballs into broth.

“Smells good,” I commented.

Lorenzo quirked his lips in amusement. “You don’t know how to make a salad, do you?”

“Uh…I just haven’t done it in a while and the last time I did, I opened a bag and called it a day.”

“You can’t fail at this. Just chop everything and throw it into the bowl.” He squeezed my elbow and winked. “I believe in you, Pierce.”

I released a beleaguered sigh. “All right. Here goes nothin’.”

“So…did you happen to see the photo of us with the hunky firefighters on social media?” he asked as if to break an impending silence.

“No. Is it good?”

“Of you? Yes. I’m not sure how I got in the shot. Or how I ended up being called your assistant,” he huffed with mock annoyance.

My grin split my face in half. “Really? You work for me now? I like the sound of that.”

Lorenzo rolled his eyes. “I bet. My friends were freaking out. Don’t worry. I assured them it was the product of a weird confluence of coincidence.”

I let out a low whistle. “Confluence of coincidence. I’m gonna have to look that up. Um…I hate to ask, but do your friends know I’m here?”

He laughed. “No fucking way. First of all, I wasn’t sure you’d show up. Second, they wouldn’t believe me, and third…no offense, but…you’re not my type.”

I gasped and gestured behind me. “I’m gonna need help pulling that dagger from my back. What’s wrong with me?”

“Nothing at all. Your straight quotient is a tad high, though.”

I snorted. “I’m not straight.”

“No, but you probably like classic rock and have a thing for fast cars.”

“Well, yeah. So?”

“That’s…nice.”

I snickered. “By nice you mean…yuck. Right?”

“Don’t be so defensive. To each his own.” Lo smiled and pointed at the mess of lettuce in front of me. “Cut that a little finer.”

“Bossy, bossy,” I grumbled without heat, loving the melodic sound of his laughter.

We worked quietly, side by side, but it wasn’t a soothing form of silence. Not for me anyway. The air crackled with unspoken questions. What was I thinking? Why do I have butterflies? That sort of thing.

Seriously, I was a little dizzy, and my stomach felt wonky. There was nothing wrong with me, other than having a bad case of the stupids. It took a beat for me to recognize the signs for what they were.

I had a fucking crush on this guy.

That was so…weird.

The Baxter Chronicles Series

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