Cal is such a grumpy, prickly, irritable and stubborn man who crept into my heart pretty much immediately. His soul is burdened with many wounds that haunt him and I just wanted to hug him. Holden is a wheelchair user living with chronic pain which he hides from others by being the town comedian.

Circumstances bring Cal to Safe Harbor and his first meeting with Holden whose later assessment is that “angry cats have nothing on Cal”. Although Holden does feel somewhat of a connection to Cal and takes it upon himself to win his trust and make him smile. It takes a while for them to let down some of their walls but being roommates gives them plenty of time for their friendship to grow into more. Which includes a “kink awakening” for Holden as Cal explores his love of rope play.

I really enjoyed the journey these two mature characters travelled to get their HEA. They certainly had some ups and downs but they left me smiling at the end after giving me some feels along the way. Cal plays an integral role in moving the criminal mystery from the previous book further ahead and I’m looking forward to how that all plays out in the next instalment of the series.