New Release-Excerpt & Giveaway: FRACTURED HOPE by Kady Cordova (Hope's Ridge #1)

Fractured Hope
By Kady Cordova

Hope's Ridge, Book 1

Can I really escape hell to find all I’ve ever longed for?

Bodhi

Finding yourself is hard. Finding someone you can truly trust is harder.

I have never known what it was like to have a true home or family, let alone real love.

After almost a year of planning, I finally escaped my abusive ex and ran as far away as I could with just the clothes on my back and a handful of cash. When I arrive in the quaint town of Hope’s Ridge, I’m ready to start over and reclaim my life.

When I painfully crash into Atticus’s life, something about him puts me at ease. I’ve never been one to trust, but now I’m in a situation where I have no choice. He might be what I’ve been longing for my whole life.

Atticus

I love my tight-knit town, my big Greek family, and the life I’ve built. I have a successful garage with my brothers and love my job. I have it good, but every now and then I long for a connection. Someone to chase away the loneliness that’s been creeping in. As my brothers like to point out, I am set in my ways and not one for flings, bar hopping, or one-night stands.

When a beautiful man stumbles into my life, I’m blown away. He’s skittish and afraid, but all I want to do is take care of him.

When Bodhi’s ex starts making threats, danger gets ever closer and threatens everything I hold dear. Can I keep Bodhi safe and prove to him he is worthy of love? Or will he run and take my heart with him?

Fractured Hope is a small-town, hurt/comfort, age-gap MM Romance with a broken boy looking for a safe place, a lonely man longing to find his person, and a family full of love, mischief, and colorful characters ready to step in and protect each other no matter the costs.

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Excerpt

I breathed through the pain and a growing knot of anxiety. It felt like darkness was closing in on me, but I knew what I needed to do. If I didn’t leave now, I wouldn’t ever do it. I’d been slowly preparing for this for a lifetime—or at least, it felt that way. I needed to wait until Derek finished his last drink and passed out for the night. I opened my eyes and watched the sunset through the grimy window above the kitchen sink.

It was now or never.

I slipped into the bathroom as quietly as I could, my socks barely making a noise on the tiles, and carefully pulled on my usual jeans and a black long-sleeved shirt. I had to take the clothes out of the laundry basket because if I had gone into the bedroom or had clean clothes ready, Derek would’ve known something was up. I braced myself as I tried to lift my arm to slip my shirt on and my breath caught. Pain radiated down my right side as my ribs protested the movement. Leaning against the bathroom counter, I was able to carefully pull my shirt over my head and down my arms. I had to maneuver my jeans on with one hand, since my wrist throbbed from my last encounter with Derek.

Once I was dressed, I opened the bathroom door a crack and could just make out Derek passed out in front of the TV, the football game still playing in the background. Opening the bathroom door as slowly as possible, praying it wouldn’t squeak, I tiptoed to the front door. Grabbing my hoodie off the hook, I shot one last glance back to check that the coast was clear and quietly slipped out. The night air was cold on my face, and it pricked my feet through my thick socks as I carefully closed the front door and crept down the steps, then around to the side of the house.

There was an overgrown mess of plants, which had once been a neat hedge along the property line, where I’d been hiding things slowly over the last few months. Recently, I’d added a backpack I’d found in the very back of the closet. Crouching down and breathing through the pain, I quickly moved the branches, dirt, and debris out of the way, then lifted the pack out from under a particularly dense bush. I’d managed to hide some food, money, my driver’s license, a few keepsakes from my long-forgotten childhood, and a change of clothes. I’d also been lucky enough to stash away my favorite pair of canvas sneakers. I grabbed the backpack and shoes before heading to the rear of the house and over the fence into the adjoining woods.

I stopped by the old oak tree where Derek and I had once carved our initials, tracing my fingers over the scarred wood while remembering the day we’d shared. This was back when things were still new, and I didn’t know the truth about the man I’d loved. No more. I rushed to put on my shoes as fast as I could, not really able to tie the laces. I just tucked the ends under the tongue so I wouldn’t trip. Standing carefully, I righted my backpack.

“Goodbye,” I whispered with one final look at our initials on the tree and the house that loomed behind it.

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About the Author

Kady Cordova is a queer author from Australia.

They survive on coffee and chaos. She has always been a hopeless romantic at heart even though they grow a little cynical and sarcastic with age.

Love is love and everyone deserves a happily ever after.

Kady is an advocate for Mental Health, Invisible Illnesses, and Protecting Trans Kids.

Fractured Hope is Kady's debut novel.

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New Release-Excerpt & Giveaway: ICEBREAKER by Blair Brady (Portland Lumberjacks #1)

Icebreaker
By Blair Brady

Portland Lumberjacks, Book 1

Axel Karlsson, a grumpy hockey defenseman in the twilight of an NHL career haunted by scandal and injury, is traded to the Portland Lumberjacks, a startup expansion team. There, he meets Quinn O'Reilly, a sunshiny, brash, talented rookie with a heart of gold.

Despite their differences, Axel and Quinn are drawn to each other, finding unexpected connections amid the pressures they face in trying to make the Lumberjacks contenders.

As they navigate the ups and downs of their relationship, Axel and Quinn find strength and support in their loved ones - Axel's artistic sister Maja and stoic father Sven, Quinn's fiercely protective sister Maggie and lovable best friend Milo.

But the road to happily ever after is never smooth, and Axel and Quinn must confront the ghosts of their pasts and the challenges of their present if they hope to have a future. With the help of their found family on the Lumberjacks and the love they've forged against all odds, they'll learn that even the most battered and bruised hearts can thaw and bloom with the warmth of love and acceptance.

Icebreaker, Book 1 in Portland Lumberjacks, is a mm hockey romance with grumpy/sunshine, first time, and age gap themes, steamy scenes, and a guaranteed happily ever after.

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Excerpt

Of course, I couldn't forget meeting Axel Karlsson face-to-face. I'd read about his career and the spectacular scandal that nearly killed it, but seeing him in person was next level.

His dark brown, almost black, eyes had bored deep into mine. I'd thought Swedes were blonde and blue-eyed like me, but Axel broke the rules. His jet-black hair framed a chiseled face that took my breath away.

He was a true battle-scarred veteran of wars on the ice, and there I was, a wet-behind-the-ears rookie, having the audacity to prank him. I'd kept those pink skates after someone left them behind when I helped little kids learn to figure skate. I knew they'd come in handy someday.

And who would have known my heart would kick into its highest gear, pounding away, when he looked at me? A giddy wave of excitement, nerves, and something else I couldn't name yet crashed over me.

Surely, I had imagined most of it. That electric sizzle when he'd shaken my hand must have been static electricity.

Axel Karlsson was the kind of man to inspire secrets whispered in the corners of the locker room. He'd been up and down, seen it all, and done everything. Now, we were fortunate enough to have him as a leader on our team.

I was merely a rookie, a little audacious, to be sure, but at heart, I was just hoping to find a spot for myself in the big leagues. I wasn't looking for men to…

Damn, I'd always had a brain that ran about three lengths ahead of both the cart and the horse. How could I even think Axel might have looked at me that way?

It hadn't been possible, and to think that he might have was only setting myself up for major heartbreak down the road. I had to nip that silly crush in the bud…and fast.

According to my college literature buddies, that was always much easier said than done. I couldn't stop replaying the moment when Axel's lips almost curled into a genuine smile.

His eyes did linger on me a little longer than usual, too. I wasn't making that up.

With a heavy groan, I raised a hand and raked my fingers through my hair. I needed to find a distraction, something to take my mind off Mr. Tall, Dark, and Adorably Grumpy.

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About the Author:

Blair Brady loves cooking, gardening, traveling, and hot and steamy romances...with a caramel latte on the side.

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Review, Excerpt, & Giveaway: WE COULD DO THIS TONIGHT by Emerson Beckett (We Could Do This Duet #2)

We Could Do This Tonight
By Emerson Beckett

We Could Do This Duet, Book 2

How do I choose which heart to break? No matter who I choose, I'm going to be the loser.

Alejandro

Three years ago, Ben walked into my Portland bar and stole my heart with one look. It didn’t matter that I’m 21 years older than him. All he wants is me.

Benjamin’s beautiful smile and endless charm attract everyone he meets, including my 20-year-old daughter, Anna.

No one knows about all the things he and I have done together. And I’ve made sure to keep it from her.

My carefully constructed life built upon rules and my duty to my family is about to crumble before my eyes because she and I want the same thing—Ben.

In the end, keeping us a secret may cost me both of them. I’m in an impossible love triangle that, no matter which one I choose, I’m going to lose.

And when someone attacks my bar via social media, it’s all I can take.

So, which do I choose? Anna’s happiness? Or a life with Ben?

Ben

I knew I loved Alejandro Sanchez the moment our eyes met across the bar. There was something about the single dad and bar owner that I couldn’t get enough of.

After three long years, he’s finally okay with us. But when he refuses to tell Anna about us, I take matters into my own hands.

I’ll do whatever needs to be done to keep him in my life, even if it means accepting a date with Anna.

We Could Do This Tonight is an age gap, single dad, boss/employee love triangle romance and the second book in the We Could Do This Duet. It is the tenth book set in the Package Deal World with reoccurring characters from the original series. It is best enjoyed after reading We Could Do This Forever.

Note to the reader: If you have not read the Package Deal Series, you might find it beneficial to start there and refer to the reading order for the PD World within the books. All the books are available through Kindle Unlimited.

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Excerpt

When the countdown to midnight started, I stepped back and leaned against the bar. Telling myself I was checking to make sure everyone had champagne, my eyes drank in Alejandro as he stood protectively over his daughter and ex-wife.

When the shouts of Happy New Year began, I turned my gaze from him. But before I could get away completely, I looked up to see him glance at me before he kissed his daughter. When he leaned down to his ex-wife, I turned my body toward the TV on the opposite wall.

Maybe next year things would be different. I didn’t know if he was interested in me, or just enjoyed the flirting we were doing. Snapping myself out of this silly funk, I put a smile on my face and went back to work.

Around one-thirty, we had almost everything cleaned up for when we closed at two a.m. Nick had just left, even though it was my night to close. He’d stayed to help me put up the chairs before heading out. When the bar was empty, I locked up behind him, then carried the last bus tray of dirty glasses to the kitchen.

I picked up the sanitized ones from the dishwasher and headed back out to restock for the next day. Alejandro had come out of his office and began turning off the lights. Every time he extinguished one, my heartbeat increased. One by one, the lights around the room went out until only the recessed lighting around the bar remained.

The volume on the sound system had been turned down low, but helped to fill the void when everyone had gone home. Adding to the ambiance, the light shining down on the sparkling glassware and the amber colored contents of the glass bottles created the illusion of flickering candles. It was romantic as hell and fed my desire for him.

Lost in my fantasies, I didn’t notice when he walked behind the bar. Alejandro stood beside me, shoulder to shoulder, as I restocked the glasses. I could see him in my peripheral vision and felt the warmth of his body radiating toward mine. His biceps were straining his shirt and his expensive cologne intoxicated me further every time he stirred the air around us.

I breathed in the woodsy scent as he reached over to hand them to me, one at a time, making me smile and slowing me down. “You don’t have to help. I can do this.”

“I know,” he said quietly, “but I wanted to. And I needed to check on you.”

Turning my head to look at him, my brow furrowed. One look at him in this dim lighting made my heart beat a little faster. “Why?”

Alejandro turned to his side to face me, then folded his muscled arms over his chest. “You looked a little sad earlier. Thought you might be missing your family.”

I wanted to laugh and tell him my family was not what I was thinking about.

I wasn’t missing them.

I’d been imagining what it would be like to kiss him.

Carra's Review

After enjoying Nick and Preston’s story in We Could Do This Forever, my interest was piqued for the bar owner, Alejandro.  The beginning of this second story of the duet did a good job of capturing my attention with how Ben and Alejandro initially meet, but did have me wondering exactly how that was going to translate into a full novel.

The answer?  A very long, mostly slow burn eventual friends with benefits situation that continues to be drawn out for a large portion of the book.  Included in that was some speculative angst regarding Alejandro’s daughter and Ben, which honestly I could have done without (even once a bit of explaining around this occurs near the end).  

Ben and Alejandro’s continued clandestine trysts, while hot and sexy, did becoming frustrating primarily because it felt like Alejandro wasn’t understanding Ben’s feelings for him no matter how clear they were to everyone else (including us readers).  

While I was glad things do work out in the end, the drawn out frustrations that carried most of the story did wear on my patience. The injection of an outside stressor into the story in the last quarter or so of the book also seemed to have been added as another way to up the drama, but to me it would have felt more natural coming earlier in the story with more buildup along the way.

I did really like Ben and Alejandro as individuals and thought they were great together, so We Could Do This Tonight was a 3.5-star read for me—the stars knocked off mostly because I thought the issues Alejandro had were more drawn out than necessary.  I would recommend you read the first book of the duet (We Could Do This Forever) first just to have some background into the supporting characters and the setting as it will enhance your enjoyment of this story.

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Check out the first book in the We Could Do This Duet:
We Could Do This Forever

We Could Do This Duet, Book 1

Preston James did things to me. Things that had me wanting more of him and his dirty mouth, even though I knew better. Things that made my heart race. Things that made me come to realize there was more to my boss’s best friend than met the eye.

Nick Reed

As one of the bartenders at Alejandro’s Bar, I’ve seen it all. I’ve even watched my friends, Christian and Cooper, both find the loves of their life. Six years after breaking up with my college boyfriend, I’m convinced that’s not the life I’m supposed to have until forty-five-year-old Preston James makes me the target of his relentless sexy stares and his straight-forward, dirty propositions.

Maybe being the object of his desire wouldn’t be so bad.

Preston James

The first time I laid eyes on Nicholas Reed, I knew I had to have him. There was something about my best friend’s bartender that captivated me. And I always got my way. But this twenty-eight-year-old grad student has me jumping through all kinds of hoops to get his attention. There’s nothing I won’t do to prove to him I’m exactly what he needs. I’m relentless like that and I won’t stop until he’s mine.

We Could Do This Forever is the first book in the We Could Do This Duet and is an MM Bisexual Romance. Additional tropes: Age Gap; Mutual Pining; Boss’s Best Friend; Secretly Wealthy; Humor.

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Emerson Beckett:

Emerson Beckett is an avid sports fan and lover of M/M romance books, Emerson loves her new career as an author. It gets even better when she can combine the two. Emerson is the co-author of The Package Deal Series and The Portland Protectors: EHM Security Series with Rheland Richmond. The We Could Do This Duet is her first solo project.

Emerson lives in North Carolina and has been married to the same man for 34 years. She is the mother of three beautiful adults, one of whom is completely responsible for her addiction to MM Romance.

Emerson is now mom to an Australian Shepherd, four cats, and a cute bunny rabbit.

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New Release-Excerpt & Giveaway: FALLING FOR RAINE by Lane Hayes

Falling For Raine
By Lane Hayes

The gentleman, the hot mess, and a little British adventure…

Raine

Moving to London is scary and daunting, but I desperately need this job–and a redo. Okay, so I may have oversold my qualifications. That shouldn’t be a big deal, though. I mean, being an assistant’s assistant seems easy enough, and I’m a fast learner.

Hold up!

I’m already in over my head with spreadsheets, new pronunciations, and temperamental appliances. And just as I’m mentally preparing to face going home early, the big boss offers me an opportunity I can’t refuse. And I definitely should because Graham Horsham is an infuriating, complicated grumpy bear with a razor-sharp tongue, a wickedly dry sense of humor, and…I like him far too much.

Graham

I’ve been bamboozled. I’m not quite sure how I ended up with an assistant who spills coffee daily, wears wrinkled shirts, and chatters nonstop. He can’t stay, but I don’t want him to go and that’s madness. The Horsham Group is closing one of our biggest deals ever and I won’t jeopardize it. This one is personal.

Yet so is Raine. 

He’s a breath of fresh air—silly, impetuous, lighthearted, good-natured, and…quite lovely. I like him more than I want to admit. For some reason, I can let my guard down with him. It’s unnerving and probably unprofessional.

But not to worry…I will not, under any circumstances, fall for Raine.

Falling for Raine is an MM, age-gap romance featuring a British gentleman, a desperate but adorable American, and a UK adventure!

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Excerpt

What in the hell was going on? It was as though I’d entered an alternative universe. Everything looked the same, but it was different.

Of course it was Raine.

I studied him shaking hands with everyone in the shop as I shrugged on my jacket. He was…hypnotic, addicting—a cross between an inappropriate dinner party guest and a fistful of forbidden sweets when you were on a diet. He didn’t fit in this world I’d carefully constructed, yet I kept inviting him in and forgetting whatever reason I’d concocted for this to make sense.

Like now.

“Perhaps you’d like to try something on.” I stuffed my hands into my pockets so I wouldn’t be tempted to touch him.

He widened his eyes and sidled close, whispering under his breath, “Are you nuts? One shirt here costs half my rent. Unless…oh, no. Oh, no, no, no!”

“What?” I demanded, pulling him with me outside.

“Are you going daddy on me?”

“Excuse me?” I furrowed my brow, stopping under the eaves where rain sluiced off the roof and fell like a curtain around us on two sides.

“Slow your roll, G, I’m not looking for a meal ticket, and I’m not taking hand-outs. I can be talked into bedroom daddy kink, but if you want me to call you Daddy—”

“Oh, for f*ck’s sake, you daft man. I do not want you to call me Daddy,” I growled just as a well-dressed man stepped onto the mat next to me, pausing for a moment to close his umbrella and dart a quick look between us.

Raine pursed his lips, then burst into laughter when the man entered the shop. “Ha! You should see your face. I was kidding.”

“You’re ridiculous,” I huffed, my lips twitching.

“I’ll be good, Daddy. Don’t spank me.”

“Don’t test me.” I pretended not to notice him fanning himself with a slack-jawed expression as I gestured toward the pub on the next block. “If we stay under the eaves, we’ll stay dry, but we’ll have to hurry.”

“No need. I bet they sell umbrellas in there.”

I squinted at the tourist shop at the corner on the opposite side of the street, its windows papered with Union Jack memorabilia. “That’s crap, Ray-n.”

“So what? It’s fun crap. My treat.”

He sprinted into the deluge, dashing into the tourist shop while I stared after him. What was he doing? Now he’d be wet and stuck with a tatty tourist umbrella that would undoubtedly flip inside out at the first gust of wind.

A crack of thunder spurred me into action. I borrowed a sturdy umbrella from Ives and Harris with the promise to return it as soon as possible, then walked down the street to find Raine.

I shouldn’t have been surprised that he’d managed to make a friend in under five minutes. He stood in front of a wall stuffed with tartan throws, holding two compact umbrellas and chatting up a salesman. It took a bit of persuading to convince him he didn’t need the blanket—however, I couldn’t talk him out of purchasing two Union Jack umbrellas. I warned him that they were poorly made, but he didn’t care.

We squabbled all the way to the pub, argued over what to order, who was paying, and where to sit before finally settling into a table for two at the window. I frowned when he beamed a sunshine smile my way.

“Stop being so happy,” I teased, cradling my glass. “It’s miserable out there.”

“But it’s warm and yummy in here,” he countered, sliding his calf along mine under the table. “And you’re cute when you’re cranky.”

“I am neither cute nor cranky. I’m—okay, never mind, I am cranky. If we’d come straight here, we could have avoided the queue and had that corner booth.” I pointed at the booth currently inhabited by a gaggle of noisy businessmen. “Do you ever listen to reason?”

“Have you met me?”

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To celebrate the release of Falling For Raine, 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. She loves wine, chocolate and travel (in no particular order). Lane lives in Southern California with her amazing husband and her fabulous pup, George.

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New Release-Excerpt & Giveaway: THE LONG JOURNEY TO YOU by Vincent Traughber Meis

The Long Journey to You

by Vincent Traughber Meis

Publisher: Spectrum Books

Cover Artist: Vincent Meis and Andrew May

Release Date: February 17, 2024

Genre: Contemporary M/M Romance, Literary Fiction

Tropes: Age-gap relationship, friends to lovers

Themes: Survival, overcoming tragedy

Heat Rating: 3 flames       

Length:  97 000 words/350 pages

It can be read as a standalone, but the protagonist also appears in my novel, The Mayor of Oak Street (ages 12-21). The main story of this book takes place 40 years later and we find out what happened to him in flashbacks. 

It does not end on a cliffhanger.

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Nathan’s traumatic past challenges but cannot stop the arc that brings him to Mateo.

Blurb

Nathan doesn’t know how to stop dwelling on the failures and tragedies that have plagued him since he was a twenty-one-year-old happily in the arms of the handsome young doctor he had pined for since he was twelve. Many years later after the latest tragedy, who could mend Nathan’s heart? If not a handsome young doctor, would an ER nurse do? After a chance meeting with Mateo, a lot of Nathan’s reminiscing is now devoted to how that encounter made him feel. Will he seize the day or continue wallowing in the past, having lunch with his best girlfriend from high school, and writing poetry?

Excerpt

“Are you okay?” he asked in a slight Spanish accent. His questioning eyes moved directly to the stain on my T-shirt where the juicy tomato from my lunch had squirted. Looking like blood?

I became acutely aware of my attire: baggy sweats that may have had other stains, a baseball cap with a tattered rim, and faded crocs. He wore neat magenta scrubs that matched the color of his full shiny lips. His nametag said Mateo.

The scenario must have been embarrassingly clear to him. I had wandered off from one of the many senior facilities that dotted the landscape of the neighborhood. If I exaggerated the confusion that I, in fact, frequently felt, he might take my arm, walk me back to the facility, put me in a bath, gently wash my back, and tuck me into bed. The more I looked into his onyx eyes, the more I wanted him to do just that.

“I mean, you looked a little lost…and sad.”

“Don’t worry, Mateo.” His eyebrows separated and bounced at the sound of his name. Then he smiled and touched his nametag, realizing how I knew it. “I’m lost in a memory is all.” I chuckled. “I suppose I do fit a profile.”

“You’re okay, then?”

“Yep.”

“My bad. I didn’t mean to profile you. I have experience with that, and it’s no fun.”

I imagined that he was doubly profiled, first for the color of his skin and then a second time when people caught a hint of his accent. 

“No harm done. I appreciate your concern.”

“It’s kind of my job. Sometimes it is difficult to switch out of that mode when I leave work.” He lowered his eyes, making me realize I must have been staring intently. How could I have not? He was an amalgam of all the men I had been attracted to my entire life: Mediterranean, Black, Latino, shorter than me, rectangular solid frame, soulful eyes, thick hair. But with an added twist. A dusting of freckles graced his cheekbones and the bridge of his nose. 

In a thoughtful gesture, he stared at the sidewalk and raised his hand to his chin, rubbing his index finger over his left cheek, revealing another physical trait that rang my buzzer: little tufts of black hair between his major and minor knuckles, a tiny forest to let my tongue wander through. 

Thank God, he couldn’t read my thoughts. Or could he?

“I should let you get on your way,” he mumbled, still not looking at me. He stared at the smashed apricots on the ground with, I imagined, quite a different take than mine.

I wasn’t ready to let him go just yet. 

“Do you work in one of these facilities I might have escaped from?”

“Now, look, I didn’t mean…” He took a step back in what appeared to be a desire to flee.

“I’m teasing. I haven’t seen you around the neighborhood.”

He tapped his nametag and twisted his neck to look at it. “Kaiser. It says right here. Kaiser Permanente.”

“I have trouble reading fine print.” I let out a small laugh, but he didn’t join me. 

He took another step back. “Just moved here less than a year ago.”

I guessed he was mid-thirties, and with his Spanish accent and African features, maybe Puerto Rican? Cuban? I imagined he lived with a wife and multiple niños. They spent Saturdays having barbecues in the park and Sundays from dawn to dusk at church events. He looked far too sweet to be anything but a family man. Now I was profiling.

“From?” I asked.

He let out a protracted sigh, as if the conversation had gotten way more involved than he had intended. His forehead crinkled again, hesitating to give me an answer. 

“The city. Getting too crazy over there.” 

Then he raised his head and his eyes met mine with the twinkle of a forest elf. Perhaps he wasn’t annoyed with me after all. Perhaps I had been wrong about sizing him up, though my conclusion that he was a family man was much easier to handle. Yet, he wore no ring.

About the Author

Vincent Traughber Meis is a fiction writer, a world traveler, and a former ESL community college teacher. When he’s not traveling, he divides his time between writing and working in the garden. Most of the characters in his novels and short stories come from across the LGBTQ+ spectrum and are racially and ethnically diverse. He has published eight novels: Eddie’s Desert Rose, Tio Jorge, Down in Cuba, Deluge, Four Calling Burds and The Mayor of Oak Street, First Born Sons, and Colton’s Terrible Wonderful Year. Tio Jorge, Down in Cuba, and Deluge have all won Rainbow Awards. The Mayor of Oak Street and First Born Sons have won Reader Views Reviewer’s Choice Awards. His short stories have appeared in several collections both in print and online, and have reached finalist status in several short story contests. A collection of short stories, Far from Home, was published in October 2021. He lives with his husband in San Leandro, California and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

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one of four 4 ebook copies of The Mayor of Oak Street.

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New Release-Excerpt & Giveaway: WE COULD DO THIS TONIGHT by Emerson Beckett (We Could Do This Duet #2)

We Could Do This Tonight
By Emerson Beckett

We Could Do This Duet, Book 2

How do I choose which heart to break? No matter who I choose, I'm going to be the loser.

Alejandro

Three years ago, Ben walked into my Portland bar and stole my heart with one look. It didn’t matter that I’m 21 years older than him. All he wants is me.

Benjamin’s beautiful smile and endless charm attract everyone he meets, including my 20-year-old daughter, Anna.

No one knows about all the things he and I have done together. And I’ve made sure to keep it from her.

My carefully constructed life built upon rules and my duty to my family is about to crumble before my eyes because she and I want the same thing—Ben.

In the end, keeping us a secret may cost me both of them. I’m in an impossible love triangle that, no matter which one I choose, I’m going to lose.

And when someone attacks my bar via social media, it’s all I can take.

So, which do I choose? Anna’s happiness? Or a life with Ben?

Ben

I knew I loved Alejandro Sanchez the moment our eyes met across the bar. There was something about the single dad and bar owner that I couldn’t get enough of.

After three long years, he’s finally okay with us. But when he refuses to tell Anna about us, I take matters into my own hands.

I’ll do whatever needs to be done to keep him in my life, even if it means accepting a date with Anna.

We Could Do This Tonight is an age gap, single dad, boss/employee love triangle romance and the second book in the We Could Do This Duet. It is the tenth book set in the Package Deal World with reoccurring characters from the original series. It is best enjoyed after reading We Could Do This Forever.

Note to the reader: If you have not read the Package Deal Series, you might find it beneficial to start there and refer to the reading order for the PD World within the books. All the books are available through Kindle Unlimited.

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Excerpt

When the countdown to midnight started, I stepped back and leaned against the bar. Telling myself I was checking to make sure everyone had champagne, my eyes drank in Alejandro as he stood protectively over his daughter and ex-wife.

When the shouts of Happy New Year began, I turned my gaze from him. But before I could get away completely, I looked up to see him glance at me before he kissed his daughter. When he leaned down to his ex-wife, I turned my body toward the TV on the opposite wall.

Maybe next year things would be different. I didn’t know if he was interested in me, or just enjoyed the flirting we were doing. Snapping myself out of this silly funk, I put a smile on my face and went back to work.

Around one-thirty, we had almost everything cleaned up for when we closed at two a.m. Nick had just left, even though it was my night to close. He’d stayed to help me put up the chairs before heading out. When the bar was empty, I locked up behind him, then carried the last bus tray of dirty glasses to the kitchen.

I picked up the sanitized ones from the dishwasher and headed back out to restock for the next day. Alejandro had come out of his office and began turning off the lights. Every time he extinguished one, my heartbeat increased. One by one, the lights around the room went out until only the recessed lighting around the bar remained.

The volume on the sound system had been turned down low, but helped to fill the void when everyone had gone home. Adding to the ambiance, the light shining down on the sparkling glassware and the amber colored contents of the glass bottles created the illusion of flickering candles. It was romantic as hell and fed my desire for him.

Lost in my fantasies, I didn’t notice when he walked behind the bar. Alejandro stood beside me, shoulder to shoulder, as I restocked the glasses. I could see him in my peripheral vision and felt the warmth of his body radiating toward mine. His biceps were straining his shirt and his expensive cologne intoxicated me further every time he stirred the air around us.

I breathed in the woodsy scent as he reached over to hand them to me, one at a time, making me smile and slowing me down. “You don’t have to help. I can do this.”

“I know,” he said quietly, “but I wanted to. And I needed to check on you.”

Turning my head to look at him, my brow furrowed. One look at him in this dim lighting made my heart beat a little faster. “Why?”

Alejandro turned to his side to face me, then folded his muscled arms over his chest. “You looked a little sad earlier. Thought you might be missing your family.”

I wanted to laugh and tell him my family was not what I was thinking about.

I wasn’t missing them.

I’d been imagining what it would be like to kiss him.

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Enter the Giveaway:

To celebrate the release of We Could Do This Tonight, Emerson is giving away an e-set of the We Could Do This Duet!

Enter the Rafflecopter giveaway for your chance to win!

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Check out the first book in the We Could Do This Duet:
We Could Do This Forever

We Could Do This Duet, Book 1

Preston James did things to me. Things that had me wanting more of him and his dirty mouth, even though I knew better. Things that made my heart race. Things that made me come to realize there was more to my boss’s best friend than met the eye.

Nick Reed

As one of the bartenders at Alejandro’s Bar, I’ve seen it all. I’ve even watched my friends, Christian and Cooper, both find the loves of their life. Six years after breaking up with my college boyfriend, I’m convinced that’s not the life I’m supposed to have until forty-five-year-old Preston James makes me the target of his relentless sexy stares and his straight-forward, dirty propositions.

Maybe being the object of his desire wouldn’t be so bad.

Preston James

The first time I laid eyes on Nicholas Reed, I knew I had to have him. There was something about my best friend’s bartender that captivated me. And I always got my way. But this twenty-eight-year-old grad student has me jumping through all kinds of hoops to get his attention. There’s nothing I won’t do to prove to him I’m exactly what he needs. I’m relentless like that and I won’t stop until he’s mine.

We Could Do This Forever is the first book in the We Could Do This Duet and is an MM Bisexual Romance. Additional tropes: Age Gap; Mutual Pining; Boss’s Best Friend; Secretly Wealthy; Humor.

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About the Author

Emerson Beckett is an avid sports fan and lover of M/M romance books, Emerson loves her new career as an author. It gets even better when she can combine the two. Emerson is the co-author of The Package Deal Series and The Portland Protectors: EHM Security Series with Rheland Richmond. The We Could Do This Duet is her first solo project.

Emerson lives in North Carolina and has been married to the same man for 34 years. She is the mother of three beautiful adults, one of whom is completely responsible for her addiction to MM Romance.

Emerson is now mom to an Australian Shepherd, four cats, and a cute bunny rabbit.

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