Cover & Blurb Reveal with a Giveaway: Heartless By Robin Knight
Sometimes love is a three-piece puzzle.
ASHTON
If money makes the world go round, then the real estate market in New York is the engine that keeps it spinning. As one of Manhattan’s elite realty agents, it’s my job to wine, dine and do whatever it takes to close the deal. Yes sir, I act the part and look the part. Designer suit… immaculate. Hair… precision. Body… perfection. Well, maybe not quite, but I’m not about to let anyone know the flaw in this outwardly flawless power single.
So when my secret chink-in-the-armor begins to show, I’ll do whatever I need to protect myself, especially when it comes to putting Jax Lockhart — the newest, slickest, sexiest agent at Vanquest Realty — in his place.
With the help of my assistant Bailey, I’ll do what it takes to bring Jax down. The last thing I was ever expecting was to fall for the enemy… and my assistant Bailey too!
BAILEY
Without any possible rhyme or reason, I’ve been in love with my boss Ashton since the day I started working for him. I have no idea what this irresistible attraction is, especially when he’s the total opposite of me! He’s filthy rich and handsome beyond words, possessing the kind of confidence, ambition and uber-success that I could never match… or even want to match. That’s okay, I have no problems pining over him from afar while I live my quiet little life, looking after my Grammy and scraping together enough to pay the bills.
But then one day Jax Lockhart walks into the offices of Vanquest Realty… the very same Jax Lockhart I’d fallen head over heels in love with at the orphanage where we’d both grown up.
Now what was I to do? Continue dreaming about the boss I could never have? Or rekindle the flame that two kids shared a lifetime ago?
I’m tempted to keep both of my secret crushes a secret… until I find out that both Ashton and Jax each have secrets of their own.
HEARTLESS is an enemies-to-lovers, opposites-attract, hurt/comfort standalone 50k MMM romance, with steam, swoon and a love that will never die.
Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/cc0f2a57722/?
About the Author:
Robin Knight is the author of gay fiction novels, novellas, and short stories, ranging in genre from gay adventure, gay romance, gay suspense, and gay comedies.
The heroes of Robin's books love to spend their time jumping off the page, stumbling through misadventures, and falling in love.
Robin has worked in advertising, politics, journalism, and event management, but nothing is as fun as telling stories.
Release Blitz, Excerpt & Giveaway: Hex and the City By Nazri Noor
Stolen Hearts, Book 1
Leon Alcantara is a real son of a witch.
The last in a proud line of witches, he’s come to test his small magic in the big city. Stealing enchanted artifacts pays the rent, but the competition is fierce. And handsome. And great at magic, too.
But Maximilian Drake and his dark, brooding glances are the least of Leon’s problems. A chain of anomalies surges through the city, strange distortions in reality that threaten both Dos Lunas and its people.
Suspected by the arcane authorities, Leon is forced to work with his nemesis to clear his name. But Max is so secretive over his shrouded past. Can he even be trusted? Leon must decide before the anomalies destroy the city — and his entire life.
“You,” he growled, panting as he clutched the edge of the doorframe. “Me,” I replied, fingers somehow tangled in a bra strap. “Hi. Don’t be mad.” He roared as he charged toward me. I panicked, vaulted over the bed, the two of us separated by the exact width of a California king. I held up my hands. “Whoa, now, tiger. It’s okay. We can work together on this, you and me.” “Like hell we are,” he snarled, jabbing his finger at me. “I’m not teaming up with someone who plays cowardly tricks the way you do.” I cocked my hip to the side and stroked my chin. “I mean, you were the one screaming your head off not two minutes ago. Technically, sir, you’re the coward, here.” The man lunged toward the mattress, his teeth bared. I yelped, skirting around the edge of the bed, aiming for the exit. He swerved immediately, never committing to scrambling over the bed. It was just a feint. He bolted at me like a stampeding rhino, so much faster than I expected him to be. Huge hands grabbed me by the ends of my jacket. I let out a squeak, rallied what was left of my audacity — plenty to spare, in truth — and gave him my brightest smile. “Hey, handsome,” I purred, horrified and yet delighted to see him again. Maybe I was horrified about being so delighted in the first place. I couldn’t help myself, my impulse to tease severely overriding my drive for self-preservation. “No more of your little party tricks,” he said, his gaze piercing and steely. “Whatever you did to my brain — no more of that nonsense.” My cheeks hitched. I knew that my smile reached my eyes. I really couldn’t help it. Being flirtatious came so naturally to me. Did I say flirtatious? I meant playful. Yeah. Playful worked, too. “I have other, more pleasant spells I could use on you, you know,” I told him. “At least now we both know you’re a screamer.” I winked. The man exhaled softly, but sharply, the tiniest snort of annoyance. It was so easy to get a rise out of him, and somehow, in a somewhat frustrating way, he looked even handsomer in his anger. If he asked gruffly enough, if he batted those grim yet sad eyes, I’d probably hand the goods over. “Hand over the goods,” he growled. My eyes widened. Wow. He was totally on-script. Incredibly sexy, too, the way his voice rasped around that very respectable threat. “So sorry,” I told him. “But I really, really need this gig. If I turn this in, I get to pay rent, put food on the table. Maybe save up for a nicer pair of shoes.” He cocked an eyebrow, his gaze shifting slowly down to look at my sneakers. I grinned, then planted the sole of my shoe square in his chest, kicking with all my might. The man grunted as he stumbled backward, too big and strong for me to topple over. I turned tail and ran like hell, nervous, terrified giggling bubbling up from my belly. Not three feet out the doorway, a heavy weight slammed into my back, knocking the air out of my lungs and my scrawny ass onto the floor. Face first, too. Ouch. I groaned, totally winded, the carpet imprinting on my cheek. Gross. I chuckled, or at least I tried to. “You going to cuff me, big boy?” “I’m not one of the Masques, if that’s what you’re asking.” He rolled me onto my back, his face dark with fury, the full weight of him pinning me to the ground as he straddled me with his hips. No cuffs, but still kinky. “I’m a finder, like you,” he continued. “Except I’m not as sloppy.” Something inside me twitched with defiance, even more so when his hands came down to pin my wrists to the floor. I couldn’t help myself. “Excuse me. Sloppy?” “You left the door open and unlocked when you came into the house. Based on our conversation downstairs, you didn’t even know the Smiths were out of town.” He allowed himself a smug grin. “And possibly most embarrassing of all, you sneezed. That was how I found you.” I glowered. “And exactly how was I supposed to hold that sneeze back?” I bucked against him, suddenly angry. “It’s a perfectly natural bodily function.” He bent lower, powerful thighs pressing tightly around my hips. I gulped and stopped struggling, worried about my other perfectly natural bodily functions.
Enter the Giveaway:
To celebrate the release of Hex in the City, Nazri is giving 3 e-copies of the release!
Enter the Rafflecopter giveaway for your chance to win!
Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/cc0f2a57720/?
About the Author:
Nazri Noor is a California-based author of Filipino and Malaysian descent. He can curse fluently in three languages, but only writes in English. He also speaks just enough Sindarin and Valyrian to impress absolutely no one. Nazri loves writing urban fantasy heroes who use wits, style, and their wildly unpredictable magic to save the day. They often fall in love, too.
Audio Tour, Excerpt & Giveaway: The Sunny Side By Lily Morton
Narrated by Joel Leslie
The Model Agency, Book 1
Jonas Durand is successful, rich, and controlled. He owns a prestigious modelling agency and has the world at his fingertips, but a turbulent childhood has taught him to be focused and never deviate from a plan.
Dean Jacobs threatens that stance. He’s one of the world’s most sought-after supermodels, but he’s also laidback and lighthearted and free in a way that Jonas has never quite managed.
Dean has always been interested in Jonas and has never made any secret of his admiration, but from the beginning, Jonas put him in a neat little box labelled, “Don’t touch,” turned the key, and never looked back.
However, the universe seems determined to thwart Jonas’s plans. Over the course of one hot summer, the two men come together, and Jonas’s well-ordered life becomes something a whole lot wilder.
Moving from the glamorous worlds of London and Paris Fashion Weeks to the sleepy South of France, Jonas finds himself liberating partridges, chasing his supermodel, and falling in love.
From bestselling author, Lily Morton, comes a romantic comedy set in the fast-paced and snarky world of modelling. This is the first book in the Model Agency series.
I climb the stone steps to the police station and, after letting myself in, I blink at the cacophony that greets me. The waiting room is full of people sitting or standing, and the air is thick with the sound of different languages being spoken at high volume.
I push through the crowd and stand behind an old lady speaking to the duty officer. Her voice is cultured, and she’s a little out of place here. I wonder what’s drawn her to a police station in Charing Cross at midnight.
“No, you must understand I do not want to press charges,” she says shrilly. “The hotel was completely wrong to ring for the police. It was just high jinks amongst young men. They were letting off steam.”
“Madame, they are not kettles,” the officer says, unimpressed.
The lady looks around for support and catches my eye. “Men,” she says.
I nod, heartily concurring. I deal with them on a daily basis, and whoever said that women were the deadlier of the species obviously never ran a modelling agency.
She turns back to the policeman. “So, I wish for him to be released immediately. It’s a travesty of justice.” She nods regally at him and stalks away to a seat.
He sighs. “It was a hotel brawl. He’s not Sean Connery in The Rock,” he mutters. He straightens as I step forward. “Sorry, sir. How can I help you?”
“I’m here for Dean Jacobs,” I say briskly, checking my watch. “I understand he was brought in an hour ago.”
“Oh god. Not you too.”
I frown at him. “Pardon?”
“You can join his fan club over there,” the policeman says. He gestures at the old woman who was just speaking to him. She’s now watching a man blowing bubbles with a dachshund dressed as a clown perched on his lap. The dog looks like he’s pretending this isn’t happening to him.
Enter the Giveaway:
To celebrate the audio release of The Sunny Side, we are giving you a chance to win your choice of any book from Lily’s backlist! Three winners will be chosen!
Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/cc0f2a57717/?
About Lily:
Lily is a bestselling gay romance author. She writes love stories filled with heat and humour.
She lives in sunny England with her husband and two children, all of whom claim that they haven't had a proper conversation with her since she got her Kindle.
Lily has spent her life with her head full of daydreams, and decided one day to just sit down and start writing about them. In the process she discovered that she actually loved writing, because how else would she get to spend her time with hot and funny men?
She loves chocolate and Baileys and the best of all creations - Chocolate Baileys.
Audio Tour, Excerpt & Giveaway: Again by Morgan Brice
Narrated by John Solo
Fox Hollow Zodiac, Book 2
The fast, furry, and furious! A lynx shifter, pursued by a cryptid trophy hunter. A wolf shifter desperate to rescue a lover who's not just his fated mate—but his one true pairing across past lives. And a love that transcends time.
Lynx shifter Noah Wilson narrowly escaped being captured by the Huntsman. While recuperating in Fox Hollow, he meets his fated mate, wolf shifter Drew Lowe.
Noah has to return to Canada to finish filming his TV projects, so he and Drew visit when they can and come up with creative solutions to their long-distance relationship. Noah and Drew are sure they're meant for each other and start making plans.
Drew's dreams make him wonder if he and Noah are more than fated mates—could they be a true pairing, destined to find each other lifetime after lifetime?
Then Noah accidentally records a murder, and the killer is on his trail. Can he elude a master tracker and reach the safety of Fox Hollow, or will he and Drew have to wait to find happiness in another life?
Again is a thrill-packed MM shifter romance adventure full of sexy shifters, hurt/comfort, one true pairing, reincarnation, sincere psychics, hunky mechanics, first responders, a sexy wildlife photographer, found family, and fated mates.
Join us over on Instagram for more of Again on AUDIO!
You can also enter the giveaway on our Instagram post or click here for your chance to win an e-copy of your choice from Morgan or Gail's backlist!
Excerpt:
“Liam was so brave,” Noah said quietly. “He figured out how to open the cages. And then he gave the Huntsman a real run for his money. When it looked like Russ might get shot, Liam practically bit the guy’s face off. He saved us.”
Buried inside Noah’s admiration, Drew could hear a kernel of guilt. Is it weird that I feel like I’ve known him forever, and we’ve barely met?
“Don’t blame yourself—for getting caught or not doing more. You survived. That was your main job,” Drew replied. Noah met his gaze, and Drew thought he saw a hunger for reassurance in the man’s beautiful eyes.
“I tell myself that, but I’m not sure I believe me,” Noah said ruefully. “Maybe that’ll get better with time.”
“I know you haven’t had the best introduction to Fox Hollow, but it’s a great town,” Drew answered, changing the topic. “I don’t know what you’re used to, but almost everyone here is either a shifter or has some other paranormal ability. The few who don’t have abilities are family to those who are. We get some tourists in the summer who aren’t in on the secret, but otherwise this is a very supernatural-friendly place.”
“Good to know,” Noah replied. “I live in Ottawa. Shifters definitely aren’t the norm.”
Drew knew a little about Noah from Sheriff Armel. Noah was a wildlife photographer and an independent television producer who created documentaries and nature shows. He was thirty, single, Canadian, and his other half was a lynx.
I like him. I think we could really get along well.
Mate, his wolf corrected.
Too soon, Drew protested. Let the poor guy recover. Normally shifting accelerated the healing process, but the Huntsman had drugged his victims with something that kept them trapped in their animal form. Now that he was human again, Noah probably wasn’t ready to change back right away.
Check out Book 1 in the Fox Hollow Zodiac Series
Huntsman
A grieving wolf. A hunted fox. Fated mates, thrown together by chance, and the looming threat of a fabled Huntsman who might tear them apart forever.
Fox shifter Liam Reynard is running from a killer. He uproots his life to find sanctuary in Fox Hollow, deep in the Adirondack Forest in New York.
When his car breaks down, sexy wolf shifter Russ Lowe comes to the rescue, and one touch makes it clear they’re fated mates. Neither man was looking for love, and both are still mending from past heartbreak. When mysterious fires and disappearances threaten Fox Hollow, Liam fears the killer is hot on his trail. Can he protect the town and his fated mate from the evil hunting him, or will an ex-lover’s betrayal cost Liam everything he loves?
Huntsman is full of sexy shifters, hurt/comfort, second chance love, sincere psychics, hot first responders, found family, and fated mates.
Morgan Brice is the romance pen name of bestselling author Gail Z. Martin. Morgan writes urban fantasy male/male paranormal romance, with plenty of action, adventure and supernatural thrills to go with the happily ever after. Gail writes epic fantasy and urban fantasy, and together with co-author hubby Larry N. Martin, steampunk and comedic horror, all of which have less romance, more explosions. Characters from her Gail books make frequent appearances in secondary roles in her Morgan books, and vice versa.
On the rare occasions Morgan isn’t writing, she’s either reading, cooking, or spoiling two very pampered dogs.
Series include Witchbane, Badlands, Treasure Trail, Kings of the Mountain and Fox Hollow. Watch for more in these series, plus new series coming soon!
One weekend could lead to forever if Jett can take the plunge.
Blurb
Jett didn’t expect to spend the weekend trapped in a remote holiday house with his best friend’s brother. As they try to pass the time, Kian’s bright enthusiasm starts to break through Jett’s gruff defences. When Kian offers to help Jett explore his desires with no strings attached, everything changes.
Fooling around when your heart isn’t on the line is one thing, but when the weekend ends, neither man wants their casual arrangement to end. Past betrayal has made Jett wary of trusting anyone, but even though Kian’s patience seems to be never-ending, Jett knows it’s only a matter of time before ‘no strings’ turns into ‘goodbye’.
Can Jett look past his fear and make the man who’s claimed his heart his?
Take the Plunge is a standalone contemporary M/M romance where a jaded man with a permanent storm cloud over his head falls for a sunshiny optimist. There’s forced proximity, an interfering best friend, swoony moonlight swimming, bi-sexual exploration, and lots of first times.
Excerpt
My head is fucking killing me. My mouth feels like it’s been stuffed full of mothballs. I’m lying on my right side, and that arm is numb. A click echoes through the house. Was that someone closing a door? I wipe my left hand over my face and open my eyes. It’s too dark to see anything.
What the fuck happened last night?
Something whines. Door hinges?
Oh, right. I’m at Rufus’s holiday home in the middle of nowhere. Okay, so it’s not actually his. The house belongs to his granddad, but Rufus is allowed to use it when his granddad isn’t here fishing. The front door hinges have needed oiling for as long as I’ve been coming up here with Rufus and his family.
When we were kids, his family invited me here for a week every summer. Rufus, his younger brother, Kian, and I would go wandering for hours, exploring the woods, chasing each other through meadows of long grass and flowers, and sitting by the lake with our legs dangling in the water. I have lots of good memories of this tiny corner of Scotland.
But reminiscing won’t solve the mystery of my aching head.
The door closes. It’s either the middle of the night or so early the sun hasn’t come up yet, so I’m unsure who’s going where.
I, Rufus, Kian, and some of our friends are here for a weekend of drinking and lazing around. Well, they can laze around. I have work to do as soon as I find some paracetamol and a gallon of water to shift this headache.
A car engine turns on. What the fuck? Tyres crunch over gravel, and then it gets quieter. I try to turn towards the window, but something pulls against my right wrist. Someone groans. I try to move my arm again. Clink. Rattle. Something hard but also soft circles my wrist. What. The. Actual. Fuck?
I twist and flail around, groping for a lamp or a light switch. My neck clicks, and my back aches with the effort. Another groan, a little louder than before. I skid my fingers over a piece of paper before finding a bedside lamp. I flick it on. A golden glow fills the room, and I shut my eyes against the harsh light.
Another groan. “Well, that’s bright.”
Hold up. I recognise that voice.
My right wrist is tugged to the side. Clink.
“Huh,” the voice says.
I rub my eyes and prie them open. I’m lying face-to-face with Kian. Our right hands lie on the pillow between us. Pink fur circles our wrists.
“Huh,” Kian repeats. He lifts his wrist, pulling mine with him. “This must be someone’s idea of a joke.” He kneads his forehead with his fingertips. “So this is what a hangover feels like. I don’t recommend it.”
“Too late.”
“That sucks for us both.” He yawns and closes his eyes.
“Who the fuck would do this?”
Kian shrugs. “Probably Rufus. He never matured past sixteen.”
I sit, dragging Kian upright with me. “Where’s the key?”
Kian tugs me down again. “We can look for it after we’ve slept off these hangovers. Rufus will have it.”
I grunt. “I don’t want to go back to sleep. I want to get these damn things off. What the fuck are they anyway?”
“Handcuffs.”
“I can see that.”
“Why’d you ask, then?”
“Why are they pink? And furry?”
About the Author
Colette’s personal love story began at university, where she met her future husband. An evening of flirting, in the shadow of Lancaster castle, eventually led to a fairytale wedding. She’s enjoying her own ‘happy ever after’ in the north of England with her husband, two beautiful children and her writing.
Tight end Landry Banks knows the score when he signs with the Charleston Condors in a rebuilding year.
New owner. New coach. New players. New rules.
But one rule hasn’t changed: Don’t hook up with your best friend’s little brother.
Rookie quarterback Riley Flynn knows what it takes to make it in the NFL. He’s in Charleston to prove himself—to the world and to his teammates, but mostly to his older brother, who’s never believed he could be a star.
The last thing he expects is for his brother’s best friend Landry to welcome him with open arms and an offer to become roommates.
Riley’s always believed Landry was straight—but the way Landry keeps checking him out leaves him suddenly unsure. And Landry’s hot looks certainly don’t help squash the crush he’s always had on his brother’s best friend.
Revisiting his teenage crush isn't part of the plan. But as he and Landry fall into a rhythm of thrilling plays on the field and sizzling tension off it, there's no denying their connection.
Riley isn’t willing to trade becoming the next big NFL superstar for love. But with a man like Landry Banks waiting to catch anything he throws at him, maybe he can have both.
My Two Pennies' Worth
A side series from the recent Miami Piranhas series. This stars Logan's straight big brother, Landry.
When Landry's best friend asks if he'll take his younger brother, Riley, under his wing he doesn't realise that Landry is undergoing a bisexual epiphany. Mainly due to meeting Riley again for the first time in years. And having Riley in his house, cooking Landry meals, and wandering around in nothing but a towel is not helping.
This is another series where there are plenty of LGBTQ+ characters and acceptance is easy. It presents a lovely low angst sports romance for those occasions when you want sports but you don't want the toxic masculinity and outright homophobia.
Plenty of (American) football action for those who like that in their stories. And high heat.
Tropes: sports (American Football) // best friend's younger brother // 8 year age gap (31/25) // enforced proximity
Excerpt
“How many years do you and Aidan have between you?” Landry answered Riley’s question by asking one of his own.
Riley leaned against the counter, clearly at home with a knife in his hand. Even a big shiny chef’s knife. If Landry tried to use that, he’d probably accidentally cut off a finger. At the very least, an emergency room trip would’ve been in his future. But not Riley. And more than anything else, that confirmed what Riley had just claimed.
They didn’t know each other very well, despite the fact Aidan had been his best friend forever.
“Almost eight years,” Riley said. “So yeah, when I wasn’t the annoying little brother anymore, you guys were gone and busy with your own lives. I get it.” He shot Landry a look. Were his eyes full of heat, or was that just Landry’s currently overactive imagination? “I guess we’re gonna be making up for lost time now.”
Landry swallowed hard. “Guess we are.”
“Don’t sound like I’m gonna march you down to the cliff and push you right off,” Riley said, laughing. “I promise it won’t hurt too much to get to know me.”
Oh, it wouldn’t hurt at all.
What was going to hurt the most was keeping his hands off.
“Is that what all the boys say to you?” Landry teased before he could reel the words back.
Riley fluttered his eyelashes. God, he was temptation incarnate. “The girls, too. I don’t discriminate, baby.”
“Right.” Landry wanted to say, me too, as long as the guys look like you, but he didn’t because what if this wasn’t what this was? What if he was wrong?
Then there was the fact he knew enough about coming out that it wasn’t necessarily right to do it just because he enjoyed flirting so much with Riley—and wanted him to keep doing it.
“Though,” Riley said, shooting him another look from underneath those killer lashes, “I do tend to prefer the boys, so you’re not entirely wrong.”
Landry swallowed hard. “Is that…is that a thing? Can that be a thing? A preference even if you’re bisexual?”
“Of course it can. Sexuality is a pretty fluid thing when it comes down to it. Surely I don’t have to tell you that.” Riley had gone back to chopping lettuce, like their conversation wasn’t sending shockwaves through Landry.
He means: surely, your brothers explained that to you. Not that you personally are…well…fluid.
But maybe he was. More than he’d ever imagined he was.
“Logan and Levi are lesson the fluid side of things,” Landry explained.
“Ah yes, your brothers. The ones who would’ve apparently found me irresistible.” Riley grinned.
They wouldn’t be the only ones.
Landry flushed. The way Riley was looking at him with those gorgeous eyes, like he could see right through him, down to the place where he was questioning everything, and unlike Landry, it was like he knew exactly what all this meant.
Even if he couldn’t possibly.
“Don’t tell me that isn’t normal for you,” Landry said, trying to equal Riley’s casual approach to the subject of just how fucking hot he was.
But Riley just shrugged. “Don’t tell me you wouldn’t love it if, every once in a while, people saw you as more than a pair of pecs and a head of blond hair? I kinda liked it better when I was that scrawny kid nobody paid attention to.”
Even if Landry ignored how he looked, giving his looks the barest attention in the mirror every morning, he knew people still watched him. Approached him. Felt like they deserved a piece of him.
“Yeah, I get that,” Landry said quietly.
Now, suddenly, it was hard to see Riley as just his abs and his biceps and those dreamy eyes.
About the Author
A lifelong Pacific Northwester, Beth Bolden has just recently moved to North Carolina with her supportive husband. Beth still believes in Keeping Portland Weird, and intends to be just as weird in Raleigh.
Beth has been writing practically since she learned the alphabet. Unfortunately, her first foray into novel writing, titled Big Bear with Sparkly Earrings, wasn’t a bestseller, but hope springs eternal. She has published over forty novels and novellas.
Release Blitz, Excerpt & Giveaway: Baxter's Right-Hand Man By Lane Hayes
The Baxter Chronicles, Book 2
The movie star meets his match…
Pierce
Welcome to Hollywood, baby! Perhaps you’ve heard of me. I play Baxter, the adventure-seeking, crime-fighting hero, adored by fans around the world. Nice gig, right? My job has its perks for sure—private jets, a chauffeur, and the best tables at the fanciest restaurants in town. It’s nuts!
Downside—it’s hard to know who you can trust.
But I trust Lorenzo. He’s funny, sweet, and very real.
Look, I’m not in the market for anything serious. Between my greedy brother and the old man who claims we’re related, I’m a little wary, but I could use a friend.
And a sexy distraction.
Lorenzo
What is happening here? Major movie star, Pierce Allen wants me.
Me!
I don’t get it. I’m too fabulous and he’s too famous.
No, wait. He wants something from me, like my help and maybe my body. This should be a no-brainer. However, closing the last chapter on a long-term relationship has left me feeling a little fragile, and the last thing I need is to risk another broken heart.
But I’m too intrigued to walk away. I can play the part of Pierce’s “right-hand man” and keep things light and friendly. No problem.
I’m way too smart to fall for a movie star.
I hope.
Baxter’s Right-Hand Man is a MM, bisexual romance featuring a sexy, slightly egotistical movie star and the adorable diva who brings him back to reality.
“This is weird,” Lorenzo mumbled under his breath.
“Do you want me to leave?”
He shook his head as he gathered some ingredients and set them on the counter. “Don’t be silly. I invited you.”
“Actually, I invited myself when you bragged about this soup.”
Lorenzo chuckled. “That’s true.”
“Can I help?”
“Do you know how to make a salad?”
I cracked my knuckles and made a production of rolling up my sleeves. “Dude. I am hands down the world’s best salad maker. Ever.”
Lorenzo raised a brow. “Here you go…lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, pepitas, avocado. Do you like those ingredients? Wait, before I attempt to feed you, are there any allergies I should know about? I don’t want to accidentally poison you and end up on the news.”
“Everything sounds good, and no allergies,” I declared, picking up the cucumber and smacking it on my palm.
“No playing with the cucumber, sicko. Here’s a bowl. Knock yourself out.”
I studied the lettuce and frowned. Tear or cut? Cut…probably. I reached for the knife he’d left on the cutting board and tried to decide where to start chopping—middle or end?
“Am I supposed to wash this first?”
“I did that already. But you do need to wash your hands.”
Right. I obeyed and spent more time than necessary drying them methodically as I peeked over his shoulder to watch him stir meatballs into broth.
“Smells good,” I commented.
Lorenzo quirked his lips in amusement. “You don’t know how to make a salad, do you?”
“Uh…I just haven’t done it in a while and the last time I did, I opened a bag and called it a day.”
“You can’t fail at this. Just chop everything and throw it into the bowl.” He squeezed my elbow and winked. “I believe in you, Pierce.”
I released a beleaguered sigh. “All right. Here goes nothin’.”
“So…did you happen to see the photo of us with the hunky firefighters on social media?” he asked as if to break an impending silence.
“No. Is it good?”
“Of you? Yes. I’m not sure how I got in the shot. Or how I ended up being called your assistant,” he huffed with mock annoyance.
My grin split my face in half. “Really? You work for me now? I like the sound of that.”
Lorenzo rolled his eyes. “I bet. My friends were freaking out. Don’t worry. I assured them it was the product of a weird confluence of coincidence.”
I let out a low whistle. “Confluence of coincidence. I’m gonna have to look that up. Um…I hate to ask, but do your friends know I’m here?”
He laughed. “No fucking way. First of all, I wasn’t sure you’d show up. Second, they wouldn’t believe me, and third…no offense, but…you’re not my type.”
I gasped and gestured behind me. “I’m gonna need help pulling that dagger from my back. What’s wrong with me?”
“Nothing at all. Your straight quotient is a tad high, though.”
I snorted. “I’m not straight.”
“No, but you probably like classic rock and have a thing for fast cars.”
“Well, yeah. So?”
“That’s…nice.”
I snickered. “By nice you mean…yuck. Right?”
“Don’t be so defensive. To each his own.” Lo smiled and pointed at the mess of lettuce in front of me. “Cut that a little finer.”
“Bossy, bossy,” I grumbled without heat, loving the melodic sound of his laughter.
We worked quietly, side by side, but it wasn’t a soothing form of silence. Not for me anyway. The air crackled with unspoken questions. What was I thinking? Why do I have butterflies? That sort of thing.
Seriously, I was a little dizzy, and my stomach felt wonky. There was nothing wrong with me, other than having a bad case of the stupids. It took a beat for me to recognize the signs for what they were.
I had a fucking crush on this guy.
That was so…weird.
Enter the Giveaway:
To celebrate the release of Baxter's Right-Hand Man, Lane is giving away the Winner's choice of an audiobook or ebook of your choice from her published works!
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About the Author:
Lane Hayes loves a good romance! An avid reader from an early age, she has always been drawn to well-told love story with beautifully written characters. Her debut novel was a 2013 Rainbow Award finalist and subsequent books have received Honorable Mentions, and were winners in the 2016, 2017, 2018-2019, 2020-2021 Rainbow Awards. She loves wine, chocolate and travel (in no particular order). Lane lives in Southern California with her amazing husband in a newly empty nest.
About Lily:
