The Portland Heat series keeps getting hotter as seen in this third installment of Delivered Fast by Annabeth Albert. Keep reading to get a tantalizing taste of this sweet and steamy m/m read, along with my impressions of it, and learn even more about this book by visiting the other sites hosting this tour. In celebration of this release fill out the form below for the chance to win a $25 Amazon GC too!
Sure, Chris O’Neal has problems. His restaurant is still co-owned by his ex. His flannel-and-tattoos style is making him accidentally trendy. He can’t remember the last time he went out and had fun. But he’s not lonely, he’s driven. And the hot bakery delivery boy is not his problem, no matter how sweet his buns.
Chris is old enough to know Lance Degrassi’s sculpted good looks and clever double entendres spell nothing but trouble. Lance is still in college—he should be hitting the clubs and the books, chasing guys his own age, not pursuing some gruff motorcycle-riding workaholic. Especially when he’ll be leaving for grad school in a few months. But Lance keeps hanging around, lending a hand, charming Chris to distraction. Maybe some steaming hot no-strings indulgence won’t hurt.
Then again, maybe it will…
EXCERPT:
The delivery boy had sweet buns. Not to mention prize-winning rolls. He wore a pair of those fancy over-the-ear headphones and shimmied around the white bakery truck, his hips and ass working in time to what was apparently a killer beat. Even the way he climbed into the back of the truck was a choreographed dance. I wasn’t usually one to get distracted by eye candy, but that ass . . .
I’d propped open the service door at the rear of my coffee shop about fifteen minutes earlier, hoping to coax a cool breeze into the stuffy storeroom where I’d been working. I leaned against the door frame, appreciating the unexpectedly fine view in the alley.
When the guy emerged from the truck—headphones around his neck, carrying a stack of pink boxes—I pushed away from the door and met him at the edge of the concrete steps. I tried to play it cool, like I hadn’t spent the last five minutes perving on his world-class bubble butt.
“You’re not Vic,” I said as I ushered him into the hallway that led back to the kitchen and storeroom.
“Nope. I’m Lance, Vic’s cousin. I’ll be handling your deliveries from here on out.” His smile—a wide, toothy grin—was almost as adorable as his butt. The only resemblance he had to my usual beefy delivery guy was in the chiseled facial features and light olive skin. He looked like he’d be right at home playing World Cup soccer for Italy with his wide shoulders, lean torso, muscular thighs and legs. And that ass.
Which I was going to stop thinking about right the hell now. He was too young—I could see that even more clearly under the fluorescent lights of my kitchen. Early twenties, if that. His gelled-up black hair fell across his forehead in artfully bleached strands. Too high maintenance for my taste.
“I’m Chris O’Neal. Here, let me help you with those.” Taking part of the stack from him, I showed him the metal racks where I stashed recent deliveries.
“Nice setup you’ve got here.” Lance looked around the cramped but efficient kitchen area.
“Thanks.” Most of The People’s Cup square footage was devoted to the coffee bar and seating area in the front, so I made do in the back with my organization system, which bordered on the obsessive. I’d installed floor-to-ceiling shelving on every wall, including over the cooktop and counters. The center prep table was where most of the action happened, and its broad expanse was covered with the beginnings of several dishes for tomorrow’s Sunday brunch.
“I’ve been here before with friends from PSU—for your Sunday thing. And during the week once or twice to study.”
I made a noncommittal noise. Great. A college kid. As if I needed to feel like more of an old, cranky perv.
“Let’s get the rest of the boxes.” I herded him back out to the alley. I was eager to get him and his distracting ass on his way. I had several more hours of staging work ahead of me to prepare for Sunday’s buffet. During the week we were just another coffeehouse, but we were known all over Portland for our Sunday brunch.
“So are you the owner? This all yours?” Lance asked as he got another load of boxes from the truck.
“Yeah. Mine and my partner’s. Business partner.” I fumbled the stack of boxes he handed me. Why had it felt so necessary to make that qualification? Like the kid would be in any way interested in my messed-up business relationship with my stubborn bastard of an ex.
Despite his pretty-boy looks, the kid was probably straight; he had a confident swagger girls his age likely found irresistible.
“I’ve been to your other place, too—the one in Northwest. Did the delivery there earlier. I like this location better.”
“Me too,” I said, my voice drier than gin. “Randy give you any issues?”
Randy had his location; I had mine. Our relationship had turned into something out of a bad chick flick, except there wasn’t any cute ending coming.
“Randy? Nah. It was some girl named Becky, with a nose ring and huge gauges.”
I nodded. That sounded about right for Randy’s taste. And I was not going to care whether he was banging her or how long she’d last as an employee. His shitty employee turnover wasn’t my problem. I’d washed my hands of what happened at the 23rd Street store.
“You want a cup of coffee for the road?” I asked before I could stop myself. It was the same courtesy I’d always extended to his cousin and to most of our other delivery people, but somehow my offer felt tinged with more than politeness.
“What do you have on offer today?” His grin was more than a little wicked.
Wouldn’t you like to know? I bit back the flirtatious retort. And what the hell was up with that? I did not flirt. Hell, anything other than bitter and grumpy hadn’t been my MO for months now.
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MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS BOOK:
Since the release of the first book in the Portland Heat series, Ms. Albert's talent has become clearer with each successive book. On a whole this is a series defined by its storylines and characters that has given me hours of enjoyment. With this latest installment though, my favorite of the three, I was given a sweet and memorable read with characters who jumped off the page as they claimed my heart. Though the emotions being dealt with here were intense the action never devolved into uber-angst nor went over-the-top, the characters and their feelings remained human which fully immersed me in the story from the very first page to the last.
Upon getting our first glimpse of college student Lance in his Uncle Vic's story he'd left an indelible impression with his exuberance for life, perpetual optimism, and fun and flirty nature. In this romantic tale Lance shows that he's wise beyond his years as he subtly tries to get the reserved and overly serious Chris to look past age and focus on the love growing from their friends with benefits relationship. Lance was immediately drawn to Chris but had to work to gain entrance into his life because of Chris' fears over age and lost dreams. Lance ultimately had to wage a battle of charm, playfulness, and sensuality that was immensely entertaining before Chris finally gave in with a scorching one-night stand that caught both of them off guard. Their burgeoning relationship was sweet yet sexy and despite their plan to keep things casual their connection reached surprising depths with Lance opening Chris' eyes to living life instead of hiding away. He was clearly more in touch with his feelings and willing to put his heart on the line to make their relationship work long-term which, combined with his upbeat and open aiitude, kept a perpetual smile on my face.
Chris has been hurt numerous times in the past and had his dreams crushed repeatedly. It's left him weary and afraid to put his heart on the line again. With an ex-boyfriend whose existence irritates him and with his life passing him by he feels jaded, but seeing Lance awakens his heart and has him wanting to bask in the sunlight of Lance's soul. Though he can think of many reasons why they shouldn't be a couple, which are discussed throughout the story, Chris can't deny how good they are together. Being with Lance has him embracing life once again, it has him reaching for new possibilities, and finding fulfillment in making others happy by opening his heart. With the clock ticking down until Lance leaves for grad school, will Chris go back to being alone or will he take a chance on love?
This story had a wonderful flow which allowed Lance and Chris' closeness to evolve believably. Though lust drew them together initially, things quickly grew more serious through heartfelt conversations and Lance's charm and big heart. Chris was a broken man just going through the motions until Lance came into his life and I loved seeing Chris evolve into a more kindhearted and self-sacrificing person. Though the emotions were intense there was very little angst, and difficulties that arose were dealt with quickly and maturely. Along with a strong personal connection between them were numerous hot and heavy scenes that were at times playful but always sensual. These scenes were nicely balanced though with interactions outside the bedroom which showed the fun and flirty banter growing between them. On a whole this was a well-crafted story with an immensely likable main couple. There were very few extraneous characters to get in the way of the wonderful relationship burning between Lance and Chris which meant plenty of time spent in their hearts and minds to fully immerse me in their chosen endings. Fans of the m/m genre will fall in love with Lance just as much as I did and will easily get caught up in this older man/younger man romance with surprising depth and emotions.
My rating for this is an A-
*I got this book from NetGalley for review in exchange for my honest opinion.
AUTHOR INFO:
Annabeth Albert grew up sneaking romance novels under the bed covers. Now, she devours all subgenres of romance out in the open—no flashlights required! When she’s not adding to her keeper shelf, she’s a multi-published Pacific Northwest romance writer.
Emotionally complex, sexy, and funny stories are her favorites both to read and to write. Annabeth loves finding happy endings for a variety of pairings and is a passionate gay rights supporter. In between searching out dark heroes to redeem, she works a rewarding day job and wrangles two toddlers.
Represented by Saritza Hernandez of the Corvisiero Literary Agency.
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