Chain of Secrets | Debbie McGowan

February 21, 2016February 12, 2019 ~ Ofelia Gränd ~ Leave a comment

Last but far from least in the Love Unlocked anthology we have Chain of Secrets by Debbie McGowan. This sweet, gentle read made me aware of there being something out there called love hearts sweets—we do not have them here in Sweden, or I have at least never seen them. There’s this cute little game Josh and George play in the story with love hearts that made me smile.

Cover Design by Debbie McGowan

Blurb:

Josh and George have always shared the special bond of friendship. From days in primary school, to holidays spent riding their bikes along the canal, theirs is a promise to remain best friends forever.

But can that promise withstand the trials of adolescence, and the changes in their feelings towards each other?

NOTE: this is a fully stand-alone story, but it contains significant spoilers for anyone reading the Hiding Behind The Couch series, and should be read after The Harder They Fall (season three).

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Excerpt:

They stopped, chained their bikes together and collected their sweets and drinks before they clambered up the concrete slope. They often had a rest under this viaduct. Not that he’d told Josh, but George liked to think it was their secret place that no-one else ever came to. It wasn’t special, just a road over the canal. But it got them out of the sun, and it was a good place to rest up before they rode the last mile home.

For a few minutes, they lay on their backs, catching their breath and cooling down. Josh reached into the bag of sweets, pulled out two lollipops, and held one out to George. Sitting up straighter, George took the lollipop, and Josh settled back, with his hands behind his head and his knees up, using the traction of his shoes to stop himself from sliding down the slope. He rolled the lollipop around, and the stick slid from one side of his mouth to the other.

George was transfixed. The stick switched sides again. A car rumbled overhead. The sugar left a glossy coating on Josh’s lips, and George wondered what they would taste like, how it would feel to press his lips to Josh’s and…kiss him. George’s heart was hammering in his chest at the thought. He wanted to kiss Josh, more than anything else. He wanted to taste the lollipop on his lips, lick the stickiness away. He wanted it so much he couldn’t stop watching the stick bobbing. He could just reach over and snatch that stick, pluck the sweet from Josh’s mouth, and kiss him.

Josh looked at him in puzzlement. Had he said something?

“Huh?” George asked. His cheeks were burning. The moment had passed, and for now the desperate urge to kiss Josh was lost.

George replayed that moment all the way home, and for days, weeks, months afterwards. He couldn’t seem to get the thought out of his head. He had wanted to kiss Josh. He still wanted to kiss him. Did he know? Could he tell what George was thinking?

***

At Ellie’s house, Josh got out of the limousine and gasped at the sight of his friend in her beautiful, long blue dress. She smiled and blinked back tears. Three years of fighting bulimia, and counting. Josh could see the pain, hidden behind her flawless make-up and slight yet shapely figure. Another item to add to the list of things that must not be allowed to ruin what might be their last night out together, forever.

Josh waited for Ellie to settle into her seat and sat next to her. He could feel George watching him. The finality of the occasion threatened to overwhelm him, and he waited until George’s attention had shifted before glancing his way.

George. His best friend. The boy with the bubble of blonde hair, the little ruffian with the rusty bike.

George. The tall, handsome eighteen-year-old, star footballer with his own horse.

George.

Lifting the champagne flute to his lips, George tilted his head back to take some of the fizzy golden liquid into his mouth. He met Josh’s gaze, swallowed and smiled. A concerned smile. Josh smiled back. Suddenly, the enormous car was too small, the cooled air was too warm, George was too close, too…beautiful. How had he never noticed before?

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books2read.com/ChainofSecrets

Love Unlocked is a collection of seven short stories and novellas – unique LGBTQ romances inspired by the Love Lock Bridge.

THE STORIES:
The Trap by Claire Davis and Al Stewart
Writer’s Lock by Victoria Milne
Locked in the Moment by Dawn Sister
The Weekend by J P Walker
The Scarlet Lock by Caraway Carter
He Melted Us by Ofelia Gränd
Chain of Secrets by Debbie McGowan

books2read.com/LoveUnlocked

* By clicking the Books2Read link you’ll be taken to an external page. Links to Smashwords, Kobo U.S and Amazon contain affiliate links that earn me a small commission at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

The Scarlet Lock | Caraway Carter

February 19, 2016February 12, 2019 ~ Ofelia Gränd ~ Leave a comment

The fifth story in the Love Unlocked anthology already! The Scarlet Lock by Caraway Carter is an unusual story. Brandon is in Paris the week leading up to his sisters wedding. He meets a man but before the wedding they say their goodbyes and after that we get to follow Brandon through the letters he writes and leaves around Paris. This is a cleverly thought out story, quite original I must say.

Cover Photo: Sylwia Bartyzel

Blurb:

Brandon Marshall, in Paris for his twin sister’s wedding, has a fling before the big day. At the end of a whirlwind week of discovering each other, Brandon and his lover place a scarlet lock on the Love Lock Bridge.

Follow Brandon through six years of letters – to the citizens of Paris, on everything from how to make love, to eating passionate fruit – and to the lover, who is now his brother-in-law.

The locks are being removed, the bridge refitted… What will be the fate of The Scarlet Lock?

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Excerpt:

Anything can happen in Paris!

That’s what Brandon Marshall told himself, as he sat drinking cappuccino in a café, on a rainy afternoon in April. His eyes caught those of an attractive man in a business suit, and he had a feeling it would be an enjoyable excursion.

He’d arrived before the rest of his family. All had been planning the trip the past six months, for the wedding of his twin sister, Bree. In a week, they’d all unite in the Parisian countryside at the Dupuis home. But, until that time, he’d enjoy his personal vacation.

The man in the business suit approached his table, stopped, and looked down at Brandon. The man’s left hand slipped deep into his pocket. Brandon stared, for a moment riveted to the emerald-green eyes. His gaze traveled down the crisp, white dress shirt, over the Hermes belt, to the growing tent in the man’s black slacks. Brandon’s pinkie fingertip reached to caress the fabric, and energy sparked between the two.

With his other hand, the man pulled a wallet from his breast pocket, deposited a bill on the table and walked away. In one fluid movement, Brandon stood and followed the man across the street to an apartment building.

***

Left in The Ritz lobby

***

Reader, are you splurging, or is this your type of hotel?

It was a splurge for my family three years ago. I only walked across the lobby once, to deposit my luggage in my room. Take the adventure this place gives you. If The Ritz is all you’ve ever known, then please leave this letter for someone who needs to experience the luxuriousness.

If you had never imagined in a million years being in this lobby, smile and feel the luxury that surrounds you. Wake up and look out the windows in your room. Before going to bed, look at the lights of the city and enjoy slipping under the cotton sheets. Slide up next to your lover, husband, wife, partner or prostitute, and make each night a night you’ll never forget.

When you understand what I have suggested, leave this letter in another place in the hotel. Hopefully people will be satiated every day for a long while.

Brandon

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books2read.com/TheScarletLock

Love Unlocked is a collection of seven short stories and novellas – unique LGBTQ romances inspired by the Love Lock Bridge.

books2read.com/LoveUnlocked

* By clicking the Books2Read link you’ll be taken to an external page. Links to Smashwords, Kobo U.S and Amazon contain affiliate links that earn me a small commission at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

The Weekend | J.P. Walker

February 18, 2016February 12, 2019 ~ Ofelia Gränd ~ Leave a comment

The fourth story in the Love Unlocked anthology is The Weekend by J.P. Walker and it is a gem. In this tale, we get to meet Nat and Morgan, both in Paris for the weekend. It’s short and sweet, much like the weekend Nat and Morgan shares.

Book cover by Dee Aditya.

Blurb:

Nat’s been through a rough breakup and trust does not come easily. When she accompanies a group of friends to Paris for a hen weekend, she finds a connection she wasn’t looking for, in the form of beautiful, passionate Morgan. They quickly fall into a wonderful weekend fling and even engrave their initials into a lock and attach it to the most romantic bridge in the world, Love Lock Bridge.

But was that weekend fling all there was, or will news of the bridge being taken down lead to something more?

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Excerpt:

It’s funny how when you break up with someone, especially under awful circumstances, you realise how much was missing. When I’d first moved out of Katie’s, all I could remember were the good times but now, with Morgan, I couldn’t help but make comparisons. Those good times with Katie came nowhere near how incredible it had been to spend a day with the beautiful woman sitting across the table from me. If I’d been in any doubt before about how much I liked Morgan, I wasn’t any longer. I really did.

After dinner, we went for another stroll around Paris, appropriately dressed this time, with warm coats, and Morgan linked her arm with mine and rested her head on my shoulder. Every now and then, we stopped to look in awe at the beauty of the city around us—the buildings, the street names—Paris was quickly becoming my favourite destination, truly the most beautiful place I had ever been. Eventually, we found ourselves on the Pont des Arts bridge, surrounded by beautiful lights. I knew of the bridge, known as ‘Love Lock Bridge’, but didn’t really know of the tradition that went along with it.

We watched the lights shining from all the locks, and I felt my heart swell. Thousands of couples, all of their declarations of love and commitment…I felt overwhelmed in the presence of so much love. Without any warning at all, my eyes filled with tears. Morgan had wandered ahead, only a few steps, to look at the names on some of the locks, but she noticed my tears and within seconds was by my side and holding my hand. She looked at me questioningly.

“So beautiful,” I said and buried my face in her hair. My word, what a bloody soppy git I had become.

Morgan held me, rubbing soothing circles on my back, and I could hear the jangle of her bracelets. When we parted, she gave me an almost secret grin and reached into her pocket. I looked at her quizzically and then saw what she had in her hand: a small red padlock with a key still inside.

“It’s from my suitcase, I’d forgotten I’d shoved it in my pocket until we got here. Whaddaya say?” She winked.

I nodded and checked my pockets, to see if I had a Sharpie—I love doing crosswords on trains, don’t judge. I found one in my inside pocket. Yay!

“OK, what’s your last name?” I asked as I took the lid off with my teeth.

“Freeman.”

The pen fell out of my mouth as I gaped at her. Morgan Freeman? Seriously? Then she started laughing and swatted me on the shoulder.

“Just kidding, can you imagine? Ha! It’s Wilson,” she got out between laughs.

I shook my head at her antics. She was a riot.

“What’s yours?” she asked after I’d written ‘MW’ and ‘NB’ on the small lock and deposited my pen back in my pocket.

“Bliss,” I replied smiling.

“Really? Bliss? You’re…Nat Bliss?”

“Well…Natalie Emilia Bliss. But yeah…Bliss.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously.” I was enjoying her reaction. Her eyes were shining bright, and puffs of vapour hung in the air as she breathed.

She brought her face close to mine and laid a soft, warm kiss on my mouth, immediately turning me on. I was quickly becoming addicted to her, and giving me a little fix like that left me silently begging for more. Chasing the dragon—I began to doubt if I would ever again find a high like Morgan Wilson.

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books2read.com/The-Weekend

Love Unlocked is a collection of seven short stories and novellas – unique LGBTQ romances inspired by the Love Lock Bridge.

books2read.com/LoveUnlocked

* By clicking the Books2Read link you’ll be taken to an external page. Links to Smashwords, Kobo U.S and Amazon contain affiliate links that earn me a small commission at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.