Beauregard and the Beast
Page 17
“The rules?” Bo lifted his head and pinched his brow. “What rules?”
Laughing, Adam pressed a thumb over the crinkled V on Bo’s forehead and rubbed it smooth. “The sleeping fully clothed and no sex rules.”
“Oh, screw that.” Bo let his head drop and nuzzled into Adam’s neck. “Like you said, Lulu’s a big girl. She knows what happens between two people who love each other. We can buy her earplugs or a really loud speaker system.”
Adam gave the comforter a tug, pulling the free end over Bo’s back so they were nestled under its warmth. They were sticky and needed to clean up, but that could wait. For now, he was going to enjoy holding Bo close and relish the wide-open brightness of their future. Because together, no matter what life might throw their way, Beauregard and the Beast had already found their happily ever after.
Epilogue
Four and a Half Years Later
“I CAN’T believe my baby sister is graduating college.” Bo sniffled, swiping at the steady stream of happy tears spilling down his cheeks. He settled into Adam’s warm embrace, resting his head on Adam’s shoulder as the endless mass of graduation-gown-clad students shuffled into position on the University of Nevada football field.
“That’ll be you soon, babe.” Adam gave Bo’s arm a squeeze. “One more year.”
It still sent tingles racing up Bo’s spine to think he’d have a college degree someday. A dual bachelor’s in history and English, no less. Considering he’d made it to twenty-five without getting his GED, the dream of college had always been that. A dream.
A dream Adam had helped turn into reality. Not only by teaming up to get their GEDs, but also by standing by his side and supporting him through everything since. The trials and tribulations associated with Lulu’s long, agonizing recovery. The battles they’d waged to get her back into school and then eventually back out on her own. The tears and guilt Bo faced after both.
But it hadn’t all been bad. Anything but, in fact. The nearly five years since Adam Littrell had entered Bo’s life were by far the best he’d ever had. Adam understood him. He didn’t fight Bo’s needs or wants, even when they were ridiculous. He supported him unconditionally and had from the start. It had just taken Bo a little longer than Adam to realize what they had.
Once he did? There was no looking back. Their love grew stronger every day, held up by their shared experiences, both the triumphs and the failures.
It had been Adam’s suggestion that Bo go to college. After he’d settled into a gig at a local bookstore, one that eventually turned into a managerial position he still held and cherished to this day, Adam had nudged him into applying. He’d known Bo had always wanted to but was observant enough to realize he’d never consider it on his own. It was something he’d viewed as a selfish extravagance.
But that’s where Adam swooped in to save the day, yet again. As a gift to Bo, and to Lulu of course, Adam had set up a trust in her name. It covered not only her schooling, but also “incidentals” like rent, food, and books.
It’d been difficult for Bo to accept at first. It felt like charity, and he feared it would build animosity between them and put what they had at risk. But that was early in their relationship, before he accepted how pure of heart Adam truly was. He’d done it because he wanted to and because he could, but also because he knew Bo would always worry about Lulu. By setting up that trust, he’d essentially taken that financial burden off Bo’s back and given him the freedom to make decisions for himself, rather than fretting how they’d affect her.
Which meant he’d latched on to the idea of going back to school and run with it. He’d even accepted yet another generous gift from Adam—a trust in his own name to cover the costs of his degree. It’d been another hard sell, but Adam could be surprisingly persuasive. And insanely patient.
Two skills that went a long way toward building his own fledgling career. After retirement, Adam had floundered for a while. He’d focused on Bo and Lulu, but it was clear he was adrift without the structure of his daily workouts and training schedules. It wasn’t like he quit exercising, but there was no endgame in sight. That part of him that had spent every day since he was a young teen building toward the next fight, the next win had been left gutted and empty.
Bo had understood that sentiment far too well. After spending years as an uneducated grunt worker, with no purpose to his profession but putting food on the table, he’d thrived at the bookstore. It was his calling. Something he loved and that added to his happiness. He knew where Adam’s head was because that’s where he’d parked his brain for the first half of his twenties.
It was quite by chance Adam stumbled into his current gig. About three months after Lulu’s accident, he’d taken over her home-based rehab. He went with her to all her appointments while Bo was at work and helped her do the exercises safely and effectively at home. It was Lulu who’d suggested Adam put his training skills and endless patience to good use.
A few months later, Adam had opened his own gym. It focused on the youth population rather than adults, and he’d even started a program for underprivileged kids and teens so they could join the gym without a financial strain on their families. It provided them a safe place to go after school and included all the necessary equipment, clothing, and a healthy snack every day to get them through until dinner.
Four years later, Adam’s gym had grown so successful, and his after-school program so beneficial to the community, he’d opened two other locations and garnered unsolicited grant money to beef up the charitable side.
“There she goes, babe.” Adam hugged Bo’s shoulders. “Our little monster, all grown up and a big-time college grad.”
Bo beamed as the speakers boomed, “Tallulah Wilkins, bachelor of arts in computer science.” It was a stretch from her original goal of mechanical engineering, but Lulu had fallen in love with the technical side of her degree. So much so that she already had a job lined up with the company she’d interned for as a computer programmer helping to develop e-learning modules for middle and high school students across the state of Nevada and beyond.
They sat through the remaining handful of students left to walk the stage, then watched as the graduating class threw their caps into the air, stripped out of the undoubtedly hot gowns, and scurried off like ants to whatever post-graduation festivities awaited them.
After kissing both men on the cheek prior to joining the ranks of her graduating peers, Lulu had promised she’d come by the next day to celebrate. But her plans today revolved around her group of friends, something Bo was 100 percent okay with. Unlike the bad apples she’d fallen in with at UC Berkeley, these were good people who lifted her up rather than dragged her down.
“So.” Bo turned to Adam, joy swelling his heart. “What should we do to celebrate?”
Adam grinned. “I might have an idea.”
“Oh? And what might that be?” Bo laughed when Adam’s grin shifted to a mischievous smirk. “Uh-oh. Why do I have a bad feeling about this? No more surprises. You promised.”
Over the years, Adam’s unlucky streak had never faltered. But he loved surprises so much, he kept trying. Bo jokingly made him promise not to anymore after the last one found their kitchen half burned to the ground, but he knew as well as Adam he hadn’t meant it.
At least it’d resulted in an excuse to redecorate, and Adam had given him carte blanche and a blank check to do the kitchen—somewhere he frequented far more than Adam—any way he wanted it.
Rather than firing back with a stinger of his own, Adam twisted on the bench seat they shared and dropped to one knee. Amid a stadium full of people, he held up a Cartier jewelry box and bit his lip.
Bo’s heart raced, and his stomach fell to his knees. He tried to get his mouth to close, but the dang thing hung open while Adam flipped the top of the box to reveal a gorgeous diamond-encrusted white gold—no, knowing Adam, platinum—engagement band.
Holy frickin’ cow.
Butterflies burst free inside Bo’s
guts, their wings beating his innards until even his brain felt the impact. He grew light-headed and dizzy with delight.
Adam Littrell was proposing to him.
A horde of women to their right caught sight of Adam on his knee and swooned. Their excited squeals and eager pointing drew an even bigger crowd, and before Adam could get a word out, dozens of eyes watched their every move.
“I, ah, hadn’t planned on an audience.” Adam swallowed and glanced between the growing group of onlookers and Bo’s undoubtedly goofy grin, his scruff-covered cheeks tinged with Bo’s favorite shade of pink.
“What’d you think would happen if you did this in a giant group of humans following an emotional event?” Bo chuckled, and because he loved Adam more than words could possibly describe, he held out his left hand. “The answer to the question you haven’t asked is an irrefutable yes. Now put that thing on my finger so I can further your embarrassment by kissing you brainless in front of all these people.”
The little crowd cheered, drawing even more attention. As Adam fumbled to get the ring free—his cheeks now crimson but a grin splitting his face—someone in the throng recognized him. They sounded the alarm, and by the time Bo made good on his promise to plant a big, smacking kiss on Adam’s lips, people were snapping pictures with their cell phones. Their special moment would be on the internet within seconds for all to see.
But Bo didn’t care, and Adam wouldn’t either. They were used to their private lives leaking into the public eye. It wasn’t anything they sought, but when it happened, they accepted it and moved on.
Adam stood and pulled Bo into his arms. He pressed his lips close to Bo’s ear, his warm breath tickling over the sensitive skin there. “My fuckin’ surprises never pan out the way I’d planned them. When will I ever learn?”
Bo nipped at Adam’s jaw and laughed. He wouldn’t change a thing about the man he loved, least of all his penchant for performing big, elaborate, and often epically failed surprises. If they were truly going to spend the rest of their lives together, he wanted him to be exactly who he was. Nothing more and nothing less. “I’m banking on never, baby, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
EVIE DRAE is a registered nurse by day and an award-winning male/male romance writer by night. She has won first place in seven Romance Writers of America® (RWA®) competitions, including the prestigious title “Best of the Best” in the 2018 Golden Opportunity Contest. She is a double finalist in the 2019 Golden Heart®, in both the Contemporary Romance and Romantic Suspense categories, and finished as a second-place runner-up in four additional RWA contests. As an added perk, she landed the fabulous literary agent Eva Scalzo from Speilburg Literary following a dual win in two separate categories of the 2018 Heart to Heart contest.
One of Evie’s favorite things to do is encourage her fellow writers. To that end, she started the #writeLGBTQ and #promoLGBTQ hashtags on Twitter to support and promote LGBTQ+ authors and allies while providing a safe space to connect and grow as a community. She is married to the love of her life, is the mother of three wonderful fur babies, and runs almost entirely on coffee and good vibes.
Evie loves to link up with fellow writers and readers. You can reach her directly at EvieDrae@gmail.com or find her on her social media accounts listed below. Twitter is where she’s most active, but be sure to check out her blog too. She focuses on reviews for LGBTQ+ authors and allies with the occasional quirky advice/recommendation post just to toss things up.
Website/Blog: www.eviedrae.com
Twitter: @EvieDrae
Facebook: www.facebook.com/eviedraeauthor
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/Evie_Drae
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Coming in September 2019
Dreamspun Desires #89
Him Improvement by Tanya Chris
The course of true love runs through every neighborhood….
Only one thing stands between Gregory MacPherson II and his dream revitalization project for the gritty neighborhood of Ball’s End: a rinky-dink, run-down used bookstore called Hailey’s Comic. But when master negotiator Mac shows up to make a deal with the owner, he comes face-to-face with quirky, colorful Hailey—unexpectedly good-humored about Mac’s attempted eviction and, also unexpectedly, a hot guy.
Hailey won’t give up his lease, no matter how much money Mac offers. When it comes to consummating their mutual attraction, though, he’s a lot more flexible. Soon Mac has as hard a time prying himself out of Hailey’s bed as he does prying Hailey out of the building. But Hailey doubts Mac’s plans serve Ball’s End’s best interests, and he insists Mac give him a chance to prove his case. If they’re going to build a happy ever after, one of them will have to be remade….
Dreamspun Desires #90
Romancing the Rough Diamond by Clare London
Trust is the most precious jewel of all.
When Mayfair jewelers Starsmith Stones wins the commission for a gay royal wedding, CEO Joel Sterling is recommended to the brilliant young designer Matt Barth—only to discover Matt’s the man with whom he shared an anonymous and passionate kiss on the celebration night.
Disenchanted with the commercial jewelry industry, Matt nowadays prefers muddy archaeological digs to designing. Openly resentful of Starsmith’s hostile takeover of his family’s firm, he is horrified at the realization he’ll be working with the man who engineered that deal—but the opportunity to create something fabulous and unique for the royal couple is too tempting to refuse.
Working as a team reignites the spark between Joel and Matt. But when betrayal from within Starsmith threatens both the project and Joel’s confidence, will they have built enough trust to keep their newfound love as precious as the royal jewels?
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of author imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Beauregard and the Beast
© 2019 Evie Drae
Editorial Development by Sue Brown-Moore
Cover Art
© 2019 Alexandria Corza
http://www.seeingstatic.com/
Cover content is for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted on the cover is a model.
All rights reserved. This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of international copyright law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines, and/or imprisonment. Any eBook format cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Dreamspinner Press, 5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886, USA, or www.dreamspinnerpress.com.
Paperback IS
BN: 978-1-64108-214-3
Digital ISBN: 978-1-64405-554-0
Library of Congress Control Number: 2019936459
Digital published August 2019
v. 1.0
Printed in the United States of America