Perfect Kiss (A Perfect Match story)

By AG Meiers

One kiss can change everything.

So far, Detective David Gallagher has managed to keep his private life . . . well, private. There has always been some gossip about his sexual orientation, but it’s nothing the even-tempered cop couldn’t handle. All that changes in a flash when a new fire inspector joins his task force. With a few unfortunate remarks, the openly gay Travis Sommer outs David in a bar filled with their colleagues. Suddenly David can’t even get coffee without people whispering. To make matters worse, the two men have to work together for months to bring down a dangerous arsonist.

Finally, the case is closed. It’s New Year’s Eve—perfect time for a new start, but David’s anger burns as hot as ever. Rumors have reached his family, and after a tough day, David is ready to blow off some steam. But all bets are off when he runs into the one man who seems determined to cause havoc in David’s life.

There is just something about Travis Sommer that makes it hard to stay away, and David has to decide if he wants to hold on to his anger or give the new year a chance.

Please enjoy this free ebook, courtesy of AG Meiers and Riptide Publishing!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Riptide Publishing
• Release date: Dec 27, 2019
• ISBN: 9781626499232

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Riptide Publishing

PO Box 1537

Burnsville, NC 28714

www.riptidepublishing.com

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. All person(s) depicted on the cover are model(s) used for illustrative purposes only.

Perfect Kiss

Copyright © 2019 by AG Meiers

Smashwords Edition

Cover art: L.C. Chase, lcchase.com/design-portfolio.html

Editor: Carole-ann Galloway

Layout: L.C. Chase, lcchase.com

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher, and where permitted by law. Reviewers may quote brief passages in a review. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Riptide Publishing at the mailing address above, at Riptidepublishing.com, or at [e-mail].

ISBN: 978-1-62649-923-2

First edition

December, 2019

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About Perfect Kiss

New Year’s Eve

New Year’s Day

Day After New Year’s

Dear Reader

Acknowledgments

Also by AG Meiers

About the Author

More Like This

So far, Detective David Gallagher has managed to keep his private life . . . well, private. There has always been some gossip about his sexual orientation, but it’s nothing the even-tempered cop couldn’t handle. All that changes in a flash when a new fire inspector joins his task force. With a few unfortunate remarks, the openly gay Travis Sommer outs David in a bar filled with their colleagues. Suddenly David can’t even get coffee without people whispering. To make matters worse, the two men have to work together for months to bring down a dangerous arsonist.

Finally, the case is closed. It’s New Year’s Eve—perfect time for a new start, but David’s anger burns as hot as ever. Rumors have reached his family, and after a tough day, David is ready to blow off some steam. But all bets are off when he runs into the one man who seems determined to cause havoc in David’s life.

There is just something about Travis Sommer that makes it hard to stay away, and David has to decide if he wants to hold on to his anger or give the new year a chance.

Crown Council Witherspoon was clearly impressed. Tucked into a corner of the prosecutor’s office, David watched the old man humming with approval at Travis Sommer’s account of the arsonist case scheduled to go on trial in a few weeks.

Sommer would make a solid witness on the stand—just the right contradiction between nerdy expert and alpha-male firefighter. Articulate with a deep, pleasant voice. Old enough to rock the laugh lines framing his intelligent gray eyes. The man oozed credibility. Whether or not David liked it, he had to admit professionally the fire inspector was top-notch. A solid addition to their small community of first responders.

However, personally Travis Sommer had turned David’s life into a shit-show.

Anything you would like to add, Detective? Sommer must have caught David’s dagger stare.

No, not at this point, David replied smoothly—covering up the fact that he hadn’t listened to a word said in the room for the last ten, fifteen minutes.

Sommer raised an eyebrow and David glared back, daring him to make a comment.

Witherspoon cleared his throat. Is there a final assessment of the property damage?

David quickly put on a fake smile and waved at Sommer to continue. The late-afternoon light filtered through the dusty blinds, allowing him to hide in the shadows of the cramped office. With a subtle shake of his head, Sommer pulled out another folder from the pile in front of him and started on the long list of destruction this fire devil had left in his wake.

In all fairness, David should probably stop being a jerk since Sommer was saving his ass here. No way in hell could he have presented the case in the same succinct manner with his mind all over the place after meeting his mom and sister. But it had been Sommer’s rash actions that had forced the disastrous lunch with his family. Ever since the fight, rumors had circled him like vultures. David couldn’t get a fucking coffee without people whispering. Talk had been vicious—denial futile. Naively, David had hoped that by ignoring the rumors they would go away, but this morning, he’d received a frantic text from his sister. You need to talk to Mom. She’s freaking out. His mother had gone through so much with his dad, but David’s attempt to save her from another rumor-driven scandal had failed.

"No. No, it’s not true. People have it wrong. It can’t be true." His mom looked at David beseechingly. She was sitting across from him at the small kitchen table in his childhood home, tugging and pulling on her wedding band. The ring she still insisted on wearing even though his father had left years ago.

"Mom, I know I should have said something much earlier. I know the rumor mill is going crazy— since that fucking hothead Travis Sommer had opened his stupid mouth —and I’m so sorry that you had to hear it from others first, but it’s true. I’m gay. I—"

"No, I told everybody they are wrong. I told them I know my son. It’s not true."

"I—"

"You dated girls. You took Ella Klein to junior prom."

David implored his sister for help, but Amy looked as shocked as he felt. How could Mom not have known—not have suspected? Gently, David tried again. Junior prom, Mom—I haven’t brought a girl home since then.

"You’re not gay. You’re not like him. I know you—I know my son." She burst into tears at that point. When Amy tried to reach out, she jumped up and ran out of the room.

"You’re not like him." The shock waves of his mom’s words still shuddered through his system. Maybe David should have expected her to react this way—to make a connection to what happened with his father, but in the moment he’d felt blindsided.

He wished he could have waited—taken the time to prepare her. Started with a few well-placed clues instead of being forced to rush into it. But a part of him had been convinced he was sharing old news. It wasn’t only the rumors; there was also the complete lack of girlfriends for the last fifteen years. How could she not have known?

Fuck. David rubbed his hand over his forehead, trying to fight off the headache forming behind his temples. A shadow passing over