The Jock by Tal Bauer

 

Amazon Link   - Available in KU  

Goodreads Link

Wes Van de Hoek clawed his way off his family’s West Texas ranch under the Friday night lights, earning a football scholarship to the state’s best university. Three years in, he has it all: he’s the starting tight end, team captain, and, according to ESPN, maybe the best college football player in the nation. But he’s been keeping a secret from everyone.

Justin Swanscott has three certainties in his life: he’s gay, football is overrated, and he really, really doesn’t like cowboys. He should never have fallen into Wes’s open-range eyes or let his heart run wild when Wes gave him that shy little smile over summer. But he couldn’t stop himself.

Everyone’s asking questions about Wes this season: How is he playing so well? Will Texas be undefeated this year? Will he take the team all the way to the national championship? What’s next for him?

The truth? Wes isn’t dreaming about an NFL contract. His heart belongs to Justin, even though the world wants it to belong to football.

Wes has stadiums packed with screaming fans, ESPN is all over him, and the NFL wants him badly. He’s living under a microscope, and the pressure keeps building as the team keeps winning. Everyone wants something from him, but all Wes wants is to love Justin.

Something’s gotta give. 

My Rating - 5 Stars!

Tal Bauer's The Jock is an amazing sports romance. This is a fabulous combination of college romance, sports, whirlwind romance, Paris, and coming of age. 

Basically, it's four hundred pages of awesomeness! I love this story and couldn't devour it fast enough.

A few weeks in Paris for Wes finds him falling madly in love with his roommate Justin. After a whirlwind romance, they head back to the same college in Texas. But things aren't so easy.

Wes is a closeted football player, who can't come out while on the team. His coach hits him with a motivational talk that comes at a terrible time. 

Justin, meanwhile, isn't closeted. 

Ugh, all the feels come out when they need to leave each other for a few weeks. And all the angst starts when Wes is back at school and pressured by his coach. 

All the feels. The tension. The fear. The anxiety. The doubts. The absolute terror of coming out, or being outed. The need to protect Justin at all costs. 

And this is why I love sports romances. All of Wes's fears are well founded. Sports fans are brutal. Teammates are ruthless. Everything Wes feels is absolutely based in reality. 

The pressure he feels is intense and is well illustrated. He's only at college due to his football scholarship. If he comes out and loses football, he loses his education. And his education is extremely important to him, for that is his dream. 

Omg. Everything about this book is amazing. I felt every damn emotion along with the men. The only thing I don't love is that it's written in alternating third person pov instead of first person. There are definitely times this kept me a little disconnected, but overall, the emotions are felt strongly. 

The book gutted me. Just gutted me. And that's less than a third of the way in. 

The rest of their story follows the highs and lows, the good and the bad, of their journey. The strength of their connection and love is never in doubt. But the path they need to take to get their happy ever after is in question throughout.

I love every single second of this romance. It definitely surprised me with some twists and turns I didn't see coming. I appreciate that this is a totally unique storyline to me. It's definitely not what I expected and you'd be hard pressed to find two people who fall in love so quickly or so deeply. 

The Jock is everything I love about sports romances. Tal Bauer perfectly encompasses all the pressures and demands put upon athletes to tow the line and be the star athlete. I love, love, love this book. 

SERIES SUNDAY - Texas series by RJ Scott

  Sundays are for highlighting some of my favorite series!

My Rating - 5 Stars!

RJ Scott's Texas Series is a fabulous series. This is one of those special series that needs to be binged, as you won't be able to get enough of these men. 

Jack and Riley!

Jack and Riley are one of the best all time book couples. The Campbell-Hayes family is one of the best ever. They are a highly addictive read, with each book just adding more to the fun. 

It all starts with a forced faked marriage and ends up with the love a lifetime. Their relationship is a GFY one between two total opposites. There's family feuds, rivals, and plenty of family power dynamics. Fast forward and they add kids to their crew, keeping things interesting and as lovable as ever.

There's plenty of side characters, and plot twists to keep you going throughout. There's plenty of drama to keep you intrigued, and plenty of hot sex, including barn sex. Yes, barn sex! Their story involves the SCOTUS marriage equality ruling, with the author doing a great job with the feelings and motions involved. 

The Texas Series is just a perfect, feel good series. I love every moment of this series. From strangers to family, every moment in between is just perfect. This is one of those special series I could re-read over and over and over again.

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The Heart of Texas 

Book One - The Heart of Texas

Goodreads   Amazon

Riley Hayes, the playboy of the Hayes family, is a young man who seems to have it all: money, a career he loves, and his pick of beautiful women. His father, CEO of HayesOil, passes control of the corporation to his two sons; but a stipulation is attached to Riley's portion. Concerned about Riley's lack of maturity, his father requires that Riley 'marry and stay married for one year to someone he loves'. Angered by the requirement, Riley seeks a means of bypassing his father's stipulation. Blackmailing Jack Campbell into marrying him "for love" suits Riley's purpose. There is no mention in his father's documents that the marriage had to be with a woman and Jack Campbell is the son of Riley Senior's arch rival. Win win.

Riley marries Jack and abruptly his entire world is turned inside out. Riley hadn't counted on the fact that Jack Campbell, quiet and unassuming rancher, is a force of nature in his own right.

This is a story of murder, deceit, the struggle for power, lust and love, the sprawling life of a rancher and the whirlwind existence of a playboy. But under and through it all, as Riley learns over the months, this is a tale about family and everything that that word means.

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Texas Winter

Book Two - Texas Winter

Goodreads   Amazon

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...

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Texas Heat

Book Three - Texas Heat

Goodreads   Amazon

Against the backdrop of twenty half naked models on DD land, and in the midst of fighting the oil establishment that just won't give Riley a chance, Texas Heat is the story of one hot summer in Texas with a Gay Rodeo, humor, angst and a love between two men that just grows stronger every day.

Jack hires Robbie, a man recovering from a great loss, to be his right hand man. Meanwhile Riley's mischievous photographer friend, Eli, decides the DD is the perfect backdrop for a cowboy themed model shoot. Eli has secrets not even Riley knows about but despite what he is hiding he falls in lust with Robbie at first sight. Everyone except Robbie can see how perfect Eli would be for him.

What happens when secrets spill and lies are discovered? And just how far will Riley and Jack go to play matchmaker? 

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Texas Family

Book Four - Texas Family 

Goodreads   Amazon

Jack and Riley Campbell-Hayes begin a journey that will change their lives forever.

Set against the backdrop of the Double D, the cast of the Texas books face changes that won’t leave a single one of them untouched.

Jack and Riley want to extend their small family of three. Their first choice is surrogacy with Jack as the father and when all this begins smoothly both men can't help but contemplate at what point would things go wrong. After all, their lives are far from normal and nothing is ever smooth.

Add a small four year old boy in foster care into the mix and suddenly things become a whole lot more complicated.

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Texas Christmas

Book Five - Texas Christmas

Goodreads   Amazon

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. 

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Texas Fall

Book Six - Texas Fall

Goodreads   Amazon

Jack is focusing on building an equine therapy school for children with special needs and works hard along side his normal horse training and breeding program. He and Riley have settled into a softer, quieter, kind of family life, but that doesn't stop them using the barn with the door to the fullest!

But the lull comes before the storm.

Riley and his new assistant travel to Laredo, and across the border into Neuvo Laredo as part of an exploratory team and things very quickly go to hell. Riley is caught in some serious Cartel problems and suddenly everything Jack holds dear is threatened.

Add in Vaughn and Darren's story, revisiting Robbie, Eli, Liam and Marcus, alongside Sean and Eden and the wedding that never was, and this story promises you everything you want from a Texas series book.

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Texas Wedding

Book Seven - Texas Wedding 

Goodreads   Amazon

Sometimes Riley and Jack have to be the ones to fight other people's battles and stand up for what is right.

With the life changing prospect of a yes vote from SCOTUS on the issue of same sex marriage, Riley and Jack realise they have decisions to make. Add in some distressing family news and the very real possibility that old secrets may resurface, and this book in the Texas series pulls together as many threads as the boys can manage to handle.

But through all the ups and the downs, children, family events, laughter, and tears, there is nothing as special as the forever love between these two men.

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Texas Gift

Book Eight - Texas Gift 

Goodreads   Amazon

A gift for every single reader who said they needed to know what happened next for Jack and Riley…

When Hayley arrived on the steps of the D, Riley and Jack knew life would never be the same.

Told through Riley and Jack’s eyes, this is ten years in the life of their family and watching Hayley grow up, fall in love, and start her own life. Hurricanes, illness, babies, happiness, sadness, work, play, the barn, the office, horses, friends, enemies, and above all, love. 

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Home for Christmas

Book Nine - Home for Christmas 

Goodreads   Amazon

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.

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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, she believes that love is love and every man deserves their own happy ending.

Find RJ here: Amazon | BookBub | Facebook - Also, Never miss a release

Rebel at Spruce High (Spruce Texas Romance, #5) by Daryl Banner

 

Amazon Link 
Goodreads Link

REBEL AT SPRUCE HIGH is the next upcoming book in the Spruce, Texas series. It follows introverted gamer and Biggie's Bites employee Toby as he enters his senior year at Spruce High. The arrival of a gorgeous, leather-jacket-clad new student has the whole high school abuzz with rumors and scandal - especially when the bad boy sets his eyes on Toby.

My Rating - 5 Stars!

Rebel at Spruce High is a mesmerizing young adult romance by Daryl Banner. The fifth book in the Spruce Texas Romance series, it's everything I was hoping it would me. As an avid fan of young adult, coming of age tales, I was elated to get a chance to read this book.  

This book does justice to many of the issues facing teenagers today. It also does a fabulous job illustrating that people's action aren't always motivated by what one would assume. I couldn't be more impressed by the way the author handles this. 

If you've been reading the Spruce Texas series, you'll adore the appearances of many past characters. It's just fabulous. Making it even better though is the way the author handles them. I was actually confused at one point thinking "No! No! Please don't make me hate this character!"

Toby is the bullied boy at school. He's a total outcast, starting the new school year without all his friends who graduated. His bullying is front and center throughout, making some tough to read moments. Seriously, if bullying is a hard no for you, skip this book. 

When he meets the new boy at school, Vann, he never expects the way the two will forever change each other. 

Both Toby and Vann are outcasts, even at home. But together they find friendship, acceptance, confidence, and love. They each teach important life lessons to each other. Their journey towards mending relationships, learning to love oneself, and finding a purpose, is both long and beautiful.

The writing is amazing. Written in alternating 1st person pov, the emotions jump off the pages. Fear. Discomfort. Anxiety. Want. Confidence. Rage. Heartbreak. Devastation. Rejection. Love. 

The most impressive aspect of this story is the multi-layered way different actions, emotions, and motivations are addressed. As the mom of two teens, I know first hand how teens react to things, taking them personally. It's great to see how different characters feel about the same moment. The author gives us these multiple perspectives and he does so in an impressive manner. 

Rebel at Spruce High is the perfect choice for when you're in the mood for a heartwarming, young adult read. Daryl Banner is stellar in exploring the complexity of issues facing teens today, and illustrating the difficulty of relationships, whether it be family or friends. I couldn't put it down.  I would highly recommend this to anyone, and find it would be a great read for teens as well as adults. 

RELEASE BLITZ & REVIEW - Forget Me Not by Felice Stevens

Title: Forget Me Not

Author: Felice Stevens

Genre: MM Romance (Cowboy)

Release Date: November 24, 2020

Texas cowboy Shea Montgomery has plans. Big plans. Still mourning the loss of his beloved father, he’s ready to sell the Forget Me Not ranch. He’s finally dusting off his boots, packing up his cowboy hat, and moving to New York City. Maybe he won’t have his horse to ride or a place to call home, but he’s taking his modeling career to the next level and making his dreams come true. First, though, he has to deal with a bunch of corporate types who don’t know the front end of a horse from the back.

Especially this one guy who can’t seem to stay out of trouble.

Or out of Shea’s mind.

Jake Axelrod’s perfect family is shattered when his daughter stops speaking and his husband ends their marriage. Two years later, she remains locked in silence and Jake has closed himself off. His life is structured to the minute, and Jake is convinced he’ll be alone forever, until he’s forced to attend a company retreat at a dude ranch in Texas where he meets a cowboy who sends him spinning out of control.

Jake can’t help falling…off his horse, out of a rowboat, and into Shea’s arms.

And Shea is more than willing to catch him.

Neither man wants to let go, and the time they spend together—whether in New York City or Texas—only makes it harder to be apart. A decision needs to be made: work it out or say good-bye. Jake’s life is in New York, but he can’t walk away from Shea or the ranch, and Shea must decide if the dream of a lifetime will lead him right back to the place where he started, where his heart belongs.

Amazon Link  - Available in KU
Goodreads Link

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My Rating - 5 Stars!

Felice Steven's Forget Me Not is a beautiful romance. As much as I was excited to read this, it's so much better than I could have ever anticipated.

Shea and Jake's romance is amazing. Shea's working on the ranch when Jake attends a work retreat there. And the attraction is instant. 

From the start, we see the two sides of Shea's character. He loves the ranch and the work involved. But he's always planned on living elsewhere and making his career as a model full time. 

And then there's Jake. He's a businessman through and through who can't resist the handsome cowboy. His experiences on the ranch are anything but impressive. I both felt bad for the man, and delighted by him. 

And then there are Jake's issues with his daughter, which is heartbreaking. She hasn't spoken in a couple years and she's the motivation behind every action he takes. When you get to know her, you will love her. She's is a delightful character and her resilience is fantastic. Most of all though is the way she and Shea bond. It will make your heart happy. 

Shea and Jake are so perfectly sweet together. I couldn't ask for more from these men. Their relationship develops with many little moments upon more little moments. It's all perfectly natural and charming.

The ranch itself is a character, fully developed and playing a large part in the story. The atmosphere is wonderfully described and the ease Jake and Stacey feel there is beautiful. As well, the author also brings NYC to life, with the many places they go and the busy pace.

The writing is fabulous, with two well developed main characters, and plenty of lovable side characters. I enjoy the obstacles they face, as well as the decisions that have in front of them. 

Forget Me Not is a mesmerizing romance. I love every moment of this Felice Stevens tale. And the ending couldn't have been any better. 

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Felice Stevens has always been a romantic at heart. She believes that while life is tough, there is always a happy ending just around the corner. Her characters have to work for it, however. Like life in NYC, nothing comes easy, and that includes love.

She lives in New York City and has way too much black in her wardrobe yet can't stop buying "just one more pair" of black pants. Felice is a happily addicted Bravo and Say Yes to the Dress addict and proud of it. And let's not get started on House Hunters. Her dream day starts out with iced coffee and ends with Prosecco, because...why shouldn't it? You can find her procrastinating on FB in her reader group, Felice's Breakfast Club.

You can find all my books, grouped by series in proper reading order on my website located here:   Website

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Home For Christmas: Connor's Story (Texas Series Book 9) by RJ Scott

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK 

Length: 45,000 words
approx.

Cover Design: Meredith Russell

Texas Series

Book #1 - The Heart of Texas

Amazon US | Amazon UK

Book #2 - Texas Winter

Amazon US | Amazon UK

Book #3 - Texas Heat

Amazon US | Amazon UK

Book #4 - Texas Family

Amazon US | Amazon UK

Book #5 - Texas Christmas

Amazon US | Amazon UK

Book #6 - Texas Fall

Amazon US | Amazon UK

Book #7 - Texas Wedding

Amazon US | Amazon UK

Book #8 - Texas Gift

Amazon US | Amazon UK

Blurb

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.

Review 

My Rating - 5 Stars!

I've been an avid fan of RJ Scott's Texas series for a long time now. Thus, I am thrilled to get to read Home For Christmas, which is Connor's story.

Connor and River are two college friends who are brought together over Christmas. 

These men are two complete opposites, as far as family and monetary status. Connor grew up as a Campbell-Hayes, in a loving family, and never struggling for money. And River, well, let's just say River did not have this type of experience. River is definitely a fantastically complex character.

This is a beautiful story of trying to find your place in the world. It's tender, loving and it's an emotional ride you won't want to miss. RJ Scott has once again gifted us with a look into the lives of the Campbell-Hayes family.

Excerpt

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?

USA Today bestselling author RJ Scott writes stories with a heart of romance, a troubled road to reach happiness, and most importantly, a happily ever after.


RJ Scott is the author of over one hundred romance books, writing emotional stories of complicated characters, cowboys, millionaire, princes, and the men who get mixed up in their lives. RJ is known for writing books that always end with a happy ever after. She lives just outside London and spends every waking
minute she isn’t with family either reading or writing.


The last time she had a week’s break from writing she didn’t like it one little bit, and she has yet to meet a bottle of wine she couldn’t defeat.


She’s always thrilled to hear from readers, bloggers and other writers. Please contact via the links below:

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