When Jason takes the chance on a blind date, it’s then that his eyes are finally opened.
Wealthy winery owner Jason is happy to claim that he’s too busy to have a love life or a romance. He has all he needs with his personal secretary taking care of his business life and an old friend looking after the yacht where they live.
When he’s invited to a Valentine’s masked ball, Jason asks his assistant Kris to find him a date for the evening. To Jason’s shock, instead of someone Jason knows and is comfortable with, Kris sets him up with a blind date—one he claims will be a perfect match. Trusting him, Jason agrees.
His date appears dressed as Princess Buttercup, and Jason is surprised at just how comfortable he is with the unknown person.
But when Buttercup is abused by another party attendee, Jason follows his distraught guest and his eyes are fully opened.
When ‘the moment’ comes, will Jason grab it with both hands?
Reader advisory: This book contains cross-dressing and references to stalking and unwanted groping.
General Release Date: 11th February 2020
From his recliner on the deck of his yacht, Jason took a deep breath of the sea air and gazed out over the ocean. Life is beautiful. At the ping that let him know he’d received a notification, Jason dragged his gaze away from the amazing view of Napier and the ocean where his yacht was anchored and onto his laptop.
“A message from Lola. Let’s see what she wants,” he muttered. Jason opened the message and groaned out loud.
“Let me see. It’s February, she’s a hopeless romantic and loves parties. Am I on the right track?” Manu, the captain of his yacht, cocked an eyebrow.
Jason offered Manu his best glare, but that only resulted in his friend laughing out loud.
“How did you guess.” Jason injected as much sarcasm as he could into the non-question, and Manu laughed even louder.
With his seemingly ancient denim cut-offs, T-shirt and tribal tattoos, Manu looked more like a local fisherman than a man who could pilot a large and complex craft like The Freedom. But there wasn’t much that went wrong with the ship that Manu couldn’t fix himself.
He was as much a part of Jason’s life aboard his yacht as Kris, his secretary, was in his work life. Each was essential in his own way.
“Ah, what the hell.” Jason laughed. “I’m a lucky man. Not many people can make a fortune doing what they love and still be loving it after all this time. When I started out over twenty years ago, I never expected to live aboard a yacht and be able to sail wherever I want, pretty much whenever I want. If my penance is attending parties where I fend off Lola’s ideas of potential partners, well, I can live with it. It’s a small price to pay.”
“She’s persistent. I’ll give her that.” Manu took another sip of orange juice and Jason nodded.
“Very. But it’s done in such a way that you just can’t take offense. Knowing Lola, she won’t just send out emails, though. I fully expect a proper card, with all the trimmings. And she’ll send it to Kris, just to be certain.” This time both men laughed.
“And Kris will make sure you’re there, suitably dressed and reminded in a timely manner beforehand.” Manu sat back and took a deep breath. “I don’t know how anyone can do an office job. There’s no way I’d want to be indoors on days like this.” Manu waved a hand in a vague gesture.
Jason had to admit that with the sky so clear and blue and the sea calm and sparkling, it was hard to motivate himself to leave the yacht and spend the day indoors. But there will be other days where I don’t have to do things at the office and I can just sail away for a day—or a week.
“I spend less time in the office than I used to.” Jason reached for his coffee, inhaling its aroma with appreciation before taking a mouthful. “In the next few years, I’ll appoint a manager to run the day-to-day things. I’m in the minority, being so hands-on. But I still enjoy it. Kris takes care of the dull stuff. I just have to sign off.”
“Yep. You struck gold there, all right—just as you did here.” Manu patted his chest and guffawed.
“Modest? Not!” Jason stood, stretching to his full height, and gazed across the water to his hometown. “I should get going. Tad will be arriving soon to collect me from the marina.”
“Want me to ferry you there in the speedboat?” Manu asked, but Jason shook his head.
“No, thanks. I’ll take it myself. I can use our other berth. That way I don’t have to bother you to come out and pick me up later. I may eat out tonight, also. I’ll let you know in good time.”
“Sure thing. I think I’ll try to catch some fish for dinner. If you aren’t joining me and I catch enough, I’ll freeze them. After all, what’s better after doing work on the engines than a nice swim and a relaxing afternoon of fishing?”
“Bastard.” Jason growled. “Stick the knife in and twist it a little, why don’t you? That does sound like a good way to spend your time. But some of us need to make a visit to the office.”
Flitting his gaze back to the email in front of him, Jason sighed then turned the computer off without answering Lola. He didn’t need to.
“Catch you later.” Jason headed back below deck. He’d already made up his mind to leave replying to Lola up to Kris. The thought of his ever-efficient secretary made Jason smile. Is it three, four… Fuck no! Is it really five years that he’s been with me?
As a multi-millionaire, Jason received many invitations. Some he accepted, some he declined, but he always went to Lola’s parties. They were old friends. Since she was happily married herself, she loved to play matchmaker.
Jason shook his head as he ambled to the bathroom. I don’t have the time or inclination to devote to a relationship. It was an old mantra—and one that Lola no longer paid any attention to. And, if Jason were honest with himself, it was one that sounded hollow these days, even to his own ears.
But Jason knew he’d go. She’d introduce him to her personal candidates. I’ll be nice, just like Kris always tells me to be. Then he’d make sure they knew he wasn’t interested.
Apart from fending off Lola’s possible matches, Jason enjoyed her parties. She had amazing gardens within her extensive grounds, including a beautiful Japanese garden that he loved.
Her house was huge, so when she threw parties, she always had two separate areas for music—one for quieter, more traditional and classic favorites and another for the more upbeat and trending music, which was, quite often, played by the original musicians themselves.
In the shower, with hot water cascading down his body, Jason closed his eyes. He was often asked if he was lonely. If he were honest, he’d confess that there were times when he was on the boat that it would be nice to have company in the evenings other than Manu, but it would have to be someone who knew him well.
For all his apparent extroverted behavior, the truth was, in Kris’ words, that Jason was an ‘ambivert’. People like him were also tagged as ‘antisocial extroverts’—an extrovert who needed time to recharge before and after socializing or liked to be alone more than a typical extrovert.
That just about sums me up.
In an environment where he was passionate, such as at one of his vineyards or meeting with his board about how to improve sales, Jason thrived. He felt more neutral about attending dinner parties and large social gatherings. But so long as he could come and go as he wished, they were tolerable. But there was nothing worse than going to clubs, bars or pop concerts.
Dressed and ready to face the day, Jason emerged onto the deck of his yacht. Some like to have private planes, but I like being out on the ocean rather than up in the air. The yacht was moored away from the smaller vessels, and Jason needed his speedboat to reach the marina jetty.
Jason didn’t worry about taking the craft. Manu preferred their old motorized dinghy if he needed to make a trip into town. He would just attach the much smaller craft to the speedboat, if necessary.
The trip from the yacht to the berth in the marina was close and careful. There were a lot of craft moored, so Jason negotiated his way cautiously until he could tie the boat to the jetty and take his first steps on dry land for the day.
Jason headed away from the dock and onto the boardwalk. As expected, his chauffeur was waiting for him.
“Good morning, Mr. Paterson.” Tad, his chauffeur, greeted him with a grin and a wave. “The car’s ready.”
“Thanks. How’re you? How’s the family?” Jason was genuinely interested. His ethic when it came to work was that employees were assets. An employer should look after them as they would any other valuable cog in their business wheel.
“All good, sir. You know, it’s hard to believe that our oldest starts Intermediate next year.” Tad puffed his chest out with obvious pride. “She’s doing really well. Science and math are her favorites.”
“Excellent. Let Kris know. It’s an expensive time, especially after Christmas. We’ll give you a voucher for school supplies. After all, we need to nurture a bright light like her.”
“Thank you, sir. I will.” Tad’s joy was the kind of start to the day that Jason liked, and he got into his car feeling as if he could take on the world.
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