I've been intrigued by Wes Halsted with every glimpse and mention of him throughout the Walsh series. And I always had an inkling he'd end up with Shannon's right hand man Tom Esbeck and I was right! For those who have not yet read the Walsh series I'd hesitate to recommend jumping in here without first having taken the journeys with the other characters in this series. There is a lot of buildup that pays off in this book and some scenes might not mean as much. That said, readers who are new will find much to enjoy. I received a copy of this ARC right as we were all locking ourselves in our houses and the our world was being turned upside down due to COVID19. Wes's isolation in the carriage house apartment as he too tries to figure out his place in a world and a life that has completely changed felt very similar to the feelings I am personally experiencing right now, making this a cathartic read. I was swept away by the story and it became a hideaway for the turbulence of the world around me. Canterbary writes swoony, angsty, and heartfelt scenes between these two men who are both lonely and scarred. Wes and Tom are immediately drawn in to a sexual relationship, a large focus in much of the first half of the book. But looming over secret sexy times is the fact Wes might be leaving and Wes isn't out. Tom and Wes are an absolute mess which I enjoyed, but YMMV. These two conflicts are drawn out for most of the story, but the ultimate resolution felt rushed and the end came very abruptly. I did read an ARC that was missing an epilogue which was included in the finished version (I read it via KU), which helped give a bit more closure. Wes needs some therapy for real and this was not discussed in any way besides typical "I'm in the military we don't do that out of fear" stance. I was also delighted that Wes is the big, huge, and burly SEAL but he's also kind of a soft and wants to be controlled in bed sometimes, especially by the buttoned up Tom. CW: Drinking, fear of coming out, medical trauma and graphic medical scenes