A man lousy at love, and stuck going nowhere in his small hometown, finds an unexpected connection to a man just passing through town in this charming contemporary m/m tale. Keep reading to get a tempting taste of Tic Tac Mistletoe by N.R. Walker, then add this flirty and festive story to your bookshelf. In honor of this sweet, sensual, and sentimental holiday romance make sure to fill out the form below for the chance to win a $40 Amazon GC too!
Hamish Kenneally is moving from Australia to the US for a fresh start, beginning with Christmas at his sister’s place in Idaho. When a snowstorm diverts his plane to Montana and leaves him stranded two days before Christmas, he hires a car and drives right into a blizzard.
Ren Brooks has always called Hartbridge, Montana, and his family hardware store, home. After a few failed attempts at love, he’s resigned to being single forever—after all, no guy wants to stay in his sleepy little town for long. And after his dad’s passing earlier in the year, Ren’s Christmas is looking bleak. But when a car runs off the road in front of his property, Ren pulls the driver out and takes him home to get out of the cold.
With the storm and the holidays leaving Hamish with nowhere else to go, Ren kindly offers a place to stay. Hamish is certain he’s crashed right into a Hallmark Christmas movie, despite more car delays and road closures and the prospect of not seeing his sister for Christmas. And with help from Hamish, Ren is beginning to feel a little Christmas cheer.
These two unlikely strangers have more in common than they first realise, and after two days of Christmas decorations, cookies, and non-stop conversation, it looks like Christmas might be saved after all.
EXCERPT:
Ren’s POV
“Feeling any warmer?” I asked, pulling my gloves off. I hung my coat up by the door.
He was shivering too hard to answer. I went to him and knelt down at his feet, feeling his jeans. They weren’t too wet, but his feet were. “I’m going to take your shoes and socks off,” I said. He nodded again and Chutney jumped up onto his lap. His shoes were some high-end brand sneaker and his socks were just standard thin cotton. Jesus. “I’m going to guess you’re not from around here."
“Sydney,” he replied. “Australia. When I left it was thirty-five degrees. Celsius, that is. Like ninety-something for you. I don’t know. It’s summer."
I wondered where the accent was from. “You left Sydney today?"
He nodded. “Well, yesterday. I guess. It’s been a long day. And terrible flights—oh my God—like you couldn’t believe. I haven’t slept. Can’t sleep on a plane. Your dog is really cute. I think he likes me. What’s his name?"
I smiled up at them, given Chutney was on his lap smiling back at me. “She’s a she. Her name is Chutney."
“Chutney,” he repeated. “That’s just the cutest."
“She’s a Caverdoodle, or some hybrid name. Half Cavalier, half poodle. She’s spoiled rotten."
“The poodle half explains the black curly hair.” His dark eyes met mine and he smiled. “Oh my God. Chutney? From Legally Blonde?"
I smiled because he knew. No one here got the reference, certainly no guys. “Yep. I love that movie." Feeling my cheeks heat a little, I stood up. “I’ll be back in one second. Put your hands near the fire.”
I came back with a pair of wool socks and exchanged the socks for my dog. “Put these on. I’m going to make you something warm to drink,” I explained. “It’ll help warm you up from the inside. Hot chocolate okay?"
“Uh, sounds perfect, actually."
I left him to put on the socks, and by the time I’d heated milk on the stove and handed him a cup, he’d stopped shivering. “Oh, and this,” I said, remembering his phone in my pocket. “It was in your car."
He tapped the screen but frowned at it. “There’s still no service."
“Probably won’t be for a bit. Happens in these kinds of storms,” I explained. “You feeling better?” I asked, sitting on the sofa opposite him.
He smiled and nodded. “I am, thank you.” He sipped the hot chocolate and hummed. “I can’t imagine what would have happened if you hadn’t saved me."
I smiled at him over the top of my cup. “You probably would have frozen to death in your car."
He nodded again but he frowned this time. “I was supposed to fly into Spokane,” he added. “I’m going to see my sister for Christmas. Oh, she’s going to be so worried. And my car...well, the rental car. I slid off the road into more snow and it wouldn’t start. I’ll need to call someone about that too, I guess. I don’t even know where I am. I think I took a wrong turn."
“You’re about five miles outside of Hartbridge, Montana."
“I’m still in Montana? But I drove for ages."
I couldn’t help but chuckle. “You haven’t driven in snow very often, have you?”
“Driven in it? I’d never even seen snow before today."
My smile died because that wasn’t funny. “Never seen..."
He shook his head. “In movies and stuff, sure. But not in real life."
Oh, dear Lord. I couldn’t believe it. He’d never even seen snow before! That certainly explained his clothing choice and lack of preparedness. He seriously could have died out there if he’d gotten out of the car to try to find help. “But you feel okay now,” I said, sipping my hot chocolate.
“Much better. The fire is lovely. The socks are great, thank you.” He made a face and chewed on his lip for a bit. “I’m embarrassed, to be honest. I was trying to go by some foldable map the car rental lady gave me. I must have taken the wrong turn, and then the car wouldn’t start. I had these visions of being eaten by a bear."
“A bear?"
“Yes! You have those here, right?"
“Uh, sure. But it’s winter and they hibernate."
“Oh, thank fu—” He baulked. “I mean, thank goodness for that."
I chuckled, remembering what he’d said about being too pretty to be bear poo when I opened his car door. “You thought I was a bear?"
“Your coat was brown and your hat was brown, your gloves were black,” he said. “It was snowing and I couldn’t see because I was crying because my life is a bit of a mess—just gonna put that out there from the get-go. And I’m jet-lagged to hell and I thought it’d be a great idea to drive to my sister’s place, but the plane was diverted to the wrong state. In a car where the steering wheel is on the wrong side, and you all drive on the wrong side of the road, mind you. In a freaking blizzard, no less. Where running the car off the road is just a cherry on a very big pile of steaming...” He paused. “Not-cake."
I smiled at him, the way he rambled, the way the tips of his ears went red, the way he chewed on his bottom lip. I’d always thought it’d be a miracle should some cute guy ever walk into my life, but maybe he didn’t walk. Maybe he ran his car off the road and almost froze to death instead. And I didn’t even know his name.
“My name’s Reynold Brooks, by the way,” I said. “People around here call me Ren."
He stared at me for a long moment; his lips played with a smile. “Nice to meet you, Ren. I’m Hamish Kenneally."
I don’t know why, but hearing him say his own name woke some butterflies in my belly. “Well, Hamish. It’s nice to meet you too.”
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AUTHOR INFO:
N.R. Walker is an Australian author, who loves her genre of gay romance. She loves writing and spends far too much time doing it, but wouldn’t have it any other way.
She is many things: a mother, a wife, a sister, a writer. She has pretty, pretty boys who live in her head, who don’t let her sleep at night unless she gives them life with words.
She likes it when they do dirty, dirty things… but likes it even more when they fall in love.
She used to think having people in her head talking to her was weird, until one day she happened across other writers who told her it was normal.
She’s been writing ever since…
**********GIVEAWAY**********
This sounds like a good story. I love Christmas romances and forced proximity.
ReplyDeleteI love Christmas themed books.
ReplyDelete