Island Heat Read Online Free PDF

stomach reminded him that they had to meet Michel and go over the facilities here, so he went to drop off his bags in the bedroom.
    Surely they didn't expect him to flirt with men, then, did they? But it had come surprisingly easy to him when that gorgeous man in a suit had approached him, so boldly touching his hands and teasing him.
    He didn't want to admit that the guy – whose name he hadn't even gotten – had caught his eye far more than he could have anticipated.
    Was he straight if the first person he'd ever really taken note of was a man? Or was it the effects of traveling such a long way in one day, hunger, maybe dehydration? That had to be it, he told himself. Surely he would have noticed other men before if he weren't straight... but that didn't explain why he'd never been interested in a woman, either.
    “Let's go meet Michel,” he called out to Troy to distract himself.
    ***
    Michel took Troy and Kevin on a whirlwind tour of the facilities, including a year-round restaurant for service workers and business owners only, the supply stores and grocery store, and the post office. After all that, Michel invited them to a party that night to get to know the other business owners. Most of them had already arrived, especially those who had to hire and train staff.
    Kevin decided to avoid the restaurant and insisted on dragging Troy to the grocery store to get the basics. He cooked a quick pasta dinner for them both and then spent an hour or two before the party going over the menus he and Troy had painstakingly designed.
    The party was held in one of the Main Street bars that was reopening. Apparently, Troy told him, it had been around for five consecutive years and was the longest-running bar on the island. Kevin dressed up professionally in a collared shirt and trousers, already nervous about it.
    “Troy and Kevin?” a man greeted them as they walked around the room, looking for a familiar face like Michel's.
    Troy paused and turned to the middle-aged man with gray hairs streaked through the sides of his trendy blond cut, then stared.
    Is everyone on this island hot? Kevin wondered. “Hi. I'm Kevin, this is Troy,” he nodded, reaching out to shake the man's hand.
    “I'm Rube. I'm the mentor for new bar, pub, and club businesses this year.”
    “Oh my god,” Troy whispered. “Ruben Turner. I've heard of you.” Even Kevin had heard of him, through Troy. He was famous for having bought a gay bar at age twenty-one and made it one of the trendiest spots in the south. He'd moved up to New York and repeated his success, and by now in his mid-thirties, he'd probably consulted on every new world-class gay bar out there.
    “Only good things, I hope,” Rube laughed. “It's a great pleasure to meet you both. Your application was perfect timing. Bill and I were just talking about getting a dessert bar and then you two applied. You looked perfect, you passed the checks... and here you are.”
    “As easy as that,” Kevin commented as they lapsed into chatting about their business plan, then started to discuss the party.
    “You two enjoy yourselves tonight,” Rube encouraged after a few minutes with a wink. “I'll come by your bar tomorrow to talk some more.”
    Troy didn't need any encouragement to start tugging Kevin around to meet other guys, from clothing shop owners to bar managers. Kevin let him go on by himself after a few more meetings, sticking to himself by the bar and chatting with whoever came close.
    Nobody seemed terribly interested in building professional relationships tonight, but many guys were dancing awfully close already. Even Troy was already dancing with a cute young blond, Alan, who ran a clothing boutique a few doors down.
    Even though he wasn't interested in it himself, it made Kevin's heart race to watch pairs of men flirt, drink, and even head home together throughout the evening until he headed home alone for some sleep. Everything on this island came easily, it seemed. Kevin hoped the