Dance with Destiny
Sloan Johnson
Tony DeLuca has to get to New York, nor’easter be damned. His older sister is getting married and it won’t matter to her if the entire east coast is shut down if it means she’s short a groomsman. She’s the only reason he’s willing to make the trip home to face a father who’s never forgiven him for wasting a perfectly good degree to become a firefighter. And that’s only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to everything about Tony that his father will never accept.
Dominic Tricoli’s living his dream. He’s spent the past few years working to mesh his business degree and love of the outdoors into a thriving company, providing team building retreats for some of the country’s largest corporations. Unfortunately, there’s a price to pay for happiness, and having someone to come home to at night is the sacrifice Dominic made.
When Dominic overhears Tony’s plight, he’s drawn to help the man get to New York City. Little does Dominic know that one kind gesture will awaken a side of him he’s ignored for far too long. Against his better judgment, he gives in to his desires and Tony’s advances. Just for the night.
When destiny steps in, giving him another chance with the charismatic man who saved his hide, Tony’s willing to do whatever it takes to earn Dominic’s forgiveness and understanding. There may not be forever, but Tony’s determined to enjoy every single minute he’s given with Dominic.
You can’t fight fate. Whatever’s meant to happen, eventually will.
So much for never seeing one another again. Had I known that I was going to see Dominic this weekend, I might have tried harder to make things right with him Thursday night. If I’d realized the Cara he mentioned was marrying his college roommate was my sister, who I’ve always called Caroline, I wouldn’t have touched him no matter how much I wanted to. Actually, that’s probably not true, because he’s damn fine and I’m not stupid enough to pass up an opportunity when it presents itself. But I definitely wouldn’t have walked away until I knew that neither of us had any regrets.
I trip over my feet as I follow the rest of the groomsmen into the front of the cathedral, my attention focused on the man sitting next to Mr. and Mrs. Rossi, looking like he’s just been scolded.
Dominic was gorgeous the night we met, but now, he’s downright breathtaking. I take my place in line and, because God has a twisted sense of humor, I’m going to be stuck knowing that Dominic is directly behind me for the next hour and there’s not a damn thing I can do about it.
As we wait for what seems like forever for all of Caroline’s bridesmaids to make the mile-long trek to the front of the cathedral, I try to catch Kennedy’s attention. Thursday night, I told her everything. After telling her about the sexy-as-fuck scene in the truck, I went on to tell her how much it annoyed me that Dominic and I parted on bad terms. She agreed with Dominic that there was no need to feel anything since we’d never see one another again. When Kennedy finally makes eye contact with me, I nod ever so slightly to my left and watch as her eyes threaten to bug out of her head. “Oh, my God. Is that him?” she mouths. I nod subtly. “Are you going to talk to him?” she asks. I shrug, and catch the attention of my older brother, who is standing directly behind me.
“Anthony, quit talking to your girlfriend,” he hisses. “Caroline needs you to make her the priority for the next hour, then you can run off and find a quiet corner to do whatever it is the two of you do.” I close my eyes tightly before glancing at Dominic, finally realizing that he probably thinks the same thing I’ve led most of my family to believe all these years. The urge to elbow Peter in the gut to show him exactly what I think of his comment is strong, but I’ve already made enough of a scene. If he noticed, I’m sure other people have as well. And sure enough, Dominic is now glaring at me. He looks across the aisle and his entire body stiffens when he notices Kennedy sitting with my family. I need this wedding to hurry the fuck up so I can get a drink.
The music changes and everyone stands and turns to see Caroline and our father walking down the aisle. I take the opportunity to admire the way Dominic’s suit jacket hangs off his shoulders. The subtle pinstripes act as beacons, drawing my eye down to his narrow hips, and suddenly I’m standing in the cathedral with a semi, thinking about the tight ass beneath those perfectly tailored pants. Go straight to Hell. Do not pass Go, do not collect two-hundred dollars.
Sloan Johnson Rafflecopter giveaway!
Review
Title: Dance with Destiny
Author: Sloan Johnson
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Novel (142 pages)
ISBN: B00R8IPD2C
Publisher: Sloan Johnson (18th December 2014)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 5 Hearts
Reviewer: Prime
Blurb: Tony DeLuca has to get to New York, nor’easter be damned. His older sister is getting married and it won’t matter to her if the entire east coast is shut down if it means she’s short a groomsman. She’s the only reason he’s willing to make the trip home to face a father who’s never forgiven him for wasting a perfectly good degree to become a firefighter. And that’s only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to everything about Tony that his father will never accept.
Dominic Tricoli’s living his dream. He’s spent the past few years working to mesh his business degree and love of the outdoors into a thriving company, providing team building retreats for some of the country’s largest corporations. Unfortunately, there’s a price to pay for happiness, and having someone to come home to at night is the sacrifice Dominic made.
When Dominic overhears Tony’s plight, he’s drawn to help the man get to New York City. Little does Dominic know that one kind gesture will awaken a side of him he’s ignored for far too long. Against his better judgment, he gives in to his desires and Tony’s advances. Just for the night.
When destiny steps in, giving him another chance with the charismatic man who saved his hide, Tony’s willing to do whatever it takes to earn Dominic’s forgiveness and understanding. There may not be forever, but Tony’s determined to enjoy every single minute he’s given with Dominic.
You can’t fight fate. Whatever’s meant to happen, eventually will.
Product Link: http://authorsloanj.com/books/, Amazon, Amazon CA, Amazon UK, Amazon AU
Review: This starts out in much the same way of many disastrous trips and becomes road trip type of story. The first thing that was a plus for me was when I realised that we get first POV for both our main characters, Dominic and Tony. Though not like every disastrous trip, Dominic found himself a buddy to bring along with him after eavesdropping at the car hire counter in the airport. There’s a bit of cock-block, so to speak, on any insta-love, with the addition of two girls also needing a lift out of Washington to New York.
Then, suddenly, it seems like things are not going to happen as we would hope and a spanner in the works, even though we knew that something like this was going to happen from the blurb. I really enjoyed this turn events and turned up the tension a few notches. Yes, it was a bit clichéd in terms of brother of bride and travelling in bad weather books, but it was the tension and the great writing that really sold this book for me from the beginning.
There are some really heart wrenching moments as both Dom and Tony bumble their way through coincidences, misunderstandings, mistrust and just about any other emotion you can think of. I really feel sorry for both of them – they both seem to be playing their own hand in screwing up things and trying to fix things. Reading further into the story, in fact, makes the beginning seem a bit too cliché and boring. But that is only because the tension – sexual and otherwise – and we are just swept up in the story.
This story primarily faces Dominic’s past issues, which somewhat mirror Tony’s current problems. We are fed information at a steady pace and Tony’s sister and her in-laws are wonderful supporting minor characters to be Dom and Tony. There is a big emphasis of moving on and the need to not be selfish because you will ultimately hurt someone you love. There are some fun times and some sad times, and best of all these emotions can be felt through the words on the page/screen. When tragedy strikes and they are once more tested, the plot in the second major part of the book sees the strength that happens as their bond deepens. This is also a continuation of sorts of Dominic having to face up to his past issues and how well he is able to cope with his emotions and worry. I also really like the fact that this takes places over a significant space of time, so it’s not all crammed into an impossible or unrealistic timeline. It also emerges that Dominic is a worrier and a mother hen, which makes him impossibly cute to me, though he is a genius with his own successful company.
The love story here is fraught with emotions, tossing between positive and negative, happiness and depression. However, in the end of it all, this is a sweet and subtle love story. It’s hard not to like Dominic’s and Tony’s story, the best way to put how much I enjoyed this book was that I had to stop reading to go out when was on page 74. I had to wait 6 hours to read the ending and at first I was not happy at all! Highly recommended!
