Happy Ending by L.B. Gregg

I won an e-copy of Happy Ending by L. B. Gregg last week at Smexy Books. Thank you so much Ms. Gregg, Mandi, Cecile, and Erotic Horizon! I had previously read Ms. Gregg's first Men of Smithfield book, Gobsmacked, so I was looking forward to Happy Ending.

I was not disappointed. This book started off with a bang (of sorts!) and kept my interest all the way through. It begins with Seth Weston, a gay professional, waiting for his regular Friday massage. His masseuse is late and he's pissed. A young man comes in, David, and says his masseuse had an emergency and he is filling in. Seth says whatever and the massage begins. The only problem is this is a REALLY good massage and Seth gets aroused. He gets so aroused that he "finishes" on the massage table. David gets upset, tells him this is not "that kind of massage establishment" and tells him to leave. Seth feels a bit guilty but physically feels relaxed and better than he's felt in ages.

Seth goes home and picks up Molly, his niece, for dinner. Seth's twin sister Nikki had died of cancer 6 months ago and left her 6-year-old daughter in Seth's custody. He's had a hard time of it - he doesn't know what to do with a 6-year-old girl - but they're doing okay. At dinner, who does his waiter turn out to be but David, the masseuse. Seth and David are very curt to each other during the meal, then Seth takes Molly home. He wonders why David has a bunchof part time jobs and tattoos and piercings and thinks he's just got no ambition. That night he fantasizes about David.

Saturday night, Molly was at her godmother's house so Seth went back to the restaurant bar for a drink. David is his waiter and they flirt with each other. They talk about going on a date and Seth waits for David behind the restaurant until his shift ends. They start to go to David's apartment but can't wait and have an "encounter" outside.

Sunday, Seth runs into David at Target while he's shopping with Molly. David has 9 brothers and sisters and Katie is the youngest. She and Molly are friends. David tells Seth he should bring Molly to the library the next night as there is an author reading for the kids.

They get to the library and, surprise, the Children's author doing the reading is David. Seth learns that in addition to massage and waiting tables, David has a master's degree in education and several children's books under his belt. He choses to do massage because he likes it.

Seth is thinking about David a lot. They're opposites but he likes how he feels when he's with David.

While all this is going on, Seth is getting phone calls from Molly's biological father, basically demanding money or he'll try to get custody. He's a loser alcoholic and Seth calls his attorneys to deal with the problem. ALSO, Seth's old boyfriend, Quinn, is in town. Quinn is a fussy-type guy who left Seth when Seth's sister was sick and moved in with them. Quinn took him for a financial ride and Seth hasn't forgiven him for not coming to his sister's funeral. Quinn keeps attempting to talk to Seth and Seth keeps shutting him out.

Seth gets some photos of his "encounter" with David behind the restaurant, and David freaks out. Things get crazy when Molly gets kidnapped and Seth and David try to find her. They also discover who's trying to blackmail them.

Ms. Gregg ties up all the loose ends nicely, with a surprise from David at the end. I liked this book. I liked watching Seth go from a grumpy curmudgeon to a nice guy. His worries over their age difference were cute. David was a likeable character and their relationship was sweet. It was certainly a Happy Ending.