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 14th, 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.
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
Buy links Valentine's Love: Universal Link | Amazon US | Amazon UK
