Evan's Heaven

MacAlestor Kerr is an actor - a grade B one at that - which is fine with him, as he works steadily, making a good living at what he enjoys. There are worse things in life, right? Although at the moment, he isn't particularly happy. He's on location in some tropical paradise, filming a comedy which is a change from his typical tough guy fare. It's the one year anniversary of the day he first met his lover, Evan. And the monsoon season has started early, so the leads have to stick around to finish filming before they can go. He's miserable and crabby beyond belief. An unexpected package arrives, a gift from Evan, since they are forced to be apart on such an important day. And as Mac begins to delve into his gift, we begin Evan's Heaven by Nicki Bennett.
The first item in the basket is blue nail polish.
They meet in, of all places, a spa. Evan's spa, to be precise - Evan's Heaven Salon and Day Spa. It is Mac's director's idea, because he is supposed to do a barefoot picnic scene, and he wants Mac's feet looking their best. Mac is against the idea, but what can he do? He knows he looks out of place here, with all these women, in the middle of this fancy atmosphere, and then the salon's owner comes out, and Mac thinks he is a regular Adonis, with an \"angel's face and a barely restrained mop of dark ebony curls\". He takes the new client in hand himself, leading him into a private room, explaining that they don't handle many men, so the women employees aren't sure how to act. The first thing he tries to do is talk Mac into a manicure too, but the actor isn't interested, and fairly growls at him.
Is it Mac's imagination, or is this guy coming on to him? When he suggests Mac remove his pants to make the pedicure easier, Mac wishes he'd known, he'd have not gone commando. Realizing his dilemma, Evan provides a blue robe for his use. Mac gets more and more turned on by Evan as he explains just what he is doing, step by step, and the feeling is certainly mutual. And before he knows what has hit him, Mac not only has blue toenails, but a new lover, as well.
Item by item, Mac goes through his basket of gifts - each one bringing to mind a different landmark in the burgeoning relationship between himself and Evan, including the heated river stones; the waxing with the ginger-scented sugar wax; the bottle of champagne, a reminder of Evan's birthday celebration; a terry cloth mitt, from the French body gommage; the matching body piercings - nipple rings with which they bound themselves together, using a silver chain. Each item only makes Mac miss Evan more, evidence of their growing love and commitment toward one another. Mac is definitely having a pity party for one, when his phone rings, it's Evan on the line, and he has one last gift...
Evan's Heaven is unabashedly romantic, and makes no apologies for it. It is all about love, and finding the man of your dreams, and learning to fit together most perfectly. As Mac goes through the basket and down memory lane, he relives each moment with his lover, and we relive it with him, voyeurs to their most private moments together, watching their relationship unfold, bit by bit. If you like love stories, especially ones with happy endings, you will love Evan's Heaven. There are only really two characters - Mac and Evan - although at times I was tempted to add a third, Mac's member, which Evan dubs \"Little Mac\", just because Mac seems to reference him so much, as to what he is thinking or feeling at any given moment. This is a purely Hallmark moment, spread out over 112 pages, I thought it was great - romantic, sensual, and very very hot. Nicki Bennett weaves a seductive tale around the exotic items found in this one spa basket. I was never interested in what went on at such a place like this, til I picked up this book. I would love to go to one, but only if I could watch Mac and Evan at play! Nicki has a definite way with words, and I intend to look for her other books. I loved the way that her characters were not cliche - Evan is not the buff young stud often found in such books, but a slender trim gay man, and Mac is a simple actor - not famous, just himself, and proud of it. Curl up with a warm blanket, and some chocolate to nibble on, and make Evan's Heaven your evening's entertainment!