Holiday Surprise #6
Rick only meant to go to a conference in Vegas, but he ended up with more than he'd bargained for.
Rick loves his son Dennis more than anything, and never regrets that one night with the handsome alpha—Alan. But he does wish that he knew enough about the other man to tell him that he's a father. However, his search is renewed when it's clear just how much their son wants to know his missing parent.
Alan can't stop thinking of the one who got away, but is he ready for a family?
Alan's first major accounting conference came with the unexpected bonus of handsome omega Rick. But even after they've all gone home, he can't get the other man out of his mind. He never thought he had a child from that night though. When he learns about his son, he can't wait to meet him, and to reconnect with the man who'd caught his eye so long ago.
But can one night turn into forever?
Fireworks Flame is an 18K word , non-shifter, M/M, mpreg, omegaverse romance
I finally got around to reading Fireworks Flame, the last entry I had left of Lacey Daize's Holiday Surprise series. Just so good. I expected more 4th of July experience/setting but the "fireworks" in the title have more of a surprise style meaning than heavy on the holiday. That's okay because it still made perfect summer reading and don't get me wrong, the holiday is definitely there just IMO not as prevalent as some of the other holidays in this series.
Here we have Rick and Alan, ships who pass in the night, alpha and omega who are literally drawn together from across a crowded room, and a pairing where timing is everything. The author could have taken the opportunity to create heartbreak and overwhelming drama that can often go with this scenario but instead, no excess dramatic baggage was added to weigh it down. Don't get me wrong, there is some heartache and drama but it's well balanced and heightens the fun and romance of the journey these two find themselves on.
My mpreg author list is still pretty limited so I can't say Daize will remain at the very top of the list but in my experience so far, I gotta give the author that spot. Such a great blend of fun, drama, family, friends, and of course romance makes for a very happy reader. I certainly look forward to checking out more from the author's backlist.
RATING:
Chapter 1 - Rick
~6 Years Ago - June~
Istretched, luxuriating in the feel of hotel sheets. There was nothing quite like waking up on the first day out of town.
It wasn’t exactly a vacation, but I was going to enjoy it nonetheless. It was my first major industry conference as a CPA. Las Vegas this time, instead of a smaller regional conference.
Of course I’d scheduled myself two extra days off work in order to play tourist once the conference was over. But that still didn’t qualify as a vacation.
I rolled over and grabbed my phone off the nightstand. I’d made myself a list of all the sessions I’d signed up for, but still had to find the rooms.
Well, that was what the morning was for: check in and figure out how long it would take me to get around.
I laughed. I was acting like a teenager, just excited to be somewhere new. But I couldn’t help it. I loved my job and four days of information and continuing education seminars meant I could be even better at it.
Everybody, even my parents, had assumed that I’d gone into accounting because it was a safe career. There would always be people who needed help with money, which meant that there would be a job wherever I went.
But the truth of it was that I loved helping others manage their money. Seeing people reach their goals, and knowing that I helped them get there… Well, there was nothing like it.
One advantage of a large conference was that there were sure to be others who were as enthusiastic as myself, and not just in it because of the stability. I couldn’t wait to meet like-minded people and talk with them.
I chuckled. None of that would happen before a shower.
I climbed from the bed and strolled into the bathroom to get the water started. Then I turned to the counter to rummage through my toiletry bag for my soap and shampoo.
Finding what I was looking for, I pulled them free, and caught a glance of myself in the mirror.
I laughed. My red hair was sticking up in all directions in a classic case of bed head. I ran my fingers through it, but it was never so easily tamed.
“Oh well. A shower always fixes it.”
A shower which was calling my name.
Great things were going to happen. I just knew it.
∞∞∞
I’d known the conference was huge, but I’d thoroughly underestimated the logistics of such an event. Even in a hotel that was prepared to handle the nearly ten thousand participants, a crowd of that size meant that some seminars had us all packed in like sardines.
My planning had paid off, and I’d known to book it from the previous session, but as more people crowded in around me I felt just the tiniest bit of claustrophobia.
It was jarring. Tight spaces had never bothered me before, but the jostling as people tried to find seats was disconcerting.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to force the unease away. That was when I smelled it: alpha.
Delicious alpha.
I opened my eyes. Of course I would smell alphas. They were all around. Saying I smelled alpha at the conference was like saying I smelled popcorn in a crowded theater.
But it wasn’t just any alpha. It was a single one, and it called to me.
I took another breath and focused on it. There was no mating drive, nothing indicating that fate was in play. But it was soothing in a way that made me want to curl up next to him—and I could tell by a subtle sharpness that it was definitely a him.
I looked around, but there was no way to figure out which of the couple hundred people in the conference room was the one I was smelling—especially since I was about halfway back so couldn’t see faces.
Another deep breath, and I blew it out slowly.
My claustrophobia was gone. I felt safe just smelling him, and that was enough.
Still, the omega part of me wanted to know who the mystery man was.
∞∞∞
The strange alpha and his delicious scent were like a security blanket that followed me around the conference. Every time I found myself in a seminar that was too crowded for my comfort, all I needed to do was close my eyes and take a deep breath.
He was almost always there, with only a couple times he wasn’t in the same room.
Still, after five days, I hadn’t been able to figure out who he was, and as the conference came to an end I realized that I’d probably never meet the man who’d unknowingly helped me handle the overwhelming nature of the event.
As the farewell luncheon ended I paused by the door for one more look around. But it was all a sea of faces, and no good way to pick one scent from them.
I sighed. Maybe two days of fun would help me put the man from my mind.
∞∞∞
The hotel bar was only moderately crowded, but I guess that was to be expected of a Monday night. Most of the convention-goers had dispersed the night before in order to be back to work.
My own flight was the next morning, and I was satisfied with my break. I’d collected a small mountain of business cards during conversations with other professionals, and had a few people whom I was already looking forward to connecting with later.
I’d done a few touristy things, probably put on a few pounds from the delicious food, and was walking away with ten dollars more than I’d budgeted for gambling.
The only regret: not figuring out who the mystery alpha was.
I held up my hand to catch the bartender’s attention and motioned to my almost-empty beer.
He nodded in understanding, and knowing that the next round was coming I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
I was going home with the continuing education credits my license required. But more than that, I’d learned things that I hoped I’d be able to put to practical use. If even one thing helped my clients, then I would consider it a successful trip.
Another breath for the memories. It was a milestone in my career after all.
My breath caught. The scent—his scent—was back.
My eyes flew open just as the bartender placed my beer in front of me. I handed over the cash for it and a tip, then looked around.
No longer was I trying to find one person in a sea of nameless faces. There were only about forty people there, and I was a man on a mission.
I quickly narrowed the direction I could smell him from. Then I froze.
There he was, with broad shoulders and black hair that begged me to run my fingers through it. He was sitting alone at a table, reading something on his phone.
I studied him for several seconds, and smiled when I didn’t see the glint of a ring on his hand.
Maybe it was reckless to flirt with a man whom I’d never see again, but it felt right.
I took a sip of liquid courage, stood, and made my way to his table.
“Is this seat taken?” I asked.
Lacey DaizeLacey lives in New Mexico with her four critters. She’s a Jill-of-all-trades by day, but loves writing in her spare time. She dabbles in a variety of pairings, but jumped feet-first into the deep end of omegaverse the first time she read it. She loves the play on social expectations and the different ways to express romance.
