Leo’s Lust (Love in Mission City)

Chapter 1

Leo

I’ve been reduced to trolling a gay bar in Langley, British Columbia.

Nothing wrong with Langley. Nice town. Located in Cedar Valley. This gay bar was the closest to my new home in Mission City. Only…

I stood just inside the front door and sighed. I’d left a prestigious job at a top-rated trauma hospital to move to the middle of nowhere.

Well, Mission City wasn’t the middle of nowhere. Neither was Abbotsford—the location of the new hospital I’d be working in. An hour outside Vancouver wasn’t the end of the world.

It just felt like it.

Your kids. You have two beautiful children, and sharing custody with your ex-husband means living close enough so neither of you are spending all your time driving the kids back and forth.

Right.

I’d done the mature thing. I’d quit my job at Royal Columbian Hospital and taken a position at Abbotsford General Hospital. I bought a house a couple of streets over from Gideon, his fiancé Archer, and the shared-custody location of Melodie and Trevor.

Again, I sighed.

And surveyed the bar.

Writhing bodies on the dance floor held little appeal.

The empty stools at the bar made me feel unsettled. Barstools, in my mind, were for old geezers nursing beers and reminiscing about the good old days.

Ageist much?

Yeah, probably.

The truth was, I’d never done this before.

Having reached a decision, I planted myself at a high-top table with two stools. Somehow, this felt…less pathetic.

A server magically appeared moments later. “What can I get you?” His perfect white teeth shone in the low light. His dark hair was cut about the same length as mine—short.

Only I had a widow’s peak, and it flopped a little on the top. And while I had green eyes, this guy’s were a deep, dark-brown. “Coke. Lots of ice.”

“Sure.” He continued to grin.

“Oh, can you add a lime slice? I can’t drink tonight.”

“On duty tomorrow?”

I cocked my head.

“You look…respectable. Like a fireman or a police officer.” He pointed to my arms. “You’ve got the muscles for it.”

I blinked. “Surgeon.” I blurted out the word without thinking through the ramifications of making such a bold pronouncement.

People generally had two reactions—disgust, because I was digging around inside folks—or they saw dollar signs. I never shared how much I made…but I did okay.

“That sounds super cool. I’m friends with a couple of nurses. I’m in awe of people who can take care of sick people. My little one gets a cold, and I’m running in the other direction. I try to forget the time she caught a norovirus.”

I winced. Those were nasty fuckers. “Little one?”

“My niece. My brother fucked off, and her mother died, and she’s now pretty much mine. I supposed I should call her my daughter.” He pursed his lips. “This is all pretty new, and I’m adapting.”

“And where is she tonight?”

“With a friend. She and I work opposite shifts and share the childcare. So, if you come in tomorrow night and see a platinum-blonde bombshell, that’s her.” He eyed me. “I can’t tell if she’d be your type or not.”

“You trying to set me up?” This was a gay bar, after all.

“Well, it’d be nice if she met a good guy instead of the scum she keeps attracting. I get the feeling you’re one of the good ones.”

My ex wouldn’t say that.

I shelved thoughts of Gideon. “I’m a decent guy.

But no, I’m not like that.” Bisexuality wasn’t for me.

Women were wonderful people. I also had precisely zero attraction to them.

Which meant I didn’t tend to judge their looks as much as some of my former coworkers did.

I hadn’t enjoyed that part of the camaraderie.

“You’re very much my type. I’m Marc.”

“Marc.” I repeated the name. He was easily ten years younger than me. Fit, handsome…and I couldn’t summon even an ounce of interest. “Thanks.”

“But, no?”

“I’m still recovering from a bad relationship.”

Bad because you were an asshole.

I had my reasons.

Whatever.

Just one of the many arguments I kept having with myself.

“I’ll bring you that Coke with lime, and you’ll have steady hands tomorrow. And if you come back another night and want to hook up, that’d be cool. I like you.” He winked. “Oh, what’s your name?”

What does it matter if he knows? “Leopold. Well, Leo.”

“Leo the surgeon. Very cool. Be right back.” With a bit of flounce and flare, Marc the server headed to the bar.

The music switched to a ballad, and some people quickly paired up while a few departed the dance floor.

Skimpy dresses, tight pants…even tighter T-shirts.

I was somewhat reassured to see everyone wasn’t nineteen—the legal age in Canada for drinking. Same for pot in our province—British Columbia.

I got married before I was even legally allowed to drink. How insane is that?

Dating secretly since we’d been fifteen. Married in secret at eighteen…then divorced by thirty-three. It all happened in the blink of an eye. Somewhere in there, I earned a medical degree, specialized as a cardiothoracic surgeon, and we adopted two kids.

Then it all went to shit.

Don’t think about it. You’ll spiral downward. Gideon’s much better. The kids are thrilled to have both parents in their lives.

Yes, but if I had given Gideon the love and support when he’d needed it, would things have turned out differently? If I’d forgiven him instead of seeking to punish him, might we still be married?

I didn’t have an answer to that—

Holy hell. That guy is so freaking hot.

And he’s coming this way.

Look cool.

Yeah, like that was possible. How did one look cool these days?

I had no idea.

Still, I gave a little smile, all the while wondering if he was headed toward me or going to go past me and…

Nope. I was at a table against the wall with no one beyond me. If he was headed this way, he was probably headed for me.

He grinned as he planted himself before me. He held out his hand. “I’m Quinton, and this is going to sound like a line, but I haven’t seen you in here before, right? I mean, I don’t come here too often, but I’m certain I’d remember you.”

I blinked.

“Sorry.”

Except he didn’t look the least bit sorry.

“I sometimes get ahead of where societal norms dictate I should be.”

“That’s okay.” I was intrigued. This Asian guy was shorter than me, and his dark-brown eyes shone with mischief.

“You want to join me?” Because why the fuck not?

I hadn’t come here to hook up. Wasn’t looking to get laid.

I just wanted to be around my people before I started working in the main hospital right smack in the middle of the Bible belt of Cedar Valley.

The hospital would have gay employees, of course.

I just didn’t know how accepting everyone else might be.

At Royal Columbian, I’d talked about my husband and kids.

I couldn’t see myself talking about my ex-husband and kids at this new place… but I could be wrong. “I’m Leo.”

Quinton hopped onto the stool next to me.

Marc appeared mere moments later. He placed my Coke with lime on the table and then put an amber-colored liquid on the table before Quinton. He gave us a flirty wave, then took off.

I eyed the drink. “Whisky?”

He laughed. “Iced tea. I’m on duty in the morning. I’m not a big drinker anyway, but never before a shift.”

Asking him what he did was on the tip of my tongue, but I checked that impulse. Tonight, we were just Quinton and Leo. Tomorrow, I’d put on the white coat and become Dr. Leopold Rodgers. “Do you like dancing?”

His eyes sparkled. “I love dancing. I don’t do it often, though. My preferred entertainment is holding parties at my house for my friends. Epic extravaganzas.”

“That sounds…interesting.”

“Oh, you should’ve seen my Out of this World New Year’s Eve party. A couple of my friends got engaged.” He considered. “You should come to my Valentine’s Shindig. Maybe someone else will get engaged.”

“I tend to not think about couples getting engaged.” I sipped my Coke.

He cocked his head. “Burned?”

“So to speak.”

“Bummer.”

“You?”

He shook his head. “No one serious. I mean, I’m too busy having fun, right?”

“Right.” I sipped my drink as he guzzled half his iced tea. His throat worked as he swallowed. I want to lick that salty sweat right off him.

Tires on pavement when brakes were applied quickly squealed in my head.

You want to what? Your husband worked manual labor for fifteen years, and you never once jumped his bones when he came home. He always wanted to shower first. And you respected that. But now you want to…lick…some random stranger?

Well, when put like that…

Yep, I did. “Do you want to get out of here?”

He grinned. “I thought you’d never ask. I just need to grab my coat. Cold January rain, eh?”

“Right.” I hadn’t shed my jacket yet. Almost like I knew I wasn’t staying. “Why don’t I settle up our bills and meet you at the front door? Do you want to go to a hotel…?”

He considered me. “Sure. There’s one just down the street. I can give you directions.”

“I’d appreciate that. I’m not from around here.”

“In more ways than one.” He murmured the words.

I cocked my head.

He waved me off. Then he hopped down, finished his drink, and finally headed off to the other side of the dance floor.

Did he come with someone? Or friends? Is he ditching them for me?

And then, who gives a fuck? You’re about to get lucky for the first time in almost two years.

Which had me hesitating. I’d only had sex with Gideon a few times since his accident.

He’d never recovered physically while we’d continued to live together.

And, of course, I’d never considered cheating on him.

So I’d been pretty much celibate. Then I’d forced him away, leaving me a single father to two young children. Sex had been the last thing on my mind.

I slid off my seat and headed to the bar. Within just a moment, I’d paid for my drink and Quinton’s three. So either he’d been here a while or he guzzled iced teas like they were going out of style. I didn’t care one way or the other. This was a one-night stand. Absolutely nothing else.