Cherries on Top

By Rowan McAllister

Six months after the end of an abusive relationship with his ex-girlfriend, Craig finally finds someone he’s attracted to. It doesn’t bother him that Doug is a man, much less a player. What matters is that he’s a perfect candidate for a no-strings-attached night that just might help Craig prove to himself that he’s not as broken as he fears.

One night—that’s all it was supposed to be. But one night turns into yearning, turns into e-mailing, turns into communicating, turns into Doug hoping against hope that Craig might feel the same frightening attachment that he feels, pretty please? With cherries on top?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
• Release date: Jun 1, 2011
• ISBN: 9781613720219

Rowan McAllister

Rowan McAllister is an unapologetically romantic jack-of-all-trades and a sucker for good food, good cocktails, rich fibers, a great beat, and anything else that indulges the senses. In addition to a continuing love affair with words, she likes to play with textiles, metal, wood, stone, and whatever other interesting scraps of life she can get her hands on. She lives in the woods on the very edge of suburbia—where civilization drops off and nature takes over—sharing her home with her patient, loving, and grounded husband, her three rescues, and a whole lot of books, booze, and fabric. Her chosen family is made up of a madcap collection of people as diverse as her interests, all of whom act as her muses in so many ways, and she would be lost without them. Whether her stories have a historical, fantasy, or contemporary setting, they always feature characters who still believe in true love, happy endings, and the oft-underappreciated value of sarcasm. Email: [e-mail] Facebook: www.facebook.com/rowanmcallister10 Twitter: @RowanMcallister

Book preview

Chapter One

WOULD you like another, sir?

Craig looked up from the small pile of beer bottle labels that he’d been shredding on the bar to find the short, middle-aged bartender smiling blandly at him.

Not yet, thanks, he replied.

It was only six in the evening, he was already on his third beer, and the microwave burrito he’d had for lunch was long gone. If he didn’t slow down, he’d be too drunk to string two words together by the time Doug arrived… if Doug arrived.

The bartender nodded and smiled again, though Craig caught his gaze dropping briefly to the mess on the counter before he spoke.

Certainly sir. I’ll be right over there, when you’re ready.

The man tipped his head toward the other end of the bar and went off to help the two ladies in tight cocktail dresses and too much makeup who had just arrived.

As soon as he walked away, Craig grabbed a cocktail napkin and swept the little bits of paper off the otherwise immaculate bar and into his hand. He shoved the whole mess into his pocket and looked around to make sure no one had noticed. In his worn leather jacket and faded jeans, Craig was already way out of his class among the business suit and trophy wife set at the bar. The last thing he needed was to call more attention to that fact by acting like a pig.

Craig shook his head at himself and leaned his elbows back on the bar. How could he ever expect to get a job at a place as swanky as this when he couldn’t even sit at the bar for a couple of hours as a customer without everyone in the place knowing he didn’t belong? The least he could do was show a little professional courtesy to the bartender. They were in the same line of work after all.

Craig snorted.

Okay, so slinging rail drinks and beer at a club full of go-go boys and drag queens was hardly in the same league as mixing fancy cocktails for Detroit’s jet-setters, but someday Craig hoped to be good enough to score a job at a classy place like this.

Craig took another swig of his beer and scanned the entrances to the bar for the hundredth time that evening, but there was still no sign of Doug. He’d overheard the gossip queens at Gigi’s saying that Doug went to the bar at the Westin after work every Thursday, but Craig had no idea when the man got off, and after two hours of waiting, he was starting to wonder if maybe they’d been wrong.

Not for the first time that evening, Craig seriously considered forgetting all about his plan and running home to his shitty little apartment. If he left now, no one would know he’d ever been there, and more importantly, Doug would never know. But Craig just couldn’t bring himself to do it. The thought of another night counting the cracks in his walls and the stains on his ceiling, alone because he was too chicken to take a chance, made him feel like he was suffocating and kept his butt glued to that barstool. He couldn’t go back there without at least trying, no matter how nervous he was.

Besides, what’s the worst that could happen? Doug could turn him down. That wouldn’t be the end of the world, would it?

Craig was startled out of his thoughts by the shrill sound of giggling coming from the ladies at the end of the bar. He followed their gazes to the far side of the room, just in time to see Doug sit down at a table, and Craig’s heart leapt into his throat. He’d never seen Doug in a suit before. The man looked really good in a suit. Craig looked down at his own clothes again and grimaced, his anxiety ratcheting up another notch.

Craig looked away for a second to calm his nerves, and he noticed that the two ladies weren’t the only ones checking Doug out. Craig couldn’t blame them. Doug was just the kind of guy that people noticed. It wasn’t that he was overly tall or model perfect or anything, he just seemed to have an aura about him or something. Craig couldn’t really explain it, but it didn’t seem to matter if it was men or women, when Doug entered a room, heads always turned.

Craig looked back at the man in question in time to see Doug flash the server his million-dollar smile and order a drink. Craig didn’t have to read his lips to know what Doug asked for: a desert-dry martini with two olives. Doug had ordered that same drink from him every Friday night for the past two years, and Craig could probably make it in his sleep by now. Even from the very beginning, Craig had always taken extra care to get Doug’s drink just right, and that should have been his first clue that maybe there was more to his feelings for the man than he’d ever thought possible.

Craig was straight… or at least he’d thought he was until he’d met Doug.

Working in a gay bar for the last couple of years had given Craig plenty of opportunities to explore that side of the fence if he’d ever wanted to, but he’d never even been tempted, not once, except for Doug. He’d never had a crush on

Reviews for Cherries on Top

[serenayates · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really liked this story about two men who both have issues with relationships but seem to be unavoidably drawn together.

Craig has had an extremely shitty life, but he's not letting that interfere with the present. His vulnerability and intensity jump off the page and made me wish someone would come along and sweep him off his feet. While he seems to want that as well, on the other hand he's very shy about taking a step in that direction again. So, in a way, the equally relationship-shy Craig may just be the right man for him.

Doug was a little harder for me to like. He hides from his own needs, says he wants to treat Craig right but doesn't seem to be able/willing to do it. While the situation is realistic, and I liked how he did come around in the end, it made both men suffer more than maybe they should have.

If you like realistic characters who fight their own nature and some very hot first-time sex, you will probably like this book.