Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine’s Day

Okay, I’m three days early, but really, is there ever a reason not to be in the mood for love? I’m delighted to be taking part in the BE MINE Valentine’s Day Bash in Ana Newfolk’s wonderful FB group - Café Lima. The party started Saturday and won’t end until Valentine’s Day itself, so if you haven’t joined the fun yet, there’s still plenty of time to do so. You can join Ana’s group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/208814836439843/

As part of the festivities and as a special treat for our readers, the participants in this event have all penned a Valentine’s Day flash fiction featuring a favourite couple from one of their previously published books. These flashes will be bundled in an e-book which will be made available for FREE, probably on February 14^th, but stay tuned for further updates.

And, while your waiting for the collection, each participating author will share their own flash during the bash in Ana's readers' group.

My flash can be found below and features a couple I first introduced last Christmas. I hope you’ll enjoy spending a bit more time with Mitch and Cian.

This short flash revisits Mitch and Cian from A Miracle in the Library and is an interlude falling between that Christmas story and the St. Patrick’s Day novella I hope to publish mid-March.

Mitch checked the clock. No, he wasn’t imagining things. He really was hungry. He could usually set his watch by his mother’s routine and dinner was never later than a quarter to seven. Except now it was half past.

He sniffed the air, frowning when he encountered no mouth-watering aromas. Bemused, he got up from the couch he’d been lounging on and walked to the kitchen.

“Ma?” Whatever he’d expected, it wasn’t his mother sitting at the breakfast bar, reading a book.

She put her finger on the page, then looked up at him. “Yes?”

“Are we even having dinner tonight?” Mitch was struggling to keep a handle on his temper. It was frustrating enough that he couldn’t spend Valentine’s Day with his boyfriend. Just my luck that it has to fall on a Thursday. With Mitch in the final year of secondary school and Cian in college in Dublin, a midweek get-together just wasn’t in the cards. Not even on Valentine’s Day. Not even with my first-ever boyfriend.

His mother gave him one of her infamous patient smiles, the ones she gave when she thought he was being especially dim-witted. “All in its own good time, my lad.” Her smile changed, turning almost evil. “Don’t worry. You’ll get fed.” She lowered her gaze and continued reading.

The situation was so unusual Mitch had no idea what to say, so he returned to the living room. Here he was, eighteen at last and stuck at home while others celebrated love. Frustrated, he extracted his phone from his pocket and swiped the screen.

No new messages. Mitch’s mood dipped further.

They had exchanged texts earlier, but for the past two hours, there’d been no sign of life from Cian. Mitch’s message was still the last in their thread.

Fuck, I wish we could spend the evening together.

Had he at last gone too far? Been too needy? He wistfully reflected that he could do with another visit from Klaus Nichols. Except this time he needed a Valentine’s Day miracle.

Feeling sorry for himself, he leaned back into the soft cushion and closed his eyes. All he wanted was to spend Valentine’s Day with his boyfriend. Surely that wasn’t unreasonable? No, but it is impossible.

The sound of the doorbell chiming through the house had him sitting up straight. Visitors?

“Would you get that, Mitch?”

“Sure.” As he walked to the door, Mitch wondered if whoever was visiting was the reason they hadn’t eaten yet.

Mitch pulled the door open, curious who he would find on the other side, looked up and….

“Hey.” Cian’s gaze didn’t quite meet Mitch’s, and his smile was almost bashful.

Mitch looked over his shoulder in the direction of the kitchen before facing Cian again. “You…her?”

Cian shrugged. “I thought we could have pizza together. But it’s a school night, so I checked with your ma first.”

“Bastards,” Mitch muttered, unable to suppress his delighted grin. He closed the distance between them, lifted his chin, and kissed Cian. “Pizza sounds good. Let me get my coat.”

Mitch’s heart sang as he stuck out his tongue to his ma before shrugging into his coat and walking away from the house with Cian…his boyfriend…on Valentine’s Day.

****

As stated above, this flash takes place about two months after Mitch and Cian first meet in A Miracle in the Library. I realize Christmas has come and gone, but if you are interested in the start of their story, you can find it here: mybook.to/AMITL

In the meantime, you might be interested in my latest release: Valentine’s Surprise, which is the sequel to last year’s Valentine’s Love.

Valentine’s surprise is €.99/$.99/£.99.

Buy links Valentine’s Surprise: Universal link | Amazon US | Amazon UK

Buy links Valentine's Love: Universal Link | Amazon US | Amazon UK