Guest Post | The Birthday Bear by Holly Day

Hiya! I’m here as Holly today 😊 A few days ago, The Birthday Bear was released. It celebrates Have a Party with Your Bear Day, and I don’t know about you, but parties aren’t really my thing, and therefore they aren’t Gabe’s thing either 😁 

Gabe is a somewhat grumpy bear shifter who owns a bakery and spends all his days in the kitchen, baking. He’s known Riley is his mate for a year now, but Riley just got out of a bad relationship and doesn’t have a clue there are shifters in the world. 

So Gabe has been waiting, and waiting, and waiting for a way to get him to be part of the family. He’s already part of the family, everyone in the sleuth knows it, it’s only Riley who doesn’t. 

Riley, on the other hand, is pleased with the way things are. The guys at the bakery are awesome, and he swings by almost every day, but his real passion in life is books. He works part-time at a library, and it’s the best thing ever. Who doesn’t want to talk about books all day?? 

And that’s what Riley does. He hangs out in the bakery and tries to turn Gabe and his sleuth members into romance readers.  

I loved writing this one, books and cakes! Who doesn’t love books and cakes?! 

The Birthday Bear

For more than a year, Gabe Callan has known Riley Irving is his mate, but Riley isn’t ready. He stumbled into Gabe’s bakery one night after having left his abusive ex, and he’s still dealing with what he’s been through. Gabe knows he needs time, but he doesn’t know how much longer he can wait. 

All Riley wants is a safe, slow, boring life. He doesn’t want any adventures other than those he reads about in romance novels. But maybe he’s read too many paranormal books because he’s imagining the guys at the bakery growling, and sometimes he believes he sees their eyes shift color. Maybe he’s going insane. 

Gabe is scared to tell Riley the truth about what he is. If he waits too long, Riley will feel betrayed. If he tells him too soon, he will run away, and Gabe isn’t sure he can survive without Riley. How do you tell your skittish human mate you’re a bear shifter? 

Buy links:

Paranormal gay romance: 50,499 words

 JMS Books :: Amazon :: books2read.com/TheBirthdayBear

Excerpt:

They entered the house, and Rook moved away from them. Music was playing low in the kitchen, which normally meant Laura was there. Gabe steered his steps in the direction of it. The cake needed to be in the fridge. 

“Riley!” Quillian rushed out of the living room. “Do you know how to make a straw man? It keeps falling apart, and there is no way anyone can see it’s a man.” 

Riley’s chuckle sent a shiver down Gabe’s spine. “Does it have to look like a man?” 

“Yes.” Quillian looked at him as if he was insane. 

“All right. I figured the point was to get to burn something.” 

“Well, yeah, but I saw pics of burning scarecrows when I Googled.” 

“So build a scarecrow and burn it.” 

“But how?” 

Gabe was about to growl at him when Riley briefly gave him an exasperated look. It was enough for Gabe to drop his shoulders and wait to see how this played out. Riley was in his den, talking with members of his sleuth, but when he didn’t know what to do, he turned to Gabe. Maybe he was reading too much into one little look, but he didn’t care. 

“Make a cross and strap the straw to it or stuff some old clothes or something. I don’t know. I’ve never built a scarecrow.” 

“Oh, smart! I was trying to strap it together with a frame of some sort.” 

“Come on, kitchen’s this way.” Gabe touched Riley’s elbow. It was so light it hardly counted as a touch, but it was the first time he’d ever done something like it. Riley jumped and moved out of reach but gave Gabe a nod. 

Quillian clucked low behind them, but slipped away, presumably to fix the straw man. 

As they entered the kitchen, Laura was chopping vegetables while swaying to the music. 

“Oh, Riley, you made it!” Laura beamed at him. “I read the book. No surprise baby there.” 

“Kinda hard, though there are Mpreg books. There are books where men start laying eggs and get dragon babies.” 

She scrunched her face. “Eww.” 

“Why yes, but…” Riley grinned. “I’ll hook you up if you need a fix.” 

She barked a laugh. “I’m not saying I’m not intrigued, but I think I’ll have to work up to it.” 

Riley looked as if he was about to burst out laughing. “Of course. I can get you some reverse harem to get you in the mood.” 

She chuckled. “I’m almost afraid to. What if I like it, and then I have to tell you despite knowing you hate it?” 

“Oh, I’m not book-shaming anyone. If it’s what gets you through the night, then I’m all for it. I love reading about blue-skinned aliens with weird dicks getting their girls in outer space.” 

Laura stopped chopping and let go of the knife before turning to focus fully on Riley. “What? I thought you were gay.” She glanced at Gabe, but he didn’t move a muscle. He wasn’t worried. If Riley wasn’t gay, he was bi or pan. His ex was a man, and while the relationship had been a bad one, Riley had wanted him at some point. 

“So?” 

“You find girly bits off-putting.” 

He grinned. “No, I don’t. They might not turn me on, but it’s all about the connection, isn’t it? Don’t we all dream about a big, strong, man—blue or otherwise—who’ll sweep us off our feet and rescue us from our miserable lives?” 

“Oh, you identify with the girl. Yeah, makes sense, I guess.” 

Riley frowned at her. “What? No, I…” He snapped his mouth shut. 

Gabe put the cake in the fridge, noting Rook already had placed the other box there. “Come on, Rye. Let’s go see if Quillian needs our help.” 

Riley nodded and followed Gabe out of the kitchen. “You can enjoy books with girls, right? I mean, I figure you identify with the guy considering—” Riley gestured at him. 

“What?” 

“You’re huge, so I understand you see yourself as the big partner, but gender or body parts don’t matter, do they?” 

Gabe rubbed his neck. “I don’t read much, and if I do, I don’t read romance.” 

“Movies then. If you watch a movie, and it’s a man and a woman?” 

“I don’t watch romantic movies either.” 

Riley made a frustrated sound. “Oh, for fuck’s sake. How do you live?” 

“With cakes and cookies.” 

Riley grinned, and a fire lit within Gabe. He wanted to drag him to his room and throw him on the bed and never let him go. 

“Good substitute, but you need romance in your life, Gabe.” 

“You’re right.” 

Riley snorted. “I know I am. So I’m gonna find you another book.” He moved again. 

It was not the kind of romance Gabe was hoping for, but he’d listen to whatever book Riley wanted him to.