From the Blurb:
Return to small-town Chesapeake and fall in love with the single-dad bad boy who keeps breaking hearts, and the adorable geek who can't help but fall head over heels for his brother's best friend.
For one night with the man of his dreams, Taran's willing to break all his rules.....
Taran's always been the reliable one. Safe. Which is why he keeps getting dumped by the assholes he dates. And after the latest round of "too boring," he's ready to drink his blues away. That's until Silas King shows up - the gorgeous guy he'd swooned over through high school.
Silas wants one more night of distraction before his new reality sets in, and he sets his sights on Taran, his friend's little brother who's looking sexier than ever. It's not like he can get in any more trouble than he's already found himself in.
After Taran and Silas spend one unforgettable night together, feelings emerge, ones quickly stamped out when Silas confesses why he's back in town. He's returned to meet his three-month-old daughter.
With that chaos in his life, Silas can't pursue anything further with Taran, and having longed for Silas his whole damn life, Taran isn't sure he'll survive the aftermath. Yet the more they try to avoid their connection, the more they keep colliding...until the passion between them detonates.
Excerpt:
Taran had a bad feeling about tonight.
Not because Kevin had chosen Hickory Taproom for dinner instead of one of Taran’s brother’s establishments in town. Not even because Taran had been getting one-word answers from his boyfriend of eight months all week. No, this ominous premonition hit because it was Friday the Twelfth, and ever since he was a kid, Friday the Thirteenth’s cousin caused more heartbreak and devastation than the unlucky day could ever hope to.
Found out his best friend was moving away? Friday the Twelfth.
Caught his first boyfriend cheating on him? Friday the Twelfth.
Dad got into a head-on car collision, killing him instantly? Friday the fucking Twelfth.
There should be a moratorium on the day, honestly.
He looked the menu over, his glazed eyes blurring the black print on cream paper as his nerves tick, tick, ticked. This was just a Friday-night date. No one was going to rob the Hickory Taproom, and Kevin wouldn’t show up with his tongue crammed down another guy’s throat.
For some reason, neither of those thoughts reassured him.
He glanced up, and Kevin strode in, his blond hair artfully styled and a grim look on his face.
Apparently, the sight of Kevin didn’t reassure him either.
Their eyes met, and Kevin headed in his direction, each footstep like the tolling of a bell. The sinking in his chest grew the closer Kevin came. Taran resisted the urge to duck under the table and hide. If he possessed an ounce of self-deception, he might be able to convince himself he was reading too much into the situation. However, Taran had cynicism down to an art form and had learned early on the grim realities life could dole out.
His preppy, pretty, out-of-his-league boyfriend wasn’t coming here to talk next steps in their relationship. The resigned way Kevin plunked into the seat opposite him made that clear.
Taran placed the menu down. Suddenly, he wasn’t hungry anymore.
“Hey, Kev,” Taran said, breaking through the awkward quiet. A prickle crawled up his arms, along with the self-loathing that made frequent appearances.
“Taran,” Kevin said, tapping his fingers on the polished surface of the table. He didn’t look up to meet Taran’s eyes.
Taran sucked in a sharp breath, bracing himself for impact. “Let me guess: you want to talk.”
Kevin nodded, reaching over for the container of sugars and running the tips of his fingers across the packets. The waitress had caught sight of another person at the table and was weaving her way over. Taran held back his groan.
“Yeah,” Kevin said, his voice heavy.
“Hey, fellas,” the waitress called out a few steps before she reached the table.
“We should break up,” Kevin blurted.
Taran wanted to die from embarrassment, but they weren’t all getting their wishes today. Heat flooded his cheeks as he glanced at the waitress who froze after hearing Kevin. “Do you mind giving us a second?” he forced out, pasting a half smile on his face.
She almost ran to get away from the awkward situation. If only he could join her.
“Look,” Kevin continued as if he hadn’t just caused that uncomfortableness. “You have to know things haven’t been good for a while. Neither of us has been happy.”
For at least the past month, Taran had sensed that Kevin had checked out of the relationship, but he hadn’t said anything. Relationships were supposed to have their ups and downs, and he’d figured they might be going through a bumpy patch—not a flat-out eviction.
“What happened?” was all Taran could manage.
Kevin shrugged. “Look, you’re a great guy,” he started, and Taran winced.
The “but” was evident in the statement, and he could already fill in the blanks with a thousand different complaints he’d gotten from exes over the years, not that he’d dated a startling number of guys. Boring, too needy, too geeky, too blunt, and the criticism that still crept in every time he looked into the mirror… not hot enough.
“But I don’t think we have a ton in common,” Kevin said. “Like, the steampunk stuff you’re obsessed with, the conventions you go to—it’s a little weird. And I’m sorry, but serial killer documentaries don’t scream date night, Taran.”
Taran swallowed. Right, so too geeky was the issue this time. “I don’t mind keeping my interests to myself,” he said. “You don’t need to share them with me.”
Kevin speared his fingers through his hair. “That’s not all, though,” he muttered.
Bully for Taran, more agony waited in the bushes to knock him on his ass.
Kevin looked up to meet his eyes at last. “Shouldn’t there be more of a zing? I mean, relationships are supposed to have passion, and… yeah. I’m just not feeling this, I guess.”
Oh, joy. Another guy who found him boring.
Stronger Than Longing is availble for purchase on Amazon and as part of your Kindle Unlimited Subscription.
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