by Rhys Ford
“No one can hear us in the bungalow,” Dallas promised, then grimaced. “Okay, maybe the chickens, but who the hell are they going to tell? Move over a bit and hand me the bag.”
Moving brought another reminder of how they’d spent the night, and the heat across Jake’s cheeks promised he’d flushed pink under his freckles. The bag was heavy, its ends tied tightly into a bow, and Dallas grabbed it out of Jake’s hand when he began to undo its loops.
“Nope. No peeking.” Dallas tsked. “Give me a second. Look over there at that tree.”
It was a very uninteresting tree, but Jake obeyed, keeping his attention pinned to the fluff of green waving in the slight breeze. Whatever Dallas was doing seemed to take forever, but he didn’t mind. They had a lifetime ahead of them, and the slight weight of the gold ring Dallas put on his finger a few days ago promised an eternity beyond even that.
It’d been nice to glance back at the pews of the small church they’d found for their ceremony and see the joy in their loved ones’ faces. He’d walked down the aisle with Dallas, their hands joined together in anticipation for the lives they were merging that morning, and Evancho winked at Jake when they passed. It’d taken them seven months to get to that day, weeks filled with Bombshells’ opening, a stray, disgruntled gray cat named Belimai, and Jake’s first exhibit at an art gallery in West Hollywood.
Still, the tree wasn’t growing any more interesting, and if anything, Dallas’s curses were getting hotter and hotter with every crinkle of the plastic bag.
“Finally. Shit,” Dallas grumbled. “Last time I ask Tick to help me wrap something up. Okay. Turn around.”
Jake twisted back around and found himself enveloped in the scent of fresh, hot bread when the wind shifted to blow over his face. Dallas sat with his hands out, a small wicker basket of pale, aromatic slices peeking out of one of the blue napkins they’d used for their wedding dinner. A short open thermos of nearly white butter sat on the sleeping bags, a blunt knife resting on another blue square next to it. The silvery insulated bag next to Dallas’s knee steamed in the crisp air, the discarded sleeve holding down the plastic bag he’d fought to get open. Dallas’s habitual quirky smile was gone, replaced by a shy, sweet hint of a grin, and he carefully placed the basket down in front of Jake, scooting up across the slick fabric and bunching a bit of it up around the butter.
“I made the dough yesterday when you guys went to the antique market with my mom. Okay, well, my dad helped, but still, I did everything but put it in the sleeve this morning. I had to sneak out early to get it in the oven, and then Tick watched over it while it baked. It’s why we had breakfast in the bungalow this morning. Because I wanted it to be a surprise.” Dallas took a breath as if to steady himself, then exhaled. “I… wanted your mom to be here for our wedding, to see how happy you are right now, and well, I got to thinking about how I could somehow bring her here… for you, and this is what I came up with.
“See, babe, I love you. I am so forever gone for you I can’t believe I get to wake up next to you every morning, so in a way, this bread is from me too.” Dallas cupped Jake’s face, rubbing his thumb over Jake’s cheek. “Oh, honey, don’t cry. I didn’t mean to make you—”
“I’m never going to apologize for my tears, Dal. Not anymore,” Jake whispered into Dallas’s palm.
Sliding the bread aside, he pulled his husband into his arms and held on tight, reveling in the beat of Dallas’s heart against his chest. The thump was steady, pounding a pulse through him, and Jake pressed his face into the crook of his husband’s neck, filling his senses with the man he’d come to love.
“You peeled away the dark I lived in, and if I cry, it’s because I’m happy… so damned happy, Dal.” He felt a bit of wet on his shoulder, and Dallas’s arms tightened, locking around him. “I wouldn’t be here if you hadn’t come into my life. I know that. I wouldn’t be the me I am now without you. Even if you say you only walked beside me as I made my way out of the dark, I wouldn’t have found my way without you. I am never ever going to let a day go by without you knowing that, because you never let me spend a minute without knowing you love me. You are my starlight, my moon, and my bread, Dallas. And I can’t wait to spend my life loving you.”
More from Rhys Ford
A Cole McGinnis Mystery
Cole Kenjiro McGinnis, ex-cop and PI, is trying to get over the shooting death of his lover when a supposedly routine investigation lands in his lap. Investigating the apparent suicide of a prominent Korean businessman’s son proves to be anything but ordinary, especially when it introduces Cole to the dead man’s handsome cousin, Kim Jae-Min.
Jae-Min’s cousin had a dirty little secret, the kind that Cole has been familiar with all his life and that Jae-Min is still hiding from his family. The investigation leads Cole from tasteful mansions to seedy lover’s trysts to Dirty Kiss, the place where the rich and discreet go to indulge in desires their traditional-minded families would rather know nothing about.
It also leads Cole McGinnis into Jae-Min’s arms, and that could be a problem. Jae-Min’s cousin’s death is looking less and less like a suicide, and Jae-Min is looking more and more like a target. Cole has already lost one lover to violence—he’s not about to lose Jae-Min too.
Dead women tell no tales.
Former cat burglar Rook Stevens stole many a priceless thing in the past, but he’s never been accused of taking a life—until now. It was one thing to find a former associate inside Potter’s Field, his pop culture memorabilia shop, but quite another to stumble across her dead body.
Detective Dante Montoya thought he’d never see Rook Stevens again—not after his former partner falsified evidence to entrap the jewelry thief and Stevens walked off scot-free. So when he tackled a fleeing murder suspect, Dante was shocked to discover the blood-covered man was none other than the thief he’d fought to put in prison and who still makes his blood sing.
Rook is determined to shake loose the murder charge against him, even if it means putting distance between him and the rugged Cuban-Mexican detective who brought him down. If one dead con artist wasn’t bad enough, others soon follow, and as the bodies pile up around Rook’s feet, he’s forced to reach out to the last man he’d expect to believe in his innocence—and the only man who’s ever gotten under Rook’s skin.
Sinner’s Series: Book One
There’s a dead man in Miki St. John’s vintage Pontiac GTO, and he has no idea how it got there.
After Miki survives the tragic accident that killed his best friend and the other members of their band, Sinner’s Gin, all he wants is to hide from the world in the refurbished warehouse he bought before their last tour. But when the man who sexually abused him as a boy is killed and his remains are dumped in Miki’s car, Miki fears Death isn’t done with him yet.
Kane Morgan, the SFPD inspector renting space in the art co-op next door, initially suspects Miki had a hand in the man’s murder, but Kane soon realizes Miki is as much a victim as the man splattered inside the GTO. As the murderer’s body count rises, the attraction between Miki and Kane heats up. Neither man knows if they can make a relationship work, but despite Miki’s emotional damage, Kane is determined to teach him how to love and be loved — provided, of course, Kane can catch the killer before Miki becomes the murderer’s final victim.
Half Moon Bay: Book One
Deacon Reid was born bad to the bone with no intention of changing. A lifetime of law-bending and living on the edge suits him just fine—until his baby sister dies and he finds himself raising her little girl.
Staring down a family history of bad decisions and reaped consequences, Deacon cashes in everything he owns, purchases an auto shop in Half Moon Bay, and takes his niece, Zig, far away from the drug dens and murderous streets they grew up on. Zig deserves a better life than what he had, and Deacon is determined to give it to her.
Lang Harris is stunned when Zig, a little girl in combat boots and a purple tutu, blows into his bookstore, and then he’s left speechless wh
en her uncle, Deacon Reid, walks in hot on her heels. Lang always played it safe, but Deacon tempts him to step over the line… just a little bit.
More than a little bit. And Lang is willing to be tempted.
Unfortunately, Zig isn’t the only bit of chaos dropped into Half Moon Bay. Violence and death strike, leaving Deacon scrambling to fight off a killer before he loses not only Zig but Lang too.
Half Moon Bay: Book Two
Angel Daniels grew up hard, one step ahead of the law and always looking over his shoulder. A grifter's son, he’d learned every con and trick in the book but ached for a normal life. Once out on his own, Angel returns to Half Moon Bay where he once found… and then lost… love.
Now, Angel's life is a frantic mess of schedules and chaos. Between running his bakery and raising his troubled eleven-year-old half brother, Roman, Angel has a hectic but happy life. Then West Harris returns to Half Moon Bay and threatens to break Angel all over again by taking away the only home he and Rome ever had.
When they were young, Angel taught West how to love and laugh, but when Angel moved on, West locked his heart up and threw away the key. Older and hardened, West returns to Half Moon Bay and finds himself face-to-face with the man he'd lost. Now West is torn between killing Angel or holding him tight.
But rekindling their passionate relationship is jeopardized as someone wants one or both of them dead, and as the terrifying danger mounts, neither man knows if the menace will bring them together or forever tear them apart.
Readers love Rhys Ford
Hanging the Stars
“Hanging the Stars has all of Rhys Ford’s wonderful trademarks: detailed action sequences, robust and well-painted secondary characters, hot love scenes, and that gritty-beautiful and heartbreaking prose.”
—The Novel Approach
“I LOVED this book. I’ve always been a fan of Rhys Ford because she never fails to start a book off with a big BANG that keeps the suspense going and this story was no different.”
—The Blogger Girls
Absinthe of Malice
“…as always, Ford really delivers here with the right mix of romance, emotions, and intensity.”
—Joyfully Jay
“The writing is smart, the dialogue is quick, and the characters are deep…”
—Crystal’s Many Reviewers
Dirty Heart
“If you’re a fan of the Cole McGinnis series, this is the book you’ve been waiting on.”
—On Top Down Under Book Reviews
“Hands down, no other qualifications, this is the best thing I’ve ever read by Rhys Ford. The flow, the characters, the mystery, the love and romance—everything. was. perfect.”
—Gay Book Reviews
RHYS FORD is an award-winning author with several long-running LGBT+ mystery, thriller, paranormal, and urban fantasy series and was a 2016 LAMBDA finalist with her novel, Murder and Mayhem. She is published by Dreamspinner Press and DSP Publications.
She’s also quite skeptical about bios without a dash of something personal, and really, who doesn’t mention their cats, dog, and cars in a bio? She shares the house with Yoshi, a grumpy tuxedo cat, and Tam, a diabetic black pygmy panther, as well as a ginger cairn terrorist named Gus. Rhys is also enslaved to the upkeep a 1979 Pontiac Firebird and enjoys murdering make-believe people.
Rhys can be found at the following locations:
Blog: www.rhysford.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/rhys.ford.author
Twitter: @Rhys_Ford
By Rhys Ford
Clockwork Tangerine
With Poppy Dennison Creature Feature 2
Grand Adventures (Dreamspinner Anthology)
Murder and Mayhem
There’s This Guy
COLE MCGINNIS MYSTERIES
Dirty Kiss
Dirty Secret
Dirty Laundry
Dirty Deeds
Down and Dirty
Dirty Heart
HALF MOON BAY
Fish Stick Fridays
Hanging the Stars
HELLSINGER
Fish and Ghosts
Duck Duck Ghost
SINNERS SERIES
Sinner’s Gin
Whiskey and Wry
The Devil’s Brew
Tequila Mockingbird
Sloe Ride
Absinthe of Malice
Published by DREAMSPINNER PRESS
www.dreamspinnerpress.com
Published by
DREAMSPINNER PRESS
5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886 USA
www.dreamspinnerpress.com
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.
There’s This Guy
© 2017 Rhys Ford.
Cover Art
© 2017 Reece Notley.
[email protected]
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.
ISBN: 978-1-63533-498-2
Digital ISBN: 978-1-63533-499-9
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016958601
Published March 2017
v. 1.0
Printed in the United States of America