Wednesday 28 November 2018

A Miracle in the Library - Out Today!!!



A Miracle in the Library and an Abundance of Inspiration

The writing of A Miracle in the Library was exactly that: a miracle.

I already had a Christmas story releasing with Dreamspinner Press this December (more information to follow shortly) and had no intention of writing another one, until one day early November, while I was in the middle of working on something else, inspiration struck with such force, I couldn’t not write the book.

What inspired me you ask? Well, quite a few things in fact.

The setting in A Miracle in the Library is pretty much a carbon copy of the old-fashioned, part-time library I work in one afternoon every other week. As the pictures show, the one room holds nothing except books, a collection of chairs, and a desk for the librarian. I had to modify the place a tiny bit to make it a better fit for my miracle, but it’s safe to say both the library and its location in the book are firmly based on my bi-weekly reality.




While I don’t name them, I had two very specific books in mind for Mitch to read while visiting the library. Having read both of them myself, I highly recommend these books for younger people coming to terms with who they are, of course, but also for all others wanting to gain insight into what that might mean. I reviewed one of them some time ago, and you can find my thoughts here: This Book is Gay

 

Mr. Nichols, as described A Miracle in the Library, had the face, kindness, and wisdom of my good friend Tim O’Rahilly from the moment he sprang to life in my mind. The image below gives you a good idea why.



And last but by no means least, there is this video. Yes, I’m well aware it is an advert for an alcoholic beverage but, while I’ve been known to indulge on occasion, that is not the point here. Panti Bliss, in this short clip, says exactly what I’ve been hoping to convey in my story. Why don’t you take a look?



Blurb
Seventeen-year-old Mitch McCann has been trying to dodge his bullies for eighteen months. He isn’t out, but that hasn’t stopped the popular gang at school from tormenting him for being gay. Three weeks before Christmas, in a desperate attempt to shake his pursuers, Mitch flees into the abandoned community hall, only to discover the building is far from empty; inside he finds a fully stocked library as well as Mr. Nichols, the very welcoming librarian.
The library turns into Mitch’s refuge of choice, where he can read books that answer his endless questions, without fear of encountering abuse. His peace of mind is shattered when nineteen-year-old Cian Leavy enters his sanctuary. Cian is the boy who made Mitch realize he’s gay, and he’s more attractive now than he was eighteen months ago, when Mitch literally ran into him.
Will Cian unwittingly disrupt Mitch’s life again? Or has the scene been set for a miracle in the library?

Available to read in KU




Wednesday 26 September 2018

Happy Release Day to All or Nothing!!!!!!!!!



To celebrate the fact that All or Nothing is now available on Amazon and in KU I’m sharing a second excerpt from the book. It only seems fair to introduce you to Amber this time. (If you missed the post introducing Hector, you can find him here.)

Blurb

If she’s not good enough for all of him, she’d rather have none.

Forty-one-year-old Hector Kelly has lived the BDSM lifestyle all his adult life, but the recent influx of inexperienced and starry-eyed young women has killed its luster for him. When he reluctantly accompanies his best friend to The Dark Cellar during an open night, he is not surprised when he has to rescue a clueless young woman from a predatory Dom. Against his better judgment, he spends the rest of the night showing the gorgeous Amber around the club.
Until she entered The Dark Cellar, twenty-one-year-old Amber Sommerville was convinced BDSM only existed between the covers of her favorite romance novels. As Hector introduces her to this unknown world, everything she sees awakens desires she’s never experienced before.
The attraction between Hector and Amber is as instant as it is undeniable. But with an almost twenty-year age difference between them and Hector’s conviction that Amber is too young both for him and to know whether or not she wants to submit, their developing relationship remains purely vanilla—for the most part. When Amber witnesses Hector in full Dom mode, she recognizes that he’s been holding back and sets him an ultimatum: either he fully commits all of himself to their relationship or she’ll leave. If Hector wants to hang on to the woman who has captured his heart, he’ll have to reassess his preconceived notions.

Excerpt

“You’re serious?” Amber knew her laugh sounded nervous, but she couldn’t stop it from escaping her mouth. When the masked man had first walked up to her and told her to kneel, she’d thought it was a joke, orchestrated by her sister. It would have been just like Sinead and her mates to do something like that. Now, she wasn’t so sure. Whoever this was, he clearly expected her to kneel before him. He was in for one hell of a disappointment.

“Very serious. Did you really think you could walk into a BDSM club and not obey the rules?” Anger or something very close to it vibrated off the man, and for the first time since he’d approached her, Amber felt a stab of fear. Not that she’d show him her feelings. She lifted her chin and relished the surprise she thought she recognized on what she could see of his face when she looked him straight in the eye.

“I’ve no intention of kneeling for anyone, least of all you.” It took all her strength not to flinch when he raised his hand. She’d no idea if he planned on striking her or just wanted to force her to her knees.

“That’s enough, Carlos.”

The deep, calm voice coming from behind her startled Amber. She wanted to turn around and discover who it belonged to, but knew she couldn’t afford to take her eyes off the man in front of her.

Said man in front of her—Carlos apparently—frowned for a moment, as if confused, as he glanced over her shoulder. “Hector, this has nothing to do with you. Leave us alone to sort this out.” The masked man returned his steely-eyed attention to Amber.

“It does when you’re determined to give all of us a bad name.” The warm voice touched something deep in Amber. She was no damsel in distress and hated relying on others, but she couldn’t help being grateful for the help. She’d no idea what sort of trouble she’d gotten herself into. Which meant she didn’t know how to get herself out of it either.

The anger Amber’d thought she recognized in Carlos’s eyes transformed into fury, and for the first time since he’d addressed her, he fully focused on somebody other than her.

“Stay out of this. I won’t tell you again. Who do you think you are? You disappear for years, and then you presume you can tell me how to behave. Go back to wherever you’ve been hiding and leave this to us real men.”

“Look at her wrist, Carlos. You’re right. You shouldn’t need me to explain how this works.”

Amber glanced at her wrist and the white armband they’d told her to wear when she’d entered the club with the other girls. Apparently, it wasn’t just proof of admission.

“A white armband. I know. I saw that immediately. Doesn’t mean the girl shouldn’t know how to behave.”

Amber’s temper rose. She didn’t enjoy being the subject of a conversation she didn’t appear to have a role in. She opened her mouth, although she’d no idea what she wanted to say, when the sonorous voice behind her beat her to it.

“That’s exactly what it means, Carlos. I don’t like these open nights either, but that’s what this is, and as a result, most people here right now don’t even know there are rules, never mind what they might be. Leave the girl alone and find yourself an experienced submissive.”

Suddenly, it all came together for Amber. Now, she understood why her sister—the bride to be—and her friends had giggled as much as they had when they’d entered the club. She’d read about submissives. She almost smiled but remembered the dicey situation she found herself in just in time. She enjoyed reading about Doms and those who submitted to them. She’d somehow failed to translate those works of fiction into real possibilities. And she’d been slow on the uptake. After all the books she’d read, she should have recognized this club for what it was—far more than “just” a sexy nightclub.

Lost in her thoughts, it took Amber a moment before she became aware of the staring contest taking place between Carlos and the man behind her. The urge to turn around and find out who he was had grown stronger, but she still didn’t want to turn her back on the Dom in front of her. When Carlos gave a small nod before stalking away, Amber relaxed, her body releasing the tension she hadn’t known she’d been holding.

“Thank you.” Amber turned around as she spoke. Everything else she’d wanted to say disappeared from her mind as she looked straight into the dark brown eyes of the man who’d come to her rescue. She tried to figure out what she saw there. She would have called it kindness except she also detected a note of anger in his gaze.

“What were you thinking, girl? Why didn’t you stay with your friends? There’s safety in numbers.” The anger she’d seen in his eyes didn’t translate to his voice. If anything, he sounded resigned, exasperated.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cause trouble.” Amber thought for a moment. It was true; she hadn’t meant to create a problem, hadn’t known she might when she allowed the rest of their party to move on while she’d studied her surroundings. “I didn’t know I shouldn’t be on my own. I mean, they never said anything when we came in.”
“How did you end up here anyway?”

Something bristled inside Amber before subsiding again. She didn’t mind answering his questions, just as she hadn’t been upset when she picked up on his anger. It didn’t make sense, because she wasn’t in the habit of letting others tell her what to do or allowing them to interrogate her, but she didn’t question her instinct.

“It’s my sister’s hen party. One of her friends suggested this club.” As she spoke, she remembered the looks Maeve—the friend in question—had exchanged with Mary, another friend. She hadn’t thought anything about it at the time, but now, she realized they’d known exactly what they would be leading the rest of them into. “Sinead, my sister, was already very drunk by then and appeared to be eager to visit a club...any club. I just tagged along.”

She’d resented that. Sure, she was a few years younger than the rest of the party, but she wasn’t a child anymore. She’d bitten her tongue all through the evening as Maeve and some of the others had belittled her. Sinead had defended her earlier on in the evening, but as people kept on pouring drinks into her, she’d soon lost contact with reality.

“But you didn’t stay with them when they moved to the other side of the club?”

His question took her by surprise. How did he know where the others had gone? She looked around until she spotted them on the far side of the dance floor and nearly groaned out loud. It was impossible to miss her sister. Sinead stood on a table in only her underwear and the veil she’d put on earlier. A blush crept up Amber’s neck and cheeks as she wondered what this man might think of her and her sister.

“Ah, I think I understand.” The man’s low chuckle took her by surprise and allowed her to relax again.

“Yes, well. What can I say? I don’t like getting drunk, and I’m not overly fond of some of my sister’s friends. Letting them go on without me for a while seemed like a good idea. If I’d known I’d cause trouble in the process...” She thought for a moment before deciding she had nothing to lose. “Besides, there’s so much to look at here. I had to stop and take it all in.”

She allowed her gaze to roam the club again and only barely repressed the shiver of excitement threatening to run down her spine as she observed more people kneeling on the floor at the feet of others. A girl she’d noticed getting down to her knees earlier was now on her feet, following the man who, Amber assumed, had to be her Dom toward closed double doors on the far side of the room, her head slightly bowed.

She felt her rescuer’s gaze on her and tore her attention back to him.

“By the way, I’m Amber Sommerville. Thank you for stepping in just now. I had no idea how to deal with that man.” Again, she noticed something in his eyes she couldn’t name.

“Hector Kelly.” He took the hand she offered and held it slightly longer than she’d expected. “You should either join your sister or go home, Amber. This is no place for young women on their own.”

“Oh no.” She laughed. “I’ve no intention of going yet. I want to see more. I’ve only read about places like this. I never believed they really existed, never mind could be found in Dublin. Now that I’m here, I want to discover how much of what I considered fiction is in fact real. And I want to know what’s on the other side of those doors.”

She’d no idea how she knew, but she’d no doubt Hector disapproved of her plans. His expression hadn’t changed, and yet she could almost feel his frustration. Tough. She was grateful he’d helped her out of a tricky situation, but it didn’t give him the right to tell her how to spend the rest of her evening. It was a shame though. She would have loved to get to know him better but not if it meant allowing him to make her decisions for her.

“Thank you again, Hector. I’m just going to have a look around before I join the others again.” She took a few moments to really look at him. The slight stutter in her heartbeat took her by surprise, and she dismissed it. Hector was very attractive—not far removed from her image of the ideal man in fact—and he was bossy, which should have been off-putting but, strangely enough, didn’t actually bother her. It was a shame she’d probably never see him again.

The moment she saw him take a deep breath, she turned and walked toward the half-hidden doors at the back of the club. She didn’t want to hear why he thought she should leave.

Book Details

Release Date: September 26, 2018
Pairing: MF
Length 61k words approx.
Universal buy link: mybook.to/AoN
All or Nothing is available in KU and as a paperback.




Friday 21 September 2018

All or Nothing - Pre-Order Discount




All or Nothing, the first book in the Blowhole Series will be released on September 26th. Until that date, the book will be available for preorder for $.99.

With the launch date is less than a week away, I thought you might want to know a little more about the story. Below you’ll find the blurb as well as an excerpt introducing Hector Kelly.

On September 26 I’ll share an excerpt introducing Amber, so don’t forget to keep an eye on my blog.

Enjoy!

Blurb

If she’s not good enough for all of him, she’d rather have none.

Forty-one-year-old Hector Kelly has lived the BDSM lifestyle all his adult life, but the recent influx of inexperienced and starry-eyed young women has killed its luster for him. When he reluctantly accompanies his best friend to The Dark Cellar during an open night, he is not surprised when he has to rescue a clueless young woman from a predatory Dom. Against his better judgment, he spends the rest of the night showing the gorgeous Amber around the club.

Until she entered The Dark Cellar, twenty-one-year-old Amber Sommerville was convinced BDSM only existed between the covers of her favorite romance novels. As Hector introduces her to this unknown world, everything she sees awakens desires she’s never experienced before.

The attraction between Hector and Amber is as instant as it is undeniable. But with an almost twenty-year age difference between them and Hector’s conviction that Amber is too young both for him and to know whether or not she wants to submit, their developing relationship remains purely vanilla—for the most part. When Amber witnesses Hector in full Dom mode, she recognizes that he’s been holding back and sets him an ultimatum: either he fully commits all of himself to their relationship or she’ll leave. If Hector wants to hang on to the woman who has captured his heart, he’ll have to reassess his preconceived notions.



Excerpt

“Jaysus, man, you could at least pretend you’re enjoying yourself.”

Hector continued to study the crowd in front of him, reacquainting himself with the club he hadn’t visited in a long time, while contemplating how to answer his friend. The Dark Cellar hadn’t changed much. The large space still mostly resembled a luxurious private club. Nothing in the furniture, covered in red and black faux leather, or the layout indicated the true nature of the establishment or its members. If it hadn’t been for the revealing nature of the attire and the provocative behavior of the majority of people surrounding them, it would be easy to conclude this was nothing more or less than an upmarket nightclub.

Hector reluctantly turned away from the crowd he’d been studying and faced his friend. “You knew I didn’t want to come here tonight, Paul. There’s no point complaining about my lack of enthusiasm now.” He tried to keep his voice pleasant. Paul was a good mate and had been for years. Hector didn’t want to upset him but, fuck, if it hadn’t been for Paul pestering him for over a week about coming out, he’d be at home now with a nice glass of wine and a good book. And alone. Hector swallowed the sigh wanting to escape and forced the frown off his face.

“I still don’t get what your problem is.” The bewildered look on Paul’s face emphasized the confusion in his voice. “This is our world, has been for years. Why are you all of a sudden reluctant to immerse yourself?”

Hector lifted his glass to his lips and drank deeply from his whiskey. His second glass. He almost smiled. Two drinks ensured he wouldn’t be allowed to indulge himself, even if he were to change his mind. It wasn’t likely, but it didn’t hurt to make sure he wouldn’t stray beyond being a spectator.

He felt Paul’s scrutiny despite trying to ignore his friend. They’d known each other too long for the man not to be able to read him like a book. Even the ten years Hector had spent in London hadn’t been able to break the bond between them. Paul had visited Hector at least once a year. They’d been to clubs together there. And Hector knew he’d never displayed any reluctance until now, so Paul’s confusion was both reasonable and understandable. Hector just wasn’t sure how to explain to his friend that his enthusiasm for the scene had taken a serious nosedive ever since popular fiction had pulled all sorts of wannabees with unrealistic expectations to the scene. It wasn’t that he had a problem with the nature of the club he found himself in; far from it. This was in his blood, and he’d doubted that could ever change. It was just

He allowed his gaze to roam the large room they were in and frowned when he saw the group of young women enter. A bleeding hen party. That was exactly what he didn’t like. Those girls were here not because they had an interest in BDSM but because they were drunk and wanted to do something outside their comfort zone. They were here to ogle things they didn’t understand, and they’d spend the next few weeks or months giggling about collars, floggers, and people kneeling for others; making fun of what for him and numerous others was a way of life.

He turned to Paul. His friend deserved an explanation, of course. It wasn’t just that he’d accepted Paul’s invitation to come out tonight and should, therefore, have the decency to at least try and be good company. Since Paul now worked here part-time, both as a supervisor and as part of the security team, it actually made sense to explain his reasoning to him. He just didn’t want to do it here and now. “Can we leave it be, Paul? I really do not want to get into it, especially not while I have to shout to make myself heard.” Hector didn’t even try to relax his facial muscles, unconcerned that his irritation was plain to read for anybody paying attention. If they’d come here on any other night, he would more than likely have been able to lose himself in the habits of a lifetime. He hated these open nights. Why did clubs feel the need to invite the uninitiated? It was a recipe for disaster, and he’d seen it go wrong often enough not to want to be part of it anymore.

“Will you relax? That scowl on your face is enough to scare me off, never mind anybody else.” Impatience had crept into Paul’s voice.

“I’m sorry.” Hector turned and gave Paul his full attention—his friend deserved better from him, no matter how reluctant he might be. “This setup gets on my nerves. I’ve seen it go horrifically wrong in London; I don’t want to see it again.”

“What do you mean? What did you see?”

“A few weeks before I left London, I was in what used to be my favorite club during one of these open nights. A group of girls like those”—Hector nodded toward the girls grouped around the young woman wearing a veil to indicate her upcoming wedding—“walked in, and one of them caught the attention of a visiting Dom. He expected certain things. She’d no idea what she was dealing with. Nobody interfered because nobody realized she was in trouble until it was too late.”

Hector stared at the hen party again as most of the women walked across the club to the bar while one of them, a gorgeous redhead, stood rooted to the spot.

“They asked her afterwards why she hadn’t used her safeword. Only then did it become clear she’d no idea what a safeword was or that she could have used it to end what that man was doing to her.” Hector stopped talking and looked at Paul. Did his friend understand? After he’d witnessed that debacle, Hector had vowed he’d steer clear of the uninitiated. Not visiting clubs on the nights they allowed the vanillas inside was part of that promise to himself. A promise he’d broken tonight.

“Listen, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to spoil your evening. I’ll go home now. Invite me along again when they have a members-only night. I’m not going to be able to relax tonight.”

Hector saw the disappointment on his friend’s face. He’d no doubt Paul had been looking forward to their first night out since Hector had come back from London. He wished he could fake it, but all his instincts screamed at him to leave. His nerves were on edge, waiting for something to go wrong. The state he was in, he wasn’t good company. Relief flooded him when Paul nodded.

“Fair enough. I’ll call you tomorrow to tell you how misplaced your worries were.”

Hector smiled his first real smile of the evening. He was a lucky man to have a friend like Paul. It was rare to find someone who trusted you completely and allowed you to be yourself. Ten years of living in different countries hadn’t changed that dynamic, and it was a minor miracle.

As Hector walked to the exit, his attention shifted to the beautiful young woman he’d seen earlier. She’d barely moved from the spot where her friends had left her. She looked around and seemed to be drinking in the sights surrounding her. He glanced at her arm and saw the white band circling the slim wrist. At least, this club, unlike the one in London, had the foresight to make the guests distinguishable from the lifestylers.

He was barely aware of slowing down as he allowed his gaze to drink in her beauty. Whoever she was, she looked stunning. Her red hair curled freely around her face and tumbled down her back. The short black dress she wore was tight and emphasized her well-formed breasts and long, slim legs. He was amazed she’d been able to stand there for as long as she had without attracting attention. He tried to figure out what she might be looking at with such a fascinated expression on her face and wasn’t surprised when his gaze came to rest on an almost naked woman kneeling next to a black-clad Dom who caressed his sub’s hair while conducting a conversation with two other men.

He stopped walking while he considered her reaction to the scene. She might be what he considered an innocent, but, unlike most he’d met in the past, she didn’t look shocked or disgusted. He had to give her that. Just for a moment, he played with the thought of approaching her before mentally kicking himself and resuming his journey to the door. He’d already broken one promise to himself by coming here on an open night; he wasn’t about to break another.

A few meters away from the exit, Hector turned to look at the beautiful redhead one more time. It was ridiculous; she was barely more than a child. She had to be at least twenty-one to have been allowed to enter, but she couldn’t possibly be much older. Much too young for him, even if he hadn’t sworn to stay away from curious vanillas like her.

Hector suppressed a self-deprecating smile and was about to continue his journey to the exit when a masked man in a dark, expensive-looking suit approaching the girl pulled him up short. Without thinking about it, Hector walked toward the pair. Of all the Doms to approach her, it had to be Carlos. He remembered the man, and the memories weren’t good. Carlos had always taken arrogance to a new and previously unseen level. If the mask he was wearing now was any indication, that attitude hadn’t improved over the years. Hector had no doubt, and his blood ran cold; he was about to see his worst fears come true. The girl didn’t stand a chance against this particular Dom. His suspicions were confirmed when he caught most of Carlos’ sentence.

“... told you to kneel. Don’t you know how to behave, girl?”


 Book Details

Release Date: September 26, 2018
Pairing: MF
Length 61k words approx.
Universal pre-order/buy link: mybook.to/AoN
All or Nothing will be available in KU and as a paperback.


Thursday 6 September 2018

Going Back to My Roots – and The Blowhole

Round about this time five years ago, online friends challenged me to write a book during NaNoWriMo. Fully expecting to crash to a hold after two chapters I started typing and, much to my astonishment, had a completely first draft twenty days into November.

Getting the story published took another fourteen months, but, in February 2015 Little Rainbows was released by Totally Bound Publishing. Even before that happened,  my beta readers informed me that I had to write about Hector and Amber, two secondary characters in Little Rainbows, and specifically, how they ended up together.

It took me a few years but I eventually got there. On September 26, All or Nothing will be released on Amazon. Because this book is technically a prequel to Little Rainbows it can be read as a stand-alone and/or as a first in series.

With this book I’ve come full circle. Not only have I returned to a world I created years ago, I’ve also gone back to an MF pairing. I have to admit that both reunions were joyful.



All or Nothing – Blurb

If she’s not good enough for all of him, she’d rather have none.

Forty-one-year-old Hector Kelly has lived the BDSM lifestyle all his adult life, but the recent influx of inexperienced and starry-eyed young women has killed its luster for him. When he reluctantly accompanies his best friend to The Dark Cellar during an open night, he is not surprised when he has to rescue a clueless young woman from a predatory Dom. Against his better judgment, he spends the rest of the night showing the gorgeous Amber around the club.

Until she entered The Dark Cellar, twenty-one-year-old Amber Sommerville was convinced BDSM only existed between the covers of her favorite romance novels. As Hector introduces her to this unknown world, everything she sees awakens desires she’s never experienced before.

The attraction between Hector and Amber is as instant as it is undeniable. But with an almost twenty-year age difference between them and Hector’s conviction that Amber is too young both for him and to know whether or not she wants to submit, their developing relationship remains purely vanilla—for the most part. When Amber witnesses Hector in full Dom mode, she recognizes that he’s been holding back and sets him an ultimatum: either he fully commits all of himself to their relationship or she’ll leave. If Hector wants to hang on to the woman who has captured his heart, he’ll have to reassess his preconceived notions.

All or Nothing will be available in KU and is currently available for pre-order. It will also be released as a paperback.

Book Details

Release Date: September 26, 2018
Pairing: MF
Length 61k words approx.
Cover Artist: Emmy Ellis @Studionp
Pre-order link: Amazon US | Amazon UK

And, you may want to keep an eye on my website over the next few weeks. I’ll be sharing excerpts and am also planning a giveaway or two.


Sunday 13 May 2018

Double Dutch Courage – Out Now




If you follow me on Facebook (or Twitter, or MeWe) you may have noticed that I released my new book, Double Dutch Courage, two days ago.

Unlike my previous full-length novels, this book was self-published, which turned out to be both a terrifying and exhilarating experience. And, for the first time I’ve set my story in Amsterdam, the city where I was born and raised. Exciting times indeed. J

Below you’ll find all you might want to know about Double Dutch Courage as well as a new, never before shared, excerpt.


Word count: 63k approx
Cover images: Dan Skinner & Stephen Cassidy
Cover design: Stephen Cassidy

Blurb

Ronan Collins has spent most of his life in Dublin hiding who he really is. Coming out would hurt his mother, and Ronan isn’t going to be the second gay man to do that. When he receives news the father he has never known has died, leaving him both a house and a business in Amsterdam, he jumps on the opportunity to get to know the man who fathered him and to discover what he’s been denying himself for years.

Lucas Brandt thought he had it all when Paul Kelly offered him a job and rooms to live in. With Paul deceased he fears he may be about to lose both. He didn’t even know Paul had a son, and now this stranger is on his way from Dublin to pull the rug out from under Lucas’s feet.

The two men don’t expect to like each other, never mind feel attraction. With numerous reasons why hooking up would be a bad idea, why does giving in feel so much better? And is Ronan’s back story really as he’s always imagined it to be?

Sudden changes require great bravery. Can both men find the courage to be true to themselves and each other?


Excerpt

Lucas checked how late it was for the sixth time in the space of twenty minutes. He hated waiting. He detested it more now than he’d ever done before. The next hour, day, week — he’d no idea how long it would take — would decide his immediate future. Everything was up in the air. All he knew for sure was that his life was no longer in his own hands. Some stranger was about to arrive and, depending on what that man decided, Lucas’s existence could change beyond recognition. If it wasn’t for the horrific reality of it he could have been persuaded it was some cruel April Fool’s Day stunt.
He picked up his mobile again and cursed when he saw no more than four minutes had passed since the last time he’d done so. He pushed his phone into his pocket, hoping that keeping it out of sight would make it easier to stop checking the screen every few minutes. He needed to keep busy. It would be at least another hour before his visitor would arrive. Except that he couldn’t think of the man — Ronan Collins — in those terms, of course. As soon as the Irishman walked through the door, Lucas would be reduced to the status of a, more than likely, unwanted guest.
He went to the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee. No! I’m not a visitor here either. Paul named me in his will, he gave me part of his business. This Ronan will need my cooperation almost as much as I’ll depend on him.
Carrying the coffee with him, he made his way to his bright and spacious studio. He stopped on the threshold and studied the room in detail for the first time since he’d furnished it almost three years ago.
This is mine! Everything from the clean lines, to the white walls, and the bright splashes of color had been his idea, his design and his execution. Paul had allowed him to get on with it, not putting any restrictions or expectations on him.
‘You do exactly what you want, lad. These will be your rooms and if you bring clients to your studio it should show them what your style is, give them an idea of what to expect if they work with you.’ A lump formed in his throat and he lowered himself into his comfy chair. He missed Paul, and the big hole in his life didn’t appear to be shrinking. Three weeks had passed since the cremation and he hadn’t even come close to getting used to the idea that the man who’d been so much more than his mentor for the past three years was no longer around.
Blowing on his still too-hot-to-drink coffee, he surrendered to the memories surging through his mind. He’d been so lucky. He’d met Paul when he was in his last year of college. Paul had been a guest lecturer and had given a month’s worth of lessons. Even now, almost four years later, Lucas couldn’t believe that Paul had been so impressed with his ideas that he’d offered him not only a job but also a place to stay once he’d discovered Lucas’s predicament. Lucas had moved in and started working two weeks after he’d received his diploma.
He stared at the mug in his hands as the loneliness that had been his constant companion ever since Paul died, tried to engulf him again. The house wasn’t the same without Paul in it. It was too big for him on his own. At least once a day he’d find himself halfway up the stairs before remembering that nobody awaited him in the rooms at the top. No more shared coffee breaks, no more discussions of designs and clients, no more…
He forced himself to not get trapped in that particular vortex of painful thoughts again. It hurt too much. There were moments he feared he would drown in the loneliness, when he had to talk out loud to himself to break the silence surrounding him. He missed Paul. He hadn’t realized how used to his company he’d become until he was no longer around. Forty-nine was too young for anyone to die. Lucas still had so much to learn, so many unanswered questions, and now he’d never know.
I can’t believe he never told me he had a son.               


Early Reviews

“Trust me, with writing like this you won’t want to miss a phenomenal story!” – OJ He Say

“One of the things I really liked about this book was its setting. Amsterdam and the Netherlands become almost a character in the book. I loved reading about the cultural items throughout the book: the travel, the food, the holidays, etc. It was like I was actually there touring the country with Ronan and Lucas. I've read a lot of books set in other countries that could be anywhere. Ms. Stone made the location a part of her book!Eric McDermott

“I enjoyed this smooth-moving story of discovery, redemption, and restoration so much I hardly know where to begin. […] Romance novels are usually so predictable. Everyone seems to follow the same script to attract and titillate the reader. This is where Ms. Stone steps away from the pack. Her characters are delightfully unpredictable. The surprises are artfully dispersed throughout the story, using charm, humor, and emotion in such a way as to enhance your reading pleasure.” – Sharon

“This was such a lovely story. Sweet, fun, and charming. Low on sex, but high on feelings.  […]This book is for everyone who loves a well-written story with great characters, who loves a laugh and sweetness without being sappy.” - Tanja