Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Cover Up
SERIES: Skin Deep, Inc.
AUTHOR: L.A. Witt
NARRATOR: Michael Farraiuolo
PUBLISHER: Self-published/Tantor Audio
LENGTH: 8 hrs and 22 min
RELEASE DATE: July 9, 2019
BLURB:
After ten years of blissful marriage, Navy Pilot Nate Chandler is divorcing his cheating husband. Single for the first time in years, Nate is numb to all emotion and kisses any chance of another relationship goodbye.
Not only is Nate struggling to get through this divorce, but his body is branded with a permanent reminder of his failed marriage: a matching tattoo with his ex. Searching for a place to cover up his old tattoo, Nate finds himself at the Skin Deep, Inc., where he meets the young and charming cover-up tattoo apprentice, Lucas Brandt.
From just flirty glances to steamy hot encounters, Nate and Lucas dive headfirst into a fling of hookups. But worried that he’ll forever be Nate’s “cover up” rebound relationship, Lucas fears that their love won’t be anything more than just skin deep. What was once just a casual attraction, Lucas now hopes to turn into a real relationship. But will he be able to convince the still tender-hearted Nate to fall in love again?
REVIEW:
Note: While technically this is the third book in this series, it works fine as a standalone. There are, however, spoilers for both previous books in the series.
This story starts out with Nate realizing that his marriage has gone wrong – and catching his ex cheating. He’s shattered and reaches out to his best friend and pilot Jon. One of things he needs to do is get rid of the matching tattoo he’d gotten years before with his soon to be ex-husband. Jon’s boyfriend is a tattoo artist and there is a guy at this shop that specializes in coverups and he recommends that Nate check him out.
Lucas is young, but has already been through two divorces. He can certainly sympathize with Nate. He also is bi and very attracted to the handsome and buff pilot. Lucas is also suffering a crisis of faith – in his abilities. He’s also bogged down with student loans and the need to get out of debt after his divorces.
Nate has been out of the game for a long time and his libido has been on an extended vacation – until he meets Lucas. They both agree that there is nothing wrong with the two of them scratching an itch for the other. They are both free agents and if they want to let of steam together, so be it.
Lucas’s schedule as well as Nate’s sometimes make getting together challenging, but they manage. They move into a pretty consistent pattern with Lucas heading to Nate’s when he’s free from work. They don’t get far with Nate’s coverup design, but they are enjoying each other’s company. They even manage to get away for a weekend together. They really like each other – as more than friends with benefits – but neither wants to examine that too closely.
When Lucas’s boss’s boyfriend is returning from deployment and they volunteer to go pick him up for the surprise reunion, things take a more serious turn. Lucas wonders what he’s doing when it’s obvious Nate isn’t over his former husband. He has to decide if he just wants to continue being Nate’s distraction or if he deserves something real for himself.
Once again, I really enjoyed this story. Nate and Lucas were introduced in the previous book, but they don’t have any interaction until this one. We get to really know them as people with their own stories and background. Lucas is especially compelling because even after going to college and incurring debt and two failed marriages, he’s still pretty optimistic. Nate is pretty cynical after his marriage implodes after 10 years. He really does not think he can put himself out there ever again after being burned by Caleb, his ex. He grows a lot during this story and faces some hard truths. It was great to see the couples from the first two books as well. Once again, Michael Farraiuolo does a fantastic job with the narration. Every voice is distinctive and his ability to carry over all the characters in the series is amazing. I swear I could listen to him read the phonebook. There are plenty of smexy times as well and Nate and Lucas have to work for their happy ending 🙂
RATING: 
BUY LINK:
Audible