Monday's Mysterious Mayhem: So This is Christmas by Josh Lanyon

Summary:
God Help You Merry Gentlemen…

Arriving home early after spending Christmas in jolly old England, sometimes amateur sleuth Adrien English discovers alarming developments at Cloak and Dagger Books--and an old acquaintance seeking help in finding his missing boyfriend.

Fortunately, Adrien just happens to know a really good private eye…

Current Re-Read Review 2020:

I will never have enough of Adrien English and Jake Riordan.  I know their push and pull relationship and Jake's alpha male attitude isn't for everyone and there are more times than not that I want to smack him but honestly his feelings for Adrien were never in doubt in my mind, even when he fought them you good feel them resonating off the page.  In So This is Christmas, we get to see them, well I won't say "settled down" but in a place of steady homebodies, or at least as much that makes them happy😉😉.  Maybe it's just my love of these two but I have a feeling So This is Christmas will become my The Thin Man of holiday reading(BTW: The Thin Man with William Powell and Myrna Loy is an absolute viewing must in my house at Christmas).

Overall Series Audiobook Review August 2019:
Adrien with an "e", what can I say that I haven't already said?  Nothing really because I absolutely adore Adrien and Jake.  Yes, there are multiple times I want to whack Jake upside the head but he's learning, albeit slowly sometimes but still learning.  There's heartbreak, there's joy, there's murder, and well there's plenty of love(even if it takes Jake a little longer to accept).

All but the final Christmas novella is narrated by Chris Patton and his voice is perfect for these two.  I couldn't imagine listening to anyone else bring life to the pair but then when I listened to So This is Christmas, read by Kale Williams, he too is . . . well for the lack of a better word(and not to sound redundant😉) . . . brilliant.  Obviously there is a difference between the two narrators but since Adrien and Jake are settled, or as settled as they can be considering Adrien's knack for stumbling into mayhem, which changes people and so the difference in narrators kind of reflects that I thought.  So I say spot on to all involved bringing Adrien English and Jake Riordan to life.

Original Review December 2016:

I hate to say the words "what a great ending to a fantastical series" because I dread the idea of it being the end.  Whether this new Christmas novella is an end or not, it is still great and I am already looking forward to re-reading this one for many holidays to come(and all other series long re-reads).  There may not be the relationship drama that has often followed Adrien and Jake in So This is Christmas but that alone shows how far the couple has come as well as the growth they've experienced as individuals.  Of course, that's not saying the bantering between the boys is non-existent because you can't have Adrien and Jake without at least some of the back-and-forth they are known for.  This is just an an all around great addition to the series(end or not) and to my Christmas library.

RATING:

Chapter One

“You don’t remember me, do you?” 

I looked up from the latest love note sent by the California State Franchise Tax Board and offered what I hoped was a pleasant smile. Between the taxes, the jetlag, and the unwelcome discovery that my soon-to-be-demoted store-manager stepsister was using the flat above Cloak and Dagger Books as some kind of love shack, pleasant was about the most I could manage. 

Medium height. Blond. Boyish. As I stared into an eerily familiar pair of green eyes, recognition washed over me. Recognition and astonishment. 

“Kevin? Kevin O’Reilly?” I came around the mahogany front desk that served as my sales counter to give him a… well, probably a hail-fellow-well-met sort of hug, but Kevin didn’t move. He grinned widely, nodded, and then— unexpectedly— his face twisted like he was about to burst into tears. 

“Adrien English. It’s really you.” His voice wobbled. 

“Hey,” I said. I was responding to the wobble. My tone was a cross between warm and bracing. Alarmed, in other words. 

Kevin recovered at once. “It’s only… I figured it couldn’t be the right store. Or if it was, you’d have sold the business and moved to Florida.” 

“Moved to Florida?” Did anybody move from Southern California to Florida? Did Kevin remember me as an elderly Jewish retiree? No. Kevin was just talking, mouth moving while he stared at me with those forlorn eyes. Trying to make his mind up. 

About what? 

He looked… older, of course. Who didn’t? And thinner. And tired. He looked unhappy. There was a surprising amount of that during the holidays. And even more after Christmas. Which is what this was. The day after Christmas. 

Boxing Day, if we had stayed in London. 

Which we hadn’t. 

“Wow. This really is a surprise,” I said. “Is it a coincidence? Or were you actually looking for me?” 

“Yes.” Kevin hesitated. “No.” 

I laughed. “Good answer.” 

Kevin opened his mouth but changed his mind at the thump of footsteps pounding down the staircase to our left. 

Natalie, my previously mentioned stepsis and soon-to-be-demoted store manager, appeared, looking uncharacteristically disheveled— though I’ve been duly informed that smudged eye makeup and “bed head” is a real thing and supposedly sexy. Angus, my other business investment mistake, was on her heels. Right on her heels. In fact, they nearly crashed down the staircase in their hurry to stop me from whatever they thought I was about to do. 

“Adrien, it’s not what you think!” Natalie clutched the banister as Angus lurched past her.

Why do people always say that? 

I spluttered, “Seriously? Really? Are you kidding me, Nat?” Angus, having avoided knocking Natalie down, promptly tripped over Tomkins, the beige alley cat I’d rescued six months earlier. The cat was apparently also fleeing my wrath, though he’d been the only innocent party at that… party. 

I held my breath as Angus managed to hurdle the last three steps and deliver a barely qualifying 12.92 landing on the ground floor. 

I glared at him. “And you. You stay out of my sight.” 

He shrank inside his gray hoodie like a retiring monk, which he was demonstrably not. Note to self: next time hire a headless monk. 

“I’m fired?” he gulped. 

Natalie gasped. “

Hell no, you’re not fired. In the middle of the holidays? Wait. Maybe you are fired. I have to think about it. Meantime maybe you could bring yourself to reshelve the week’s worth of books sitting on this cart?” 

Angus leaped to obey. 

“It’s not a week’s worth,” Natalie said with a show of defiance. “You haven’t been gone a week. That’s two days’ worth, and we didn’t have time to reshelve because we were busy selling books.” 

“And you were busy not selling books. But we’ll discuss it later.” 

“Fine. Okay. Yes, Mr. Scrooge, we did take Christmas off.” 

“And other things too, it seems, but like I said, we’ll discuss later. Right now we have customers.” 

She looked at Kevin.

“Not him.”

“Where?” she demanded, mutiny in her blue eyes. Flecks of green glitter dusted her model-like cheekbones. 

Right on cue, the bells on the door chimed in silvery welcome, and I had to smother a grin at her irate expression as a pair of elderly, male professorial types wandered in, each clutching what looked ominously like bags of books for return. 

“Want to grab a cup of coffee?” I asked Kevin, who had observed the last three minutes in astonished silence. 

“Sure,” Kevin said. 

“We’ll let these two get their story straight before I cross-examine them.” 

“Oh, so funny,” Natalie muttered. 

I did laugh then, although she was right. It wasn’t funny, and Natalie + Angus was an unexpected and unwelcome equation both in the work place and every other place I could think of. Which is why it seemed like a good idea to step away before I said things I might regret. 

Plus I desperately needed caffeine. To add to their other offenses, Natalie and Angus had pinched every last coffee bean in the building. I’d had to choose between coffee and nine more minutes with Jake that morning. Which went predictably. My gaze veered automatically to the clock on the faux fireplace mantel. Jake ought to be walking into his meeting about now. He’d headed out to meet a client as I’d left for the bookstore. We were hoping to rendezvous for lunch— and just the idea of that, of being able to casually meet Jake for lunch, instantly warmed me. 

We left Natalie distractedly greeting customers, and I led the way out of the store into the damp, chilly Monday morning. The smell of last night’s rain mingled with street smells. The gutters brimmed with oily water, and the street was black and slick. The fake evergreen garland and tinsel-fringed boulevard banners looked woebegone and windblown— like they’d gone to bed without taking their makeup off. 

All the same, it felt weirdly festive. Like the dark side of Christmas.

“Is it always like that?” Kevin asked as we jogged across the already busy intersection. 

“More or less. I prefer less.” I threw him a sideways smile. His brows drew together. “You haven’t changed at all.” 

“Now there you’re wrong.” 

“No, but I mean you look exactly the same. You look great.” 

“Thanks. It’s the Wheaties.” And the successful heart surgery. Being happy probably didn’t hurt either. I pointed down the street at the blue and white umbrellas crowding the sidewalk in front of the indie coffeehouse, and we veered from the crosswalk and hopped the brimming gutter, just missing getting splashed— or worse— by a Mercedes who didn’t notice the crosswalk or us. 

I said, “How long has it been? Three years?” 

“About. It feels like thirteen.” He looked like it had been thirteen. There were shadows beneath his eyes and lines in his face even though he couldn’t be much more than twenty-eight. Out of college and doing archeology for a living? Could you make a living doing archeology? 

Probably as easily as you could selling books for a living. 

“So how’ve you been?” I prodded his sudden and complete silence. “How was your holiday?” 

His face twisted again. “If you’d asked me last week—” 

We’d reached the coffeehouse. I held the short, wrought-iron gate for Kevin, and as we reached the glass door entrance I gave him an encouraging shoulder squeeze— hold-that-thought! The life-affirming fragrance of hot coffee and baked goods wafted out. 

“Find us a table.” I headed for the mercifully short line. “What do you want?” 

“I don’t care,” he said. “A tall, pumpkin spice latte with caramel drizzle and no foam.” 

Uh-huh, as the philosophers say. 

“Got it.” 

I placed our orders and eventually located Kevin at a tiny table behind a large potted tree festooned with red bows and white fairy lights. He had his head in his hands, which is never a good sign in someone you’re planning to have coffee with. 

I pulled out the chair across from him. “Something tells me this is about more than not getting a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas. Why don’t you tell me what’s going on?” 

The words came out muffled behind his hands. “I don’t know where to start.” 

I sighed mentally. I’m all for extra helpings of comfort and joy this time of year, but I was more than a bit sleep deprived, and I was worried about the situation with Natalie and Angus. Still. 

“Start at the beginning. What are you doing in my neck of the woods? Are you visiting family?” 

“No. My family’s all up north.” He raised his head and took a deep breath. “I’m looking for someone.” 

“Who?” 

“Ivor. I’ve checked the hospitals, the morgue. The police won’t help because his family won’t report him missing and he’s an adult. They say he’s got a right to disappear if he wants.” 

“I’m sorry,” I interrupted. “Ivor is…?” 

“Missing.” 

“Right. I mean, who or what is Ivor to you?” 

“He’s my boyfriend.” 

“Oh, that’s great!” Possibly I sounded overly enthused, but as I recalled, Jake had not taken kindly to Kevin’s, er, boyish interest in me. Or mine in him. Not that I’d ever really been interested in Kevin.

Anyway, it was all a long time ago. 

“Yes. It was. Is. And that’s why—” Kevin broke off as the barista brought our coffees and a couple of pastries on a tray. 

In a mystery novel, that would have been the point at which a silencer would have appeared through the branches of the potted tree to take out Kevin, but in real life we just waited politely until she departed. 

“Have some baklava,” I said, “and let’s walk this back a few steps. Ivor is your boyfriend, and he came down south to spend the holidays with his family, and now he’s missing?” 

“Yes. Right. Exactly.” Kevin reached for a slice of baklava. 

“And his family is saying… what?” 

“Nothing.” 

“Meaning they won’t talk to you or they don’t have any information?” 

Kevin chewed like a threshing machine and spit out, “Both.” 

“It can’t be both.” 

“First they said he wasn’t there. Then they stopped talking to me.” 

“Ah. So you think—” 

“He didn’t change his mind about us! I know he’s there. Something happened while he was down here visiting them.” 

Yep. And that something had led Ivor to change his mind about being with Kevin. Been there and done that. And honestly, it had all turned out for the best. As painful as it had been getting dumped by Mel, I didn’t regret a minute of that heartbreak because my path had ultimately led to Jake. 

I didn’t try to tell Kevin that, though. I didn’t tell him if it was meant to be, it would happen. I didn’t reassure him about all the fish in the sea. Because it doesn’t help when you’re in love with a particular fish. 

“What do you think happened?” I asked. 

“I don’t know.” 

“Realistically, I mean.” 

“Realistically, I don’t know. Nothing they could say would make any difference to him. I know Ivor. I know he loves me.” I have to admit his absolute certainty was convincing. Or maybe it was just poignant.

I said tentatively, because sometimes hearing it aloud jolts you back to reality, “Do you think he’s being held against his will?” 

“Maybe.” He said it more in challenge than in belief. 

“What do you think would be the purpose of that?” 

“Maybe they would try to force him into conversion therapy? They’re really conservative. I mean like something out of the nineties.” 

“Uh…” Presumably he didn’t mean 1890s. 

“I didn’t even think normal people could feel that way now,” he said all wide-eyed and shocked-looking. Seven years wasn’t a generation, but Kevin had grown up in a different world than me. Certainly a different world than Jake. 

“I’m not sure how normal they are if they’re really holding their son against his will so that they can force him into conversion therapy.” 

“I mean normal-seeming. People who live in the real world. Who’ve been to college. Who have jobs. Friends. Who have money.” 

That caught my attention. “They have money?” 

“A lot of money.” He said it with complete disgust. 

“What’s Ivor’s last name?” I asked. 

“Arbuckle.” 

“Arbuckle? As in Candace and Benjamin Arbuckle?” 

Kevin watched me, torn between hope and unease. “Right. Why? Do you know them?” 

“My mother knows them. I went to school with Terrill.” 

I hadn’t thought of Terrill in years. And I’d have been happy to go on never thinking of him. 

Kevin was staring at me expectantly. I admitted, “I vaguely remember Ivor. There was a sister too, I think.” 

“Jacintha. Yes.” Kevin continued to wait for my pronouncement.

I didn’t have a pronouncement. If I did, it would be something along the lines of Run for the hills! Terrill and I had been doubles partners on the tennis team back in high school. He was a good player but a total prick off the court. Happily, once my health had sidelined me, I’d never had to deal with Terrill again. As in literally never. I’d never seen or heard from him again after I got sick. 

Terrill Arbuckle as an in-law was something I wouldn’t wish on anyone— or at least not the Terrill Arbuckle I’d known back then. And I couldn’t imagine the rest of the clan was any better. That was an assumption. I didn’t know it for a fact. Maybe Ivor was the white sheep of the family. 

Kevin gazed beseechingly at me with those wide green eyes. He said huskily, “Do you— could you— can you help me, Adrien?” 

“Me? Well, I don’t know how much help I’d be. I do know—” 

“You saved me,” Kevin broke in, and he sounded startlingly passionate about it. “I’d have gone to prison for murder if you hadn’t stepped in three years ago. Nobody else believed me. Only you. Well, also Melissa. Anyway, I never got the chance to tell you. Never got the chance to say thank you.” 

“That’s okay. You didn’t have to.” 

“When I saw your bookstore, it was like a sign. I mean, I know that probably sounds crazy, but I was driving around feeling so— so desperate and alone, and then when I saw you, I knew it would be okay. I knew you would help. That I’d managed to find the one person who could help.” 

“Okay, but wait,” I said quickly. “First of all, you’re welcome for three years ago. I couldn’t have done that on my own, though. And really the same goes for now. I’d like to help, but probably the most helpful thing I can do is put you in touch with someone who can get you some answers.” 

“Who?” Kevin asked blankly. 

I smiled. Because even in these not very cheerful circumstances, knowing I could call on Jake for help, could count on Jake now and forever, filled me with… happiness. 

Yeah. Happiness.

“Jake Riordan,” I answered.

Saturday Series Spotlight

Author Bio:

Bestselling author of over sixty titles of classic Male/Male fiction featuring twisty mystery, kickass adventure and unapologetic man-on-man romance, JOSH LANYON has been called "the Agatha Christie of gay mystery."

Her work has been translated into eleven languages. The FBI thriller Fair Game was the first male/male title to be published by Harlequin Mondadori, the largest romance publisher in Italy. Stranger on the Shore (Harper Collins Italia) was the first M/M title to be published in print. In 2016 Fatal Shadows placed #5 in Japan's annual Boy Love novel list (the first and only title by a foreign author to place on the list).

The Adrien English Series was awarded All Time Favorite Male Male Couple in the 2nd Annual contest held by the Goodreads M/M Group (which has over 22,000 members). Josh is an Eppie Award winner, a four-time Lambda Literary Award finalist for Gay Mystery, and the first ever recipient of the Goodreads Favorite M/M Author Lifetime Achievement award.

Josh is married and they live in Southern California.

Josh Lanyon

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EMAIL: josh.lanyon@sbcglobal.net  

Kale Williams(Narrator)

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So This is Christmas #6

AMAZON US  /  AMAZON UK

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WEBSITE  /  GOODREADS TBR

Series

AMAZON US  /  AMAZON UK

AUDIBLE  /  iTUNES AUDIO

WEBSITE  /  GOODREADS TBR

Week at a Glance: 11/23/20 - 11/29/20

🦃Monday Morning's Menu🦃: Vincent's Thanksgiving Date by R Cooper

National Family Caregiver Month 2020 Part 4

Release Blitz: Christmas Crackers Collection by Jay Northcote

Random Tales of Christmas 2020 Part 1

🦃Tales of Turkey Day 2020🦃

📘🎥Friday's Film Adaptation🎥📘: The Bishop's Wife by Robert Nathan

Saturday's Series Spotlight: Texas by RJ Scott(Xmas Edition)

Sunday's Short Stack: An Unexpected Christmas Present by VM Sanford

Release Blitz: Operation Fake Relationship by Jay Northcote

Sunday's Short Stack: An Unexpected Christmas Present by VM Sanford

Summary:
Logan wasn’t supposed to visit Rome on his own. The trip was a surprise Christmas gift for his boyfriend, but when Paolo dumps him three weeks before Christmas, Logan decides to go anyway.

Terry visits his father and his stepfamily in Rome every year for the holidays. Meeting a man during that period of the year never crossed his mind.

When Terry and Logan meet on the plane, neither of them expects anything to come out of it. Terry is attracted to Logan, though, and he offers himself as a tourist guide for the duration of Logan’s stay.

Neither one of them expect to fall in love for Christmas, but it’s a welcome present anyway.

Original Review December 2019:
Short, sweet(but not too sweet), and definitely a winning gem for Christmastime.  One of those that will make you smile no matter when you read it but the magic of the season makes it that much better.  Sometimes life throws us a curve and think it's the worst possible timing, the worst possible twist, and then again sometimes fate knows exactly what it's doing and that's how I see An Unexpected Christmas Present.  Honestly, I think the title best describes this story, VM Sanford has given us an unexpected Christmas present with this little gem.

RATING:

Chapter One

Logan leaned closer to the window and looked out as the plane passed over the Colosseum. He felt like a kid on his first solo trip, nervous and excited. Since this was his first trip outside the States, he felt he could afford to be overly excited, though. Maybe it’ll help him forget. 

The plane lowered, and Logan couldn’t look away. Rome. It was hard to believe he was in Rome, Italy. 

The plane landed and taxied to the gate. When everyone started to rise from their seats, Logan did the same, stretching the kinks out of his back.  He’d never been on a plane for so many hours, and he couldn’t wait to finally get out and breathe real air instead of the recycled stuff. He also wanted more space. He felt like he’d been in a box for hours. 

He reached up to take his hand luggage. The aisle was still crowded, though, and someone bumped into him hard enough to make him fall forward. He wouldn’t have fallen far since his lower body was plastered against the seat, but an arm around his waist stopped him anyway. 

“Are you okay?” 

The voice was smooth and worthy of an erotic audiobook. It went right to Logan’s cock, making it twitch in his jeans. He turned around, reminding his smaller head he was not looking for a relationship or even a fling right now. His cock didn’t seem to care, not when Logan realized his knight in shining armor was the sexy guy he’d noticed nine hours ago when they’d both boarded the plane and who’d been sitting a few seats back. 

“Well? Are you okay?” 

“I, uh, fine? Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.” Logan cringed. He’d never been particularly good at flirting, but this had to be a new low. He hadn’t even been able to string together a sentence that actually made sense. 

“Are you sure? You sound like you might have hit your head.” 

Logan swallowed and kept his eyes on the guy’s admittedly gorgeous face. “No, I always talk like this. Well, okay, this is a bit worse than usual, but not by much. I think it’s the trip, you know? I’ve never spent so much time trapped in a metal box with this many people, and I have a hard time sleeping when I’m not alone. Not that you needed to know that, but you asked, I guess.” 

Logan snapped his mouth shut, because really, he was only making things worse. 

“Scusi?” 

Logan and his savior turned to look at the guy who’d spoken. Logan didn’t know Italian, but he was pretty sure the man wanted to pass by then since he was scowling at them and indicating the emptying aisle. 

Logan shook himself and grabbed his bag. He slid back into his seat to make sure he’d grabbed everything he’d taken out during the flight and put on his jacket a bit awkwardly. Once that was done, he got up and walked to the exit, resisting the urge to check if his knight was still behind him or if he’d already walked off the plane.

Logan was glad he was one of the last passengers to exit the plane. It gave him the opportunity to go as slow as he wanted. He looked around the airport as he walked through it following the other passengers to the baggage belts. Everything was written in Italian—obviously—and he heard several languages as he went. 

He made sure to follow someone he recognized from the plane since he was so bad at following directions that he was able to get lost even on his way to his usual grocery store. He didn’t want to take any chances in a foreign country where most people wouldn’t even understand him. Who knew where they’d send him if he asked for directions, or where he’d end up in the attempt of following them. 

The problem was that it was easy to be distracted by what was around him. He smelled the heavy scent of coffee and wondered if he’d have the time to get one, but the length of the line in front of the bar was scary, so he trudge on. He’d have plenty of time to drink coffee over the week and a half he’d spend in the city. 

Logan walked through an automatic gate, and the baggage area opened in front of him. It was so crowded he had a hard time getting close enough to the closest screen to check where he was supposed to find his bag. Only a few of the belts worked, and God only knew how many passengers were waiting for their luggage. It was going to take a while. Logan’s plane was the second to last on the screen, so even though the belt number was already there, he didn’t fool himself he’d be out of the airport soon. 

He might as well sit down and read. He’d started a thriller on the plane, and he really wanted to know how it ended. The few benches were packed, so he made his way to one of the pillars and leaned against it. He made himself as comfortable as he could—which wasn’t much—before taking out his e-reader. 

“It’s a mess, huh?” 

Logan would have recognized that orgasmic voice anywhere. He swallowed and looked up at his knight in shining armor, or rather, at his knight in leather jacket. “Yeah.” 

His savior was still as sexy as before; his dark hair spiked up and his stubble to die for. The brown eyes looking at Logan were warm and shining with amusement, probably at Logan’s awkwardness. 

“I’m Terry,” the knight said. 

Logan looked at the hand Terry was offering him. He reached out to shake it, but he’d forgotten he was still holding his e-reader, so he ended up handing the thing to Terry. He rolled his eyes at himself and passed it from hand to hand, trying to ignore the chuckle that came from Terry as he finally shook it. 

Oh God, the man had calluses. They rasped against Logan’s much softer skin, making him shiver in delight as he imagined how they would feel against an even more sensitive part of his body. How had Terry gotten them? Was he a hard-working man? 

“And your name is…” Terry said. 

“Right, sorry. Logan. I’m Logan.” He was also a dork, but he wasn’t going to admit that. Not that Terry would have any problems finding out if he stuck around Logan a bit longer.

“Well, nice to meet you, Logan.” Terry grinned as he looked down, and Logan realized he still hadn’t let his hand go. Yep, a dork, and he was pretty sure Terry already knew it. 

*****

Terry thought Logan was cute. He snatched his hand back and blushed a bit, peering up at Terry and shyly smiling at him. The color looked good on him, and it made Terry want to embarrass him just to make him blush again. He wasn’t that bad, though, so instead he settled for, “So, what brings you here?” 

Logan’s face fell a bit, and Terry wondered what had just happened. Had he said something wrong? 

Logan gave Terry a forced smile. “Vacations. You know, the holidays and everything. I, uh, I’m going to spend Christmas here.” 

“Yeah?” Terry wanted to ask Logan why he wouldn’t spend Christmas with his family, but he held his tongue. He didn’t want Logan to decide he was better off reading rather than talking to Terry. “I’ll be here for Christmas too. My dad lives in the city, and I come every year.” 

Logan smiled, and it was more natural, not as forced. “You come here every year? Wow. I can’t even imagine what spending so much time here is like. I mean, I don’t travel much. Even this trip wasn’t, well. Anyway.” 

Terry chose to ignore the last comment and focused on the beginning of Logan’s sentence instead. “I don’t particularly like the long flight and the jet-lag, especially when I go back to Boston, but yeah. I only see Dad once a year, so it’s nice. What about you? Are you from Boston or did you have connecting flights?” 

“I live in Boston.” 

“That’s… nice.” And lame. Terry didn’t usually have problems flirting with cute guys. He wasn’t sure what he was doing with Logan was flirting, exactly, but he felt a bit awkward and tense. 

He didn’t like it. 

He wasn’t going to let Logan go without a promise they would meet again soon, though. He hadn’t come to Rome looking for a guy, obviously, but his time in Rome was mostly lonely, and he wouldn’t mind the opportunity to spend time with someone who wasn’t his father and his wife. “Are you alone here?” he asked, trying to remember if he’d seen Logan talking to the person who’d sit next to him on the plane. Since he couldn’t even remember if that person had been a man or a woman, he was fairly sure the answer was no. 

And fuck, there was the sad look again. Logan looked like Terry had just kicked his puppy to death as he answered. “Yeah. I’m alone.” 

Terry needed to change the look on Logan’s face, and he struggled to think of something to say. “Do you already know what you’re going to see while you’re here? Maybe I could be your guide or something.” 

There. Terry had moved the topic toward something else, and he’d proposed for them to spend more time together. He wanted to hit himself, because why would Logan say yes to a stranger? He was surprised at how much he wanted Logan to say yes, though. 

Logan looked skeptical. “Don’t you have other things to do, like be with your family?” 

Terry snorted. “Of course I’ll be with them, but I can’t stay in that house twenty-four hours a day for two weeks.” Terry shuddered in horror. He was glad to see Logan seemed to find his reaction amusing if the small smile on his lips was anything to go by. 

Maybe Terry could kiss that smile away, transform it into something else. “I love them,” he added, “but they’re a handful even on good days, and during the holidays… Yeah, no. Better if I get some space to myself if I don’t want to end up in the loony bin.” 

The baggage belt shuddered and started, and Terry checked the small screens to see if their luggage was there. Nope, it was still the luggage from another flight. He wasn’t surprised, but he wanted to go home and shower. 

“They can’t be that bad,” Logan said. 

Terry looked at him again. “I have two younger sisters, and by younger, I mean much younger.” Terry wasn’t sure why he was spilling his guts to a stranger, but he didn’t really  care. “Maria is fifteen, and Giorgia is nine.” 

“And you’re…” Logan gestured at Terry’s chest. 

“I’m twenty-seven. My parents divorced when I was nine, and my Dad got a job here in Rome. He remarried, and you can guess the rest.”

“New sisters.” 

“Exactly.” 

“That can’t have been easy.” 

“That’s an understatement. I was twelve when Maria was born. I barely ever saw my father, so I thought he’d replaced me or something. I refused to see him for several years.” 

“Things obviously got better, though.” 

Terry smiled. “Yeah. My mom convinced me to come one year, and I fell in love with the city as much as I fell in love with Maria. What about you? Christmas is usually celebrated with family.” 

Terry knew he was pushing, but he still wasn’t sure he’d ever see Logan again, and he was curious. 

Logan shrugged and looked down. “I was supposed to come with my boyfriend.” 

“Supposed to?” 

Logan looked at Terry again, defiance in his eyes, as if he was daring Terry to say anything. “Yeah, supposed to. The trip was a gift for him, but he broke up with me a few weeks ago. I didn’t want to let the tickets go to waste, so here I am.” 

Ouch. That couldn’t have been a fun time for Logan, and it obviously wasn’t over. Maybe visiting a brand new city would make Logan some good and take his thoughts away from what had happened.

The baggage belt jerked again, and more people tried to push toward it. Terry hated traveling with checked-in luggage, but it wasn’t like he had a choice, not for Christmas. His suitcase was full of gifts for his family. 

“Looks like out suitcases are coming,” Logan said. 

Terry checked the screen, and sure enough, their fly was there. Thank God. Terry didn’t particularly want to have to spend more time on his feet waiting, but he was also a little disappointed he’d have to leave Logan. “Where are you staying?” he asked, keeping his eyes on the belt and the moving suitcases. 

“A hotel not too far from the Colosseum. I wanted to be as close as I could to the city center and the train.” 

Okay, that was actually pretty far from where Terry’s father lived, but it would have to do. “Do you have a rental?” 

“Uh, no. I’ll take a cab.” 

“I have one. I’ll take you.” 

“Oh, no, don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. I’m sure I’ll manage to explain where I need to go to the cab driver.” 

“Hey, it’s only fair since I’m your guide and everything.” 

Logan blinked. “My guide?” 

TRanner held a finger up, leaned down to grab his suitcase, and hauled it up and off the belt. He settled it by his feet before nodding at Logan. “Yeah. I’m going to show you the city, remember?” 

Logan blushed. “I thought you were joking.”

“I wasn’t.” 

“You don’t have to do this. Any of this.” 

“But I want to. I wouldn’t offer if I didn’t.” 

Logan grabbed a blue suitcase and pulled it off the belt. It tumbled to the floor, and Logan huffed, pushing the hair that hung in front of his eyes behind his ear and leaning down to straightened the suitcase. 

“I swear I’m not a serial killer,” Terry added. 

Come on, say yes. Sure, Terry would find another way to keep in touch with Logan, but he didn’t want to send him on his way right now. He wanted to chat a little while longer, and the trip to the hotel would give him plenty of that. 

“If you’re sure it’s not a problem…” 

“I told you, it’s not. You’ll save money, and that way I’ll know where to pick you up.” 

“Okay, then. It’s a relief to know I won’t have to try to talk to the cab driver. I don’t know a word of Italian. I’d probably end up in Florence or something.” 

“I can teach you a little bit of Italian if you want me to.” 

“That would be great. You know I’m still wondering if you’re actually going to take me to a secluded place and kill me or if I was lucky enough to stumble onto a real knight in shining armor.” 

Logan blushed fiercely when he realized what he’d said, but Terry didn’t mind. He’d never been called a knight in shining armor, but there was obviously a first time for everything, including flirting with pretty strangers in a plane and self-appointing himself as a city guide. 

“Come on, let’s go,” he said, hoping Logan would relax again. “I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to take a shower and eat something.” 

Logan smiled, and Terry resisted the urge to kiss him. 

They exited the baggage claiming area and stepped into the overcrowded Arrivals. Terry dragged Logan toward the rentals’ desk, got his keys as quickly as he could, and made his way back to where Logan was waiting for him a few feet away with the suitcases. 

Logan was sitting on his suitcase and leaning against the wall, obviously exhausted. Terry gestured at him to follow as he walked to the parking lot, suitcase handle in hand, and searched for the car. 

They got the suitcases into the car and got in. Logan leaned against his seat and sighed heavily. 

“Tired?” Terry asked as he started the car and drove away. 

“I’m not used to flying, and I didn’t get a lot of sleep on the plane. I guess I’ll get a nap after I eat and wait until this afternoon to start visiting, maybe even tomorrow. I’m not sure how long it’ll take me to get over the jet-lag.” 

“I’d suggest you try to wait to sleep until the evening. Trust me, I know what I’m talking about.” 

“I’m sure you do.” 

“What are you planning to see?”

Logan waved at the landscape outside his window. “The usual, I guess. The Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain, St. Peter’s, you know, the touristic stuff.” 

“And you have what? A week? When are you going back?” 

“On the twenty-seventh.” 

“Oh.” Terry had known he wouldn’t be able to spend the entirety of his vacation with Logan, but he hadn’t thought he’d be so disappointed at having it confirmed. “I’m spending New Year’s Eve here.” 

“Well, you have family, so it makes sense.” 

“You’re going to have to choose what to see because seven days might seem long, but they’re not enough to see everything, especially if you take out at least one day to mostly laze around and rest and the day you leave. You’re going to have to come back to see the rest.” 

“Yeah, no. I don’t think I’ll come back. I’ll have to make the most of what I have now, I guess.” 

If Terry had anything to say about it, Logan would come back every year.

Author Bio:
V.M Sanford has been writing about the paranormal since he was a child but decided to give publishing a try only in his thirties.

He found out he likes writing about more than wolf shifters and already has several plot bunnies lined up, waiting for him to write their books.

He’s lived all over Europe and enjoys cats, ice hockey and reading biographies of kings and queens. He’s still confused about what and who he is even though he’s in his mid-thirties, but he finally decided to come out as a transgender man, at least to his readers.

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EMAIL: authorvmsanford@gmail.com

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Release Blitz: Operation Fake Relationship by Jay Northcote

Title: Operation Fake Relationship

Author: Jay Northcote

Genre: M/M Romance, Christmas

Release Date: November 28, 2020

Cover Design: Garrett Leigh at Black Jazz Design

Summary:

Can a fake relationship between best friends turn into the real thing?

After years of estrangement from his parents, Nick is finally going home for Christmas, but not without backup. He wants moral support, so his best friend and flatmate, Jackson, agrees to pretend to be his partner so he can go with him.

It’s easy for Jackson to be convincing when his feelings for Nick are as genuine as ever. He put his crush on the back burner long ago, but acting out a role he’d love to play for real is harder than he imagined. Holding hands, kissing under the mistletoe, even sharing a bed for the sake of the charade... He can’t help wondering what he’s let himself in for, and whether his heart can take it.

Emotions run high as Nick grapples with family issues, and the sexual tension between him and his best friend becomes difficult to ignore. But if he and Jackson give into the temptation to be fake boyfriends with benefits over the holiday, what will it mean for their future as friends once Christmas is over?

Contains: best friends to lovers, pretend boyfriends, daddy issues, mistletoe, and a happy ending—of course.

Author Bio:

Jay lives just outside Bristol in the West of England. He comes from a family of writers, but always used to believe that the gene for fiction writing had passed him by. He spent years only ever writing emails, articles, or website content.

One day, Jay decided to try and write a short story—just to see if he could—and found it rather addictive. He hasn’t stopped writing since.

Jay writes contemporary romance about men who fall in love with other men. He self-publishes under the imprint Jaybird Press.

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Saturday's Series Spotlight: Texas by RJ Scott(Xmas Edition)

Texas Winter #2
Summary:

Riley’s past comes back to haunt him both professionally and personally.

His dead brother left more than just bitter memories for Riley to deal with. The FBI get involved and suddenly it is more than his good name that is on the line. Jack is always there for him but how much more can Riley’s husband reasonably be able to understand?

Especially when Riley finds out on his delayed honeymoon that he has an eight year old daughter he never knew existed...

Texas Christmas #5

Summary:

Six men with lives linked to the Double D... Danger comes to the Double D from Liam's past and threatens everything Jack and Riley hold dear. 

Centering on Jack and Riley, parents, lovers and friends.

Eli and Robbie have their home on Double D land. Their love is rooted in the Texas soil and they weather as many storms as can be thrown at them.

And Liam, a young man with a head full of dreams and sleep full of nightmares, finds that all things are possible when Marcus decides to interrupt his solitary existence.

Home for Christmas #9

Summary:
Can Connor show River a real family Christmas?

When Connor finds River on the roof of the campus admin building, he doesn’t know what to do. His friend is drunk and shouting into a snowstorm, a bottle of vodka in his hand. The easy part is getting River down; the hard part is insisting River comes home with Connor for Christmas.

River doesn’t have a family or any place outside of college that he calls home. Not that it matters to him; he’s happy being alone for Christmas in his budget motel, watching reruns of Elf. Only, Connor keeps telling wildly improbable stories of the perfect family celebrations at his parents’ ranch in Texas, and it’s wearing River down. He didn’t ask to be kidnapped. He didn’t want to fall in love with the entire Campbell-Hayes family. But he does.

From one Christmas to the next. This is Connor’s year to rescue River, and himself, for them both to mess things up, make things right, fall in lust, and finally, for Connor to show the man he loves what being part of a family can mean.

Texas Winter #2

Current Re-Read Review Note 2020:

I listened to the whole Texas saga this summer as it has become an annual tradition for me but with nothing new I could possibly add, I didn't do any extra reviewing this time around but since I'm doing this Christmas edition I thought I'd just say a few words.  Texas Winter is an amazing follow-up second entry to the Jack and Riley saga.  Haley remains one of my favorite non-original characters.  For one, she's just so freaking adorable, too often kids can come across as spoiled and/or bratty but not Haley.  I honestly don't think I've ever read a more well adjusted, 120% sweetness-filled child that brings a whole new level of delight, especially one that was dropped in the lap of an unknown parent and dealing with loss.  As great as Jack and Riley Campbell-Hayes is, RJ Scott really hit the character-creation-jackpot with Haley.

Original Review October 2013:
There were so many directions the author could have taken this in and would have been an interesting and enjoyable read but this is so much better than any of those options. Great to see Riley and Jack come into their own.

Texas Christmas #5

Current Re-Read Review Note 2020:

The Campbell-Hayes family really comes together in Texas Christmas, okay they've been a family from day one but in this Texas entry, it's as if all the game pieces are in place and you just know that no matter which move you make you have a winner.  I have read/listened to this series so much that even though there isn't a single surprise left, I still get giddy whenever I visit the Double D and to do so with Christmas is just icing on the cake, or to stay with the holiday theme, it's Santa, family, Winter Wonderland, your favorite chocolates, and a warm fireplace all in one.  These characters will never get old, I will never tire of sharing their adventures, because that is how amazingly brilliant they are, RJ Scott doesn't just let you in on the story you find yourself right there in the middle of the Double D breathing in every second of it.

2nd Re-Read 2016:
Yet another one that is superb beyond imagine. Every one just meshes together so well and the addition of Liam and his relationship with Marcus adds perfectly to the Double D. Even though Marcus seems a little out of place on the ranch his feelings for Liam really help him begin to settle in too.

Original Review 2014:
Another great entry in the tales of the Campbell-Hayes family, and yes, everyone who seems to come to the Double D works their way into the family network, blood or not. In this installment we get to see Jack and Riley adjust to the addition of Max to their family. I loved the way Liam's story is brought to us intermingled with his new found relationship with Marcus. It's not overdone and yet you feel every emotion that he goes through, good and bad. With the support of those around him, Liam learns to accept what happened to him and that he's worth the respect, responsibilities, and the love that he's being shown.

Home for Christmas #9

Audiobook Review November 2019:
Home for Christmas was a delightful treat last Christmas and it was the perfect way to kick off my holiday entertaining season this year.  Not a lot I can add to the original review, as I said  last year it is always a treat to visit the Double D and a look at the next generation is not only a treat but just pure joy.  River's moments with Max were minor in the scheme of things but personally I found them to be endearing but also very telling to River's nature, his ability to let his mind "settle down" in a way he really hadn't upto that point shows that perhaps he's not as "broken" as he thinks he is.  As I originally said last year, sometimes the land just has a way of letting a person breathe which then let's a person open themselves up to the people and possibilities around them.  As for Sean Crisden's narration?  There's really no surprise here that he brings life to the story in a way that makes you feel like you are watching the story play out right in front of you.  Brilliant addition to my holiday library.

Original ebook Review December 2018:
Finding River drunk on the roof was the last thing Connor expected to see as he was preparing to head home to the Double D for the Christmas holiday but once he sees him in that state he can't just leave him.  River doesn't want to spend the holiday with Connor's happy family but once he arrives in Texas will he open himself up to the welcoming environment of the Campbell-Hayes family and let the man in or will he return to Denver as soon as he can?  Will Connor be able to show River that love is possible and that he's not just a charity case?

It's a new Texas story!!!! YAY!!!! EEEP!!!! HOLY HANNAH BATMAN!!!! and a thousand other catchphrases that express pure joy!  Okay, I got that out now on to the story. 😉😉

When I heard we were going to be visiting the Double D again, my first thought: Jack and Riley! Yes, they are here as are many in the Double D universe and that alone makes this a winner.  But Home for Christmas is so much more.  The old familiars are there, the land, the horses, but this is Connor's journey.  What is it about the Texas series that makes them so amazing?  Is it the land, the Double D, the characters, the horses?  It is all that put together and so much more than words can say.  As a farmer's daughter I can attest to how the land has a way of giving a person(in this case River) a chance to relax, to just stop and breathe.  As with so many in this series, River needs more than relaxing but being able to breathe, to take stock, to see what makes Connor Connor, also gives River a chance to see who is looking back at him in the mirror.  Basically, the Double D may not be what River wants but at that point in his life, its what he needs and whether you believe in fate or not sometimes life knows exactly where we should be to keep our journey going.

Connor was always the quiet twin but he has definitely found his voice, and speaking as someone who has one of those talkative types in the house it can be frustrating, but there is just something about Connor that even though there are times you know River wants to stuff a huge Christmas bow in his mouth you also know that he finds it endearing.  And just like Connor does, there are times you want to wrap River up in bubblewrap just to protect him from the world but also from himself.  That's not to say River is a danger to himself physically but emotionally perhaps and you can't help but want to give him a never-ending bear hug.  RJ Scott has always had a way of making her characters, who should by all appearances be angsty and over-the-top, real and ones that you could meet pumping gas or buying stamps, Connor and River are no different.

Home for Christmas may be Connor and River's journey of holidays, friendship, discovery, and love it is also the perfect addition to the Texas series.  Seeing the Double D again is never a bad thing and getting a glimpse of the Campbell-Hayes family as they grow and age is a true holiday treat.  For those asking "can I read Home without having read the others?" my answer is "Probably."  My personal opinion however, is to read the series in order but as this is Connor and River's story it can be read without prior knowledge of the others but I personally feel the "little moments" just flow better knowing the family(and ranch)'s history.

Overall Series Re-Read Review 2018:
I seriously have no idea what more I can say about Texas that I haven't already.  This is the series that brought me into the world of published M/M genre so Jack & Riley Campbell-Hayes and the Double D universe will always hold a special place in my heart.  No matter how many times I read this series, I always smile, cry, laugh, and just completely escape into their world.  I may never experience that first time adrenaline rush but it still gets my blood pumping and heart racing.  Texas is not just Jack and Riley's journey, yes they are the primary leads but we also get to see their children, their family, their friends all navigate life on and off the ranch.  The Double D has a way of bringing people together, giving them hope and purpose, a fresh start, a place to grow and become who they are meant to be, but at the heart of each story is just that: heart.  When RJ Scott wrote The Heart of Texas, I doubt she had any idea what she started, how far it would go or how many people it would touch but I'm just glad she gave life to Jack and Riley and everything that came from their love.  This is one series that isn't getting old any time soon for me.

Audiobook Overall Series Review 2019:
As I've said many times before, RJ Scott's Texas series was the first published M/M genre book that I read so they will always hold a place of pride in my heart.  No matter how many times I read or listen to the journey Jack and Riley Campbell-Hayes, their friends and family take I never tire of it.  The characters and the paths they take are so real, so honest, the good and the bad, the heartache and the healing, it never fails to put a smile on face.

As for the audio versions, I can't imagine anyone other than Sean Crisden bringing these stories to life.  Sean's voice make Jack, Riley, and the whole Texas family(which grows with each entry because its not just blood that connects everyone) real.  Honestly I felt as if I looked up I'd see Jack with Solo Cal out in the yard or Riley on the floor with his maps.

If you haven't read/listened to Texas before I highly recommend giving it a go but it is a series needed to be experienced in order.  I warn you though Jack and Riley can be addictive, you'll never want to say goodbye and now thanks to audio you really don't have to😉😉.

RATING:

Texas Winter #2

Chapter 1 
"The phone," Jack mumbled. Blindly reaching past Riley and fumbling for the offending item, he managed to grab and check who was calling—unknown number. Irritation shot through him, but he wasn't sure if it was at the offending caller or that Riley's phone wasn't on silent for their precious two hours of sleep. He could just imagine it was a freaking reporter, still after interviews even after all this time. A whole year had passed since Jeff's shooting, and the tabloid press remained hungry for Campbell-Hayes stories.

"What?" Riley was about as lucid as Jack and raised his head with half-open eyes. His blond hair was sleep mussed, and probably, Jack considered, sex mussed. His hazel eyes looked bloodshot, and in a second, it wasn't irritation Jack felt for Riley's inability to turn off his cell, but affection and love.

"Go back to sleep," he ordered. Riley didn't argue, and he lay back down on the pillow and resumed the rhythmic heavy breathing Jack had become used to. Jack tried to sleep himself, but even though the instant panic he had felt at the call had subsided, his brain refused to stop thinking. Cautiously he edged out of the huge bed and snuck a quick look at the early morning outside their villa. The Caribbean Sea was a sparkling sapphire blue, and the beach to the shore line was empty of a single soul.

When Riley had presented Jack with tickets for what he enthusiastically called a honeymoon, Jack had every single excuse under the sun ready to go. The horses needed him. His mom was getting too friendly with the veterinarian they used. Emily had started to talk, and they didn't want to miss that. Josh was busy with the newest addition to his family, baby Sarah, and couldn't watch the D. The ranch itself, the Double D, needed new fencing, and Jack had to be the one to do the work. Riley listened to every one. In fact, the excuses filled a good ten minutes. Jack said it wasn't even that he didn't want to go. Hell, the thought of any time alone with Riley sounded good to him. It was just… Kicking back and doing nothing? It would be a first for Jack, and the thought of it didn't sit comfortably. Riley, the bastard, did what he was good at. He said nothing at all and simply allowed Jack to get it all off his chest. Then he just looked at Jack with soulful eyes and a pleading expression on his face.

"It's only ten days, and I need the time with you." It had been such a simple statement, but it had been enough to win Jack to Riley's way of thinking in an instant. The last year had been full of ups and downs, but Jack's worries were so small compared to everything Riley had been through. His brother dying, his sister-in-law being responsible for his murder, and his father taking the blame before succumbing to cancer himself. Then there was the whole parentage issue with Beth's baby. Riley worked hard, and he and Jack played hard, but so often Riley would get lost in everything that had happened and guilt tripped him up on his face. Added to this, Riley was hip deep in working on the auction for exploration rights of tens of millions of acres of undersea minerals in the western Gulf of Mexico. As young as he was, Riley's expertise, and his position on the board of Hayes Oil was enough for his fledgling consultancy in ethical exploration for oil to grow exponentially. There had been too many days apart, and Jack didn't like to think of himself as clingy, but jeez, at least one full weekend together would be good.

"Okay, we'll go," Jack had finally agreed. And thank God he had. Because this meant he was with Riley in this paradise and he could slip open the door, step onto the golden sands, and then run to the water. Diving into the cerulean sea would be a sharp cold slap in the face at this time of the morning, but there were only two better ways to wake up in Jack's opinion—either lying with Riley's arms wrapped around him or standing at the corral fence and watching the Texas dawn spread over his land. He unlocked the door and opened it quietly.

"Don't go."

Jack stopped at the words and looked back at the bed where he had left a comatose Riley, expecting to see his lover, his husband, awake but sleepy. Instead he got an eyeful of sheets pushed back to reveal six-four of tanned muscled naked Riley. Not only that, but Riley had a hand around a rather impressive morning erection and had the biggest, most suggestive grin on his face Jack had seen since yesterday morning's welcoming smile.

"I wanted a swim," Jack said.

"And I want you naked and draped over me." Riley arched up into his fist, and it was a beautiful sight—his husband naked and ready, acres of warm, toned skin available to touch.

"Is that supposed to make me stay, het-boy?" Jack belied the joking words as he locked the door and let the drapes fall back, the room moving from lighter to darker in an instant. It wasn't dark enough to hide the mouthwatering sight of Riley Campbell-Hayes running his hand up and down himself and arching his back into the motion. Riley reached out with his free hand and grabbed the nearly empty bottle of lube from the bedside cabinet. He aimed and then threw the lube at Jack, who caught it deftly.

"One of us is overdressed." Riley looked pointedly at the shorts Jack had pulled on to go for a swim. Jack pasted an innocent look on his face and pushed the shorts down his legs until they pooled on the floor. If he took a little extra time to do so, then sue him. Riley wasn't the only one who could tease.

"What do you want me to do with this?" Jack indicated the lube in his hand. He climbed as gracefully as he could onto the bed and straddled Riley's knees, taking his fill of the striking toned body laid out under him. From wide shoulders to narrow hips, broad chest to an impressive dick, Riley was perfection personified. Not to mention the slight scattering of dark blond hair on Riley's chest and two dark-tinted nipples there waiting to be sucked and bitten.

"It's my turn, cowboy," Riley said, "so I'm guessin' you need to be gettin' on with some fingers in your ass." Jack loved it when Riley was so turned on his accent slid from educated city boy to pure Texan cowboy in an instant.

"Your turn, huh?" Jack began seriously. He opened the lube and poured more than a generous amount on his fingers. They may well have made love last night and into the morning, but shit, Riley's dick was freaking huge, and he really needed to make sure he was stretched enough to be comfortable.

"Check the notches on my side of the headboard." Riley arched into his fist and ran his tongue over his bottom lip, leaving a slide of glistening moisture. It was an invitation Jack couldn't refuse. Despite the hottest sex he had ever experienced in his life with a lover who didn't hold back, at the end of the day, it was the intimacy of kissing Jack ached to share. He leaned down and traced the path of Riley's tongue with his own, pulling at his husband's lower lip with his teeth and releasing the plump skin. The kisses deepened, and as they kissed, Jack was leaning on one hand and using the other to loosen and lubricate himself. His dick was ready, leaking and so freaking hard. Every so often it brushed Riley's in electric contact. His husband's hand snaked around Jack, joining Jack's fingers and stretching with him. With the feel of the digits inside him and the lube, Jack was panting his need into Riley's mouth way too fast. He pushed himself down on Riley's fingers then raised himself off, before shuffling higher up the bed and using his lubed hand to line Riley up. In seconds they were together, Riley buried so far inside, and the shock of pain and discomfort dissipating in the desperation of need and want. Jack set the rhythm, leaning in briefly for more kisses and then sitting up. Riley wrapped his hands around his dick, and he closed his eyes. The sight and sound of Riley arching and moaning and pleading was going to send him over the edge far too fast to stop.

"Open your eyes," Riley pleaded. All Jack could do was shake his head. "Please. Open them. See me when we come together." Jack's orgasm was building, and with thrust after thrust, completion came closer. Riley's hand on his dick became more erratic. This was a sure sign he was close, and finally, Jack opened his eyes. Riley's face was flushed red, his eyes wide, his mouth slack, and Jack let himself go. With a final move, a twist and the scrape of Riley's dick over his prostate, he lost it hot and wet over Riley's stomach. The tensing of his muscles sent Riley high and the feeling of being filled was exquisite.

"I love you, Jack."

"I love you too," Jack answered as he pulled off as gently as he could and slid boneless to one side of Riley. "God, I love you."

* * * * *

Laughing like kids, they grabbed swim shorts and suntan lotion and set off for the beach. Jack packed a bag with towels and books and a multitude of other vital beach stuff. Riley picked up his phone, but after a second's consideration, which Jack watched without making it obvious, he simply dropped it in the top drawer. They only had two more days here, and Jack was relieved Riley was finally letting go of the office.

They spent all day at the shoreline, talking, planning and discussing the family.

"He's a nice guy," Riley offered carefully. Jack shook his head in denial.

"He's twenty years younger than Mom," Jack had the age gap worked out to the nearest day in his head the minute his mom revealed she had affection for Neil Kendrick, the new veterinary at the horse practice they used.

"But he makes her happy."

"He's living in a one-room rental."

"He only moved there three months ago, give him a break."

"He's not what I want for her."

"It's her choice."

"It might be a money thing. Maybe I should get a PI to check him out."

"For God's sake, Jack, you can't get a PI to check out the vet just because your momma is sweet on him."

Jack subsided into silence as he couldn't think of what say. It wasn't that he didn't want his mom to be happy. He did. Beth and Josh had families, he had Riley, and she had spent so much time being there for her family she had left herself on her own. Neil seemed like a nice enough guy, so maybe he should listen to Riley or have a quiet word. Jeez. It was the age gap… that was all. He looked over at Riley who was face down on the towel. Every second Riley was out here he lost more of the office pallor he wore so well. He was turning brown as a nut.

"I'm not saying you're right," Jack offered grudgingly. "But he's a nice enough guy, good with horses. I'll…" When his voice trailed off, Riley looked up at him expectantly. "I'll try. Okay?"

Riley smiled his approval and then clambered to stand. "I'm hungry," he said, and patted his stomach to emphasize his words.

"You're always hungry," Jack muttered as he used Riley's offered hand to stand up. They hugged quickly, and Jack luxuriated in the expanse of Riley's warm skin. Hugging for no other reason than to feel was good. They finally pulled apart to pick up the items they'd bought with them

"Shower. Food. Nap. Sex." Riley counted off the options in order on his fingers, and slowly, hand in hand, they made their way back to the weathered villa at the tree line.

The shower was heaven, the food was delivered as they dried off, and they consumed it all with uncurbed enthusiasm. The nap was more cuddling and talking than actual sleeping and was only disturbed when Riley's phone sounded again from the drawer.

"I'm expecting a call from Travers and the consortium," Riley explained. With a wryly apologetic expression on his face he opened the drawer and pulled out the iPhone, glancing down at the screen and double-taking as he read. Jack read over his shoulder.

"Twelve missed calls and three voicemails?" Jack said. "Is this consortium thing a problem for you?" Riley hadn't said much about the latest consultation he was involved in apart from the usual. Setting up CH Consultancy had been tough on Riley on top of everything else. He was in the house office one hell of a lot, and his cell phone was his constant companion.

"Not really," Riley answered. "Thought it was done and dusted before we left for here." He thumbed to his voicemail. The list only had one name on it—Eden Hayes. Jack watched as Riley listened to his voicemails, watching his husband's reaction for any clues as to what the problem was. Riley just looked more and more confused each second that went past.

Then he went white. Literally every single element of color left his face, and he dropped the cell. It fell to the floor and bounced to a stop next to the mini fridge.

"Ri?" Jack said, shocked. Riley didn't say a thing. He just stared at Jack with a mixture of loss and utter shock. "What is it? Talk to me." Still no reply, and Jack was growing more scared. "Is it the family? Eden? Beth's baby? What?"

"It was Eden," Riley finally offered. His voice was dead flat with no emotion. "She's sending the jet. We have to go home." Riley stood and crossed to the suitcases, opening his and scooping clothes from the closet haphazardly into the space. Jack wasn't sure what to say, but actions spoke louder than words. He stopped Riley with a firm grip on muscled arms, and he pushed himself into Riley's space.

"What's wrong? Tell me what's happened." He shook Riley slightly to snap him out of whatever shock was driving the instinct to pack and not talk. Riley blinked his way back to this world, and sorrow filled his eyes. It was a heartbreaking expression, and Jack had seen it too many times since meeting Riley to not know something terrible must have happened. He put two and two together and came up with the only solution that would make sense in all of this. "Did they find out about what Lisa did?" No one outside of a few members of the family knew it had been Jeff's wife who had shot him, as Riley's father had taken the fall. If anyone found it out now, it would mean ruin for far too many people with secrets.

"No. It's me."

"You?"

"God. I'm so sorry. I didn't know." Riley's face held so much grief.

"Ri, you're scaring me."

"Eden said…" Riley twisted his fingers into his short hair, closing his eyes.

"What!"

"A daughter." Riley opened his eyes, and his expression was anguished. "Fuck, Jack. I have a daughter."

Texas Christmas #5

Chapter 1 

~September~ 

Liam Frazier listened from a short distance and wished the ground would swallow him up so that he wouldn’t be found out.  

He sat with his knees drawn up to his chest not more than ten feet from Jack Campbell-Hayes. With only a stall wall between them, Liam was close enough to hear every word his boss said. He didn’t mean to eavesdrop—everyone should have been in bed by now and Liam thought he’d have the horse barn to himself.  

Fuck.  

He was going to be discovered and told to leave the D.  

I knew I shouldn’t have bunked in with Hatty, I should have stayed in my own place.  

Not that where he slept was exactly a place or even his own. He was camped out at the other end of the horses’ barn in a tent. Just after midnight, he’d woken restless from dreams and decided to check in on Hatty because she’d been a bit off all day. The horses were good to him; they let him sleep close by with no judgment. They didn’t care if he was gay or thin, he was just the guy who stroked and petted them.

“Can’t sleep?” a voice asked, and for a second Liam imagined it was he being asked. Then he realized it was Robbie’s voice, and he was in the barn talking to Jack. 

“Too much on my mind,” Jack answered evenly. There was the noise of scuffing boots on wood, and Liam could imagine both his immediate boss and the owner of the D with their feet up on the lower rung of the stall, leaning over and looking at the horses. It would be Solo Cal, who had the stall two down from Hatty. “Fed the twins and Riley went back to sleep. I couldn’t get my head to quiet down.” 

“Eli is restless. I thought I’d give him some space so he can settle, then go back in, given I’m up again in what—” Robbie paused, and Liam pictured him checking his watch in the soft, barely there lighting of the barn. “—five hours?” 

“Eli okay?” 

“Yeah, he just has nights when he’s not comfortable in his own skin.” 

“But the last report says his cancer is still clear.” 

“Thank God, yes. So, you’re up and prowling at one am, anything you want to talk about?” Robbie asked. “The horses? Or the D?” 

Jack huffed a laugh, and Liam easily visualized the look on Jack’s face that accompanied it. Not that he’d been watching Jack much, but it seemed every expression Jack had, from anger to love, was so different to any other cowboy that Liam had ever met. He was so damn laidback and, hell, supportive. None of it was right, and Liam was waiting for the penny to drop and for the crap to start up again.

“Beth called to say she had back pains, and Steve is all about taking her straight to hospital.” 

“Is she going in?” 

“I think she wanted another night at home, but Steve got his way.” 

“You need me to do the early morning with Liam? So you can go to the hospital?” 

“Yeah, if you don’t mind.” 

“Will do. You must be excited about being an uncle again.” 

“I am, and worried about Beth. The usual.” 

“What about Max? How’s that going.” 

“Another delay, something about my and Riley’s marriage certificate this time and its validity outside of Canada.” 

“That’s irrelevant though, I thought Riley was adopting solely?” 

“He is.” Jack sighed heavily. “It’s as if any excuse this committee has to slow the whole thing down is being pulled out. Last week it was the twins being so little, before that was the fact we have no nanny, hell, a month ago it was shock that I didn’t have a degree. Jesus. Next it will be because I have blue eyes instead of green or some stupid shit like that.” 

Liam winced at Jack’s obvious anger and frustration. He’d yet to see any signs of a temper in the owner of the Double D, but he knew there had to be a mean streak somewhere in the easygoing cowboy. 

“I’m sorry, Jack. Can they actually do this to you and Riley? And to Max?”

“Seems they can. It’s a fucking nightmare. All we want is him here with us and we have all the right paperwork. Riley is calmer than me, says I should remember that Rebecca is a great mom and the family is the best place for him at the moment.” 

“He’ll be just as happy here when he gets here.” 

“Yeah, we’re spending tomorrow with him, but it isn’t enough, y’know?” 

“You just want to get your family settled.”  

Jack grunted in response, and then he changed the subject. Liam listened to Robbie’s quiet reply and agreed with him. Sometimes all a man wants in his life is peace, direction, and purpose. One day he, Liam Frazier from Dallas who liked horses and saw too much around him, would have purpose and peace.  

“How’s Liam doing?” Jack asked in a quieter voice. Of course, Jack thought Liam was away at the end of the barn asleep; he didn’t know Liam could hear every word. Fuck. Shit. Balls. What if they talked about him and he heard? What happened when they saw he’d been there the whole time? There wasn’t space for him to get out of the stall and past two men who were angry with him. And Jack was a big guy, not as big as Riley, but he was built, and Robbie was no slouch either in the muscles department. 

“He’s a good kid,” Robbie answered immediately. “A horse person to the core.” 

Kid. Jesus. Liam sighed. I’m twenty-one in a couple of months.  

“How is he?” 

“Still has his off days. Shies away sometimes.”

Liam didn’t have to think about what Robbie meant. The latest Liam-losing-it incident had been a bad one. Hanging his head in shame, he buried his face in his hands and drew his knees up to his body. He couldn’t help how he felt when he’d split the grain bag. He’d thought he’d get his head smacked for being an idiot. Hell, he could have handled that, but all Robbie did was patiently help him sweep away the crap and retie the bag so what remained would stay inside. All he’d said is that Liam should watch for any sharp corners or nails because some of the bags were getting worn.  

Liam had cried like a fucking girl. Luckily Robbie had already gone and Liam had been alone. But fuck, one piece of being nice to him and he all but lost his shit. 

“I wish he’d talk to us,” Jack said softly. “He has no reason to be scared here.” 

“I don’t know what the hell happened in Laredo, but I put some feelers out, see if I can find out anything that will help. I know what it’s like to come up against hate,” Robbie had a sad quality to his voice, and Liam screwed his eyes shut. He was pathetic if Robbie was that worried about him.  

Then he realized what Robbie said about feelers and his chest constricted. The last thing Liam wanted was Robbie or Jack or any do-gooder tracking down anything about Liam and what he’d been through. Because if the ones who didn’t trust him to keep his mouth shut found out where Liam had moved to, they’d come get him, and Liam didn’t even want to think about that. After what he’d witnessed at the Bar Five, it was likely the Castille family would tell Jack all about the kid with no past who stole from them and disappeared overnight.

Not for the first time, Liam berated himself about not stealing more money. Then he could have made it up to Montana or even stopped in Arizona, anywhere near horses and far enough away from Texas so that no one tracked him down.  

Flashes of fists and feelings of utter helplessness flooded him, and he whimpered under his breath. Stupid. Stupid. Idiot. He just wanted this to end and to find one place where he wasn’t asked questions and where no one wanted to help him.  

“Let me know what you find out,” Jack answered evenly. “I worry about him and I want to support him any way I can. He’s a natural with the horses.” 

“Agreed.” 

“I’m going to try to get in a few hours before the twins wake me up and I need to get to the hospital” 

“They still feeding every four hours?” Robbie asked with a chuckle. 

“Should be cutting down soon, they’re nearly eight weeks old now. Lexie slept near through last night.” Pride dripped from Jack’s voice, and Liam heard Robbie chuckle. 

“You and Riley with kids is a good look,” he laughed. “Shame about the bags under your eyes.” 

“Asshole,” Jack replied with no heat in his tone. “Night.” 

“Night.” 

Robbie stayed a little longer, fussing Solo, but then he too left. Finally it was just Liam cowering in Hatty’s stall and wondering when the hell this would all stop. The fear and anxiety. All too much.

* * * * * 

Jack stopped to look in on the twins on his way back to bed. Both lay peacefully and quietly, and he leaned over and placed gentle kisses on each tiny baby. He never thought his love for his family could ever get stronger, but these tiny scraps were so precious to him. He had dreams for them, ponies, horses, school, college, happiness…that was all he wanted for both of them. Lexie moved her head, and Jack held his breath, hoping to hell she didn’t wake up. The last feed may well see her through to the morning, but Connor wasn’t moving to longer gaps yet. It never failed to amaze Jack how Lexie could sleep through her brother’s keening for the dawn feed. The soft nightlight threw shadows around the room, and he realized he could stand here forever and it would never be long enough to watch them sleep. 

Pulling the door nearly shut, he crept down the corridor and looked in on Hayley. He tucked her covers around her and placed a kiss to her forehead. Hayley was a child of his heart. She looked so much like Riley he’d joked yesterday that he could imagine Riley as a woman. Of course that had led Riley to proving he was far from being a woman, which ended with them locking themselves in the bathroom for privacy and enjoying the quickest blow jobs known to man.  

He stripped, then crawled into bed with Riley and was immediately warm from the heat radiating from his husband. Riley instinctively moved into Jack’s arms in his sleep.  

“Okay?” he mumbled groggily.

“Yeah. Go back to sleep.” 

Jack lay staring up at the ceiling for a few minutes and tried to work through all the shit in his head to at least compartmentalize it until the morning. Beth and the baby was a constant worry in his head. Josh was exactly the same. The two brothers couldn’t help it; they were protective of their little sister and the baby she carried. Then there was Max and the whole digging deep into Riley and Jack. 

Jack had to face that fact he’d been humiliated when they’d called his lack of education into account over Max’s adoption. What did it matter what education he had on paper when he ran a successful horse training ranch and looked after the accounts and worked with Riley in the house? Seemed to him offering Max love and family was more important than whatever education Jack had scraped together. 

He also spent time worrying about Liam. Some days the young man was skittish and jumpy and that made Jack nervous. Added to that, Hatty wasn’t well, but no one could find out what was wrong with her. She only seemed to perk up when Max was over with Rebecca. 

Then there was the nanny problem. Even though he and Riley had initially decided they weren’t going to have a nanny, the reality of the situation was that they needed another pair of hands in the house. Family helped them in emergencies, but two responsible careers—him with the ranch, Riley with the oil—meant that they needed a third in the house on a more permanent basis. Someone they could trust.

The concerns and stress tumbled in his head, and only when he finally addressed each one individually did he manage to push the issues into boxes in his head enough to relax against Riley and close his eyes.

Home for Christmas #9

Chapter 1
Connor skidded to a stop.

The cold December wind whipped around his face, ice and snow knifing into his skin, and at first, he couldn’t make sense of what he was seeing.

Maybe he should have stopped, called 911, shouted for help, but it could’ve been too late, so he’d acted on instinct alone. He’d taken the four flights of stairs at a run, reaching the roof and throwing the door open. His lungs burned from the freezing air and his voice had gone. What now?

Why was River on the roof in nothing but jeans and a T-shirt, clearly drunk? Why was he standing on the ledge, his feet spread, his arms wide, and a bottle of vodka in his hand?

When the girl from his floor told him she’d seen River go up to the roof, he thought she’d meant something else. He often went up there to read or watch life go by. But not in a snow storm.

He didn’t expect to see River standing on the ledge in the snow.

Don’t scare him. He’ll stumble and fall. He might jump.

A gust of air slapped Connor. River swayed to the left but righted himself with the casual grace of a gymnast. River wouldn’t fall by accident. Hell, Connor had seen him balance on one hand on a diving board, perfectly still, before falling gracefully and accurately with spins and pikes into the water below. He’d never seen River falter.

“River?” Connor asked, only an inch from grabbing River’s shirt and holding him tight. He saw River tense, but he didn’t wobble in surprise or slip and fall to the ground.

“I canbalance. Look at me.” River sounded so damn proud of himself.

Connor took a small step forward, finally being able to hold River’s shirt, hoping to hell that would be enough to stop River from falling.

“Come down, buddy.”

River lifted the bottle over his head, sloshing alcohol over his hair, his tongue flicking out to catch any that ran over his face.

“Fuck,” he shouted.

Connor tugged at him, not knowing what else to do. “Come back,” he said, loud enough that River actually looked at him.

“Leave me alone,” he said.

“I’m not leaving you on the roof,” Connor snapped and got a better hold of River, hooking a finger into his belt. River wasn’t a big guy, a diver’s body, no more than five ten and a buck sixty soaking wet, but if he fell, would Connor be able to hold him long enough to save him?

River pulled against Connor’s grip, and for a second the world stopped turning as Connor had to use his entire body weight to keep him upright. Something about the action must have scared River. He cursed and rocked backward, but he still wouldn’t come down.

“Come down,” Connor pleaded. “You’re scaring me.”

“You think you gotta save me? Huh?” River threw his arms wide again, more alcohol sloshing over the top of the bottle. “I don’t need saving.”

“I want you to come down.” Connor tried for calm. What was he doing? He should have called the cops immediately when he spotted River. Or firefighters, negotiators? Or whoever the hell should’ve been here. He’d seen things like this on the television, the mediator knowing all the right things to say and do, standing by River and connecting him to his family or childhood or his faith. All Connor knew was that he needed to pull River down, use the only thing he had going for him; the fact that he was bigger and stronger.

“I like it up here!” River explained with another wide gesture. He wobbled a little but righted himself immediately.

“Come down, Riv.”

“Saint Connor tries to save everyone,” River shouted, ending with a hysterical laugh. He was clearly losing control of himself, and even if Connor did have the words to talk him down, he thought maybe he’d just yank River back onto the concrete roof of the building and worry about injuries later.

But River wasn’t finished. “Even if they don’t need saving!”

“River!”

“Who the hell cares if I can balance, huh?”

“I care,” Connor shouted back. This was so out of character.

“Yeah, right, telling me what Christmas and family is like for you, making me see it in my head, and then leaving me here alone.”

“River, please.” Connor tugged him, but River wouldn’t move back.

“Leaving me here, alone, because that’s all anyone ever does. They fuck off, leave me, and what happens when college is over, huh? What happens when I lose that?” He lifted one clenched fist to the sky. “Fuck you!”

Connor had never heard River curse like this, and he was done with holding on to him. So evaluating where they would end up if they fell backward and not caring how much it hurt, he yanked, hard. River tumbled with him, arms flailing and the vodka bottle slipping from his grasp and falling into the tub of snow-covered plants on the roof patio. The two of them fell onto the roof, Connor using his body to cushion River’s descent, getting his arms full of an icy cold man, the breath forced from his lungs when they hit the ground.

Connor enveloped him in his arms and locked his hands in place, fighting a frozen, wet, drunk River. He wouldn’t get free. Connor had his pappa’s height, a rancher’s build, and he was a solid anchor in the wind and snow. There was no point in River fighting, and somehow he must have realized he couldn’t get free and went still in Connor’s arms.

All Connor could think was that he’d wanted River back in his arms for a long time now, but he’d expected soft lighting and mood music, not driving winds and snow.

“What the hell are you doing?” Connor demanded.

“Let me the fuck go.”

“Jesus, are you trying to kill yourself?”

River attempted to wriggle free. Connor’s grip didn’t falter in his hold. With his arms securely around River, he shuffled them back so they were protected by the low wall. He wanted to get them back inside, but he wasn’t ready to let River go yet, and the door was at least ten feet away. What if River wriggled free and ran for the ledge? The idea of River on the ground, twisted in death, blood… Connor didn’t want to think about it. He opened his coat, one-handed, and then pulled River closer, trying to get as much of the material to go over him, attempting to keep them both warm. River’s skin was like ice. How long had he been standing up there?

“What were you doing?” he demanded, but River didn’t reply, only burrowed deeper into Connor’s hold. This was stupid. He needed to get them off the roof, or he needed help. His phone was in the car. The campus was emptying for Christmas. It was ten a.m., snowing. What the hell was he going to do now?

“I have no one,” River muttered, then laughed and buried his face deeper.

“What do you mean? Talk to me, River.”

“No.”

“We need to get inside.”

How the hell do I get River inside?

He imagined struggling with River’s weight, trying to get him down four flights of stairs and across to his room. Maybe if he could just get him to the car, with its heated seats and the warm air blower and the coffee in a flask that Connor had made for the start of his journey back to Dallas. Then he could call someone, the cops or a doctor? That seemed like a plan, a focus. He scrambled to his feet, bringing River with him, and stumbled inside. As soon as the door shut, warmth hit them, prickling at his exposed skin, and he moved toward the radiator, still gripping River’s belt. He let go of him long enough to remove his jacket and place it around the shivering man’s shoulders.

River buried himself in the coat, and Connor went into disaster assessment mode. He’d seen hypothermia back home at the D, and it wasn’t pretty. He remembered his pappa saying there were signs to look for, and when Jack spoke, Connor always listened. He pulled up the facts he could remember. Did River have hypothermia? His teeth weren’t chattering, and he wasn’t talking at all, so it wasn’t obvious if he was slurring. Then, even if he did talk and his speech was slurry, how could Connor tell how much vodka he’d drunk? Connor tried to remember the symptoms. The college hospital wasn’t far away. He could drive there, and they would help.

Why the hell did I leave my phone in the damned car?

“It’s okay. I’m okay.”

“No, you’re not.”

“You can go,” River said dully. He wriggled closer to the radiator.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

“But you are,” River murmured. “You kissed me, you got me off, and now you’re leaving today.” Then he hid his face in his hands. “Shit, shit, shit.”

Wait. Was this about what happened at the thanksgiving party?

Is this my fault?

Connor didn’t usually drink that much, but he’d had one beer too many at the party, to the point where he had all the courage he needed to wait for River to come out of the bathroom.

“Can I kiss you?” he’d asked, and River had stared at him, stone-cold sober and narrow-eyed.

But then, holy shit, River had pushed him back into the nearest bedroom, shut the door, and the kiss had turned into something more, hands tangled in hair, the two of them kissing and rutting against each other until they were coming in their jeans. Really unromantic. Nothing more than getting off, and River had left before Connor could even get his breath back. Not the best of outcomes. Then River had ignored him. Not returning texts, no more study sessions in the library, and he’d even missed the last lecture of the semester.

All of that told Connor on thing: River wasn’t interested in anything more with him. But that didn’t mean they weren’t still friends. They sat in silence for a few minutes, River’s face still buried in his hands, and he was clearly crying.

What the hell should I do now?

Saturday's Series Spotlights

 Part 1  /  Part 2

Author Bio:
RJ Scott is a USA TODAY bestselling author of over 140 romance and suspense novels. From bodyguards to hockey stars, princes to millionaires, cowboys to military heroes to every-day heroes, she believes that love is love and every man deserves a happy ending.

RJ Scott

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Texas Winter #2

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Texas Christmas #5

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Home for Christmas #9

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Series

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