I’ve Got This by Louisa Masters
On September 30, 2019 by Jaye
I’ve Got This by Louisa Masters
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Blurb
Derek Bryer loves his life. His job as an assistant director at Joy Universe, the second-largest theme park complex on the planet, makes him indirectly responsible for bringing joy (pun intended) to millions of people. So what if none of his relationships are that close? Everyone he meets loves him.
Except Trav Jones. For some reason, the visiting Broadway performer would rather Derek just go away. He appreciates Derek’s work ethic, though, and after Trav steps up when Derek desperately needs someone to fill in for his sick staff, Derek seizes the chance to convince Trav he’s not such a bad guy.
Falling in love while distracted by a murder at the park, food poisoning, and colleagues laying bets on their relationship won’t be easy, but between the two of them and with the magic of Joy Universe, they’ve got this.
Buy Links
Publisher: https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/ive-got-this-by-louisa-masters-10788-b
Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2Z2HRJe
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07WJB4TYZ/
Amazon CAN: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07WJB4TYZ/
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/2JMpXkV
Kobo: http://bit.ly/IveGotThisKobo
iBooks: https://apple.co/2SvfhK9
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46161008-i-ve-got-this
QueeRomance Ink Link: https://www.queeromanceink.com/book/ive-got-this/
Excerpt
He grins at me. “Can I use your number for more than just confirming dates?”
Heat climbs up my neck and floods my face, and I know I must be red. Christ, I’ve always blushed easily, but I spend more time red-faced around this guy than anyone else I can remember. “Maybe.” I meant it to sound flirtatious, but it comes out sounding more like a parent who means no, but doesn’t want to say it for fear of incurring a tantrum.
What the hell is wrong with me? I’m no Casanova, but I’m not a reclusive virgin, either. I usually have a pretty good dating life. I know how to flirt.
I pull out my phone. “What’s your number? I’ll text you.”
He rattles off the digits. I put them in my phone and then send him a text. The faint ding from his pocket tells me he got it.
The rest of the ride back to my resort is silent, and I’m pretty sure it’s my fault. Our conversation over dinner was so easy and fun—but my stupid failed attempt to be flirty seems to have killed the vibe. Is he regretting the whole thing? Wondering how he can get out of our date on Thursday?
He turns off the road onto the driveway of the resort, but instead of pulling up to the entrance, he takes the road that loops around the property to the four parking lots and the three other shuttle stops.
“Where—” I begin, but he interrupts me.
“Which is the closest parking lot to your room?”
Oh. He’s being thoughtful and saving me the seven-minute (no, I didn’t time it—the receptionist told me when I checked in) walk from the main building to the building that houses my room.
“The west one,” I tell him, and then we both fall silent again as he skilfully navigates along the deserted, mostly dark road. I rack my brain for something to say. How did this happen? Twenty minutes ago I was one half of an interesting, fun conversation. How did we go from that to awkward silence?
It has to be the idea of dating that’s turned us into mere acquaintances with little in common. Right? Until he confirmed that we were on a date, and I asked him on another one, everything was fine. After that, it all went downhill.
Wait… he knew all along that we were on a date. I was the one who wasn’t sure what he thought it was. Does that mean this is all me? Am I the reason for the awkwardness?
I’m saved from further introspection (although I suspect it’s going to keep me up most of the night) when Derek pulls into the west parking lot and finds a spot at the far end. The lot is pretty well-lit, but back in this corner there are more shadows.
I undo my seat belt. I’m almost desperate to get out of the car and away from this tension, but at the same time, I’m terrified that if I leave it like this, I’m going to get a text from Derek, canceling our date. What can I say to make it all better?
Derek’s hand on my face makes me jump.
“Whoa! Sorry, I didn’t mean….” He starts to pull away, but I grab his hand and hold it against my cheek. I like having him touch me.
Is this weird? Maybe he was just trying to get my attention and didn’t actually want to hold my face.
I drop my hand to my lap, giving him the opportunity to pull back. My face is hot, and I’m thankful for the dim light. He can probably still see that I’m blushing, but not exactly how red I am.
His fingers lightly stroke my cheek.
My breath stutters. I slowly turn to him. His face is closer than I expected, and there’s a soft smile on his lips. Even in the dimness of the car, I can see how warm the expression in his eyes is.
I swallow. His smile grows.
“I love when you blush,” he says. “It’s so—”
“Sweet?” I interrupt acidly. He shakes his head.
“Hot.” The word sits between us. Hot? Does he mean literally? Because, yeah, my skin gets hot when I—
Derek leans in and kisses me, and I get it. Hot. Derek thinks it’s hot when I blush. Really?
Also, man can he kiss.
I gotta be honest, the next few minutes kind of blur out. I’m too focused on Derek’s mouth on mine, his hands, his body—because my hands get busy too. The only words I can actually think are adjectives: warm, hard, wet, silky….
I’ve got my hands in his pants (and can I just say wow?) when it finally occurs to me that as cushy as Derek’s car is, it’s not roomy enough for us to fuck—well, not comfortably. I jerk back from his kiss. “Not here,” I pant. Crap, Kev’s likely to be back at our room by now. He was saying earlier that he was exhausted, not having had a day off, and wanted an early night. “Your place?” He’s gotta live in Joyville, right? That’s what, half an hour away?
Maybe we can get a room. We’re at a resort. I’m sure he gets an employee discount here too.
Derek sighs and pulls back, stroking my chest under my polo one last time before drawing his hand out. I miss it instantly.
Review
Everything about this book is gold. We’ve got a theme park that is distinctly not in Florida, distinctly doesn’t involve mice, and distinctly bears no relation to any other massive companies that also took over towns etc. Ahem. We’ve got a character who’s a little screwed up but is amazing, another character whose scars are a little more visible but is equally amazing, and we’ve got a MURDER.
Reader, I swooned.
In all seriousness, I did close the book and go do something else at about the halfway point. Why? Because I knew something terrible was going to happen (it’s the midpoint, of course) and I didn’t want to see anything happen to these two characters. I wanted to build a shelter and hide them in it, but then how would they have possibly done the things that made them happy?
Derek is a quintessential golden boy businessman. He’s in charge of one of the parks in the huge mega-park that is Joy Universe, a place that increases my anxiety to read about but honestly makes him happy. His job gives him immense pleasure and satisfaction. He’s great at his job, because he genuinely wants to make people happy. He wants the customers to be happy. He wants their kids to be happy. That makes sense, because they pay the bills, but he also wants the employees to be happy. He wants the performers to be happy, he wants his underlings to be happy, and he wants the cleaning staff to be happy.
Not in a -if you’re not happy you’re food – kind of way, either. No, he genuinely cares about their welfare. There’s a point – this might count as a spoiler but I don’t think so – when a performer takes on a volunteer gig at the community theater in town. It’s not job-related in any way, but Derek lends the guy a car for the duration just so he can get around. He doesn’t rent it to him, he hands the guy the keys to the car and a garage door opener to his house.
He wants people to be happy.
It does help his bottom line, and as a result his park is the top performer in the Joy Universe portfolio. My MBA might not be worth much anymore, but I did appreciate that little nugget. It made sense from a business perspective, and it made him shine.
The same personality traits that make him so great at his job kind of hamper him in relationships, and part of the joy of reading this book is watching him grow through this barrier. I legitimately smiled through the whole thing. While it was meant to be a dark moment – the Black Moment, in terms of romance beat sheets – it legitimately sparked joy because of the growth it represented.
Trav wears his scars a little more closely to the surface, which kind of makes sense. As an actor, his stock in trade is emotion and he naturally has to be more in touch with his. He also experiences some major growth, but giving the details would be a serious spoiler so I’ll shut up about it.
What I can tell you is that he takes an instant dislike to Derek from the moment they meet. It’s kind of funny. His insecurities, which are legion, fit perfectly into Derek’s strengths. They’re almost natural enemies, which is why they’re so perfect when they finally get together.
(There is a murder, and a gory one too. It’s not the main focus on the book – it’s not a suspense – but it does play a pretty significant role.)
I read another book by Masters through Other Worlds, Ink before and I was delighted to have another such opportunity.
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