“I don’t know,” Fox said. “Eight, I think?”
“It was the loveliest thing,” Amparo said. “He arranged them by color—it must have taken him hours to sort out all the shades—and then created a spiral framed by branches he’d found in the woods.”
Sanyam squeezed Fox’s hand. “He has an artist’s eye, doesn’t he? Did he tell you about the gallery?”
Fox ducked his head at the pride in Sanyam’s voice as warmth spread through his chest, thick and sweet like honeyed caramel.
“What gallery?” Amparo demanded. “What’s this?”
“You know the mosaics I make,” Fox said. “Some guy named Navin Arya saw one, and he really liked it and asked me if I had any more. He said he could sell just about anything I made. There’s actually going to be a showing in a couple of months—” He hesitated. “Would you… want to come?”
“Of course!” Amparo said instantly. “Tell me when and where and I’ll be there!”
Fox smiled at her as Sanyam launched into a story about Polly. “—pretended to hate her at first, of course—”
“Of course,” Amparo agreed, nodding.
“But within a day, she’d abandoned me for him. Every time he stopped moving, she was there, wanting attention. She knew, right from the start.”
Fox looked up. “Knew what?”
Sanyam’s eyes were full of love. “That you were a keeper.”
Amparo sighed happily as a car door slammed outside and voices rose. “Everyone else is here, sounds like.”
Cricket and Dorian bounded inside first and took turns hugging both Fox and Sanyam. Even though they’d both apologized for that disastrous dinner, Cricket still held on a little longer than usual before pulling away to beam up at Fox.
“What were you guys talking about?” she asked.
Sanyam sat back down and tugged Fox into the circle of his arms. Fox melted against him.
“We were telling stories about Fox,” Sanyam said. “Good ones.”
“I can play this game!” Cricket exclaimed. “Fox, remember the time you bought me six months of riding lessons because I was going through a horse-crazy phase?”
“In my defense, your instructor was ridiculously hot,” Fox protested.
“Yeah, but you didn’t know that until after you took me there the first time,” Cricket pointed out, grinning.
Fox smiled, joy suffusing him until he thought he might drift away, tethered to earth only by Sanyam’s strong arms, and let the conversation swirl on over his head.
More from Michaela Grey
A Mended Hearts Novel
Micah Ellis is an affluent businessman, comfortable in his life and work, as long as nothing happens to shake up his routine. Which is exactly what one Devon Mallory does, with his bright blue eyes and dirty skin and the forceful personality that’s everything Micah desperately needs but is too afraid to ask for.
Micah and Devon enter into a Dom/sub relationship and navigate the world of BDSM and Micah’s crippling insecurities as they gradually fall in love. But Micah’s past is coming back to haunt him, and they must face it together—and that means learning acceptance and discovering that they both deserve love their way and on their own merits.
Coffee Cake: Book One
Bran Kendrick never expected to fall in love. He’s asexual, after all. What chance does he have of finding someone who’ll see past that? So when Malachi Warren catches his eye, Bran tells himself his crush will pass. Malachi disagrees. He has been attracted to Bran for some time, something he is delighted to find Bran reciprocating. They begin to date and feel their way through an intimate relationship that meets both their needs.
Suddenly Bran finds himself juggling a new boyfriend, a demanding job, and a college degree he’s not sure he wants, but he couldn’t be happier—until a series of seemingly random accidents befall Malachi. When they escalate, Bran realizes someone is trying to take away the best thing that ever happened to him, and he must scramble to keep Malachi safe while they search for the would-be killer.
Coffee Cake: Book Two
Malachi Warren barely survived a series of assaults on his life. But survive he did, though not without baggage. Now, Malachi must pick up the pieces of his shattered life—the most important piece being his boyfriend, Bran Kendrick, who is dealing with problems of his own.
Stagnating at his job at a small-town café, Bran’s pride keeps him from asking Malachi—or anyone—for help. Desperate to do something, Malachi secretly pays a celebrity chef with a bakery in New Orleans to take on Bran as his apprentice.
As Malachi and Bran begin to make a new life in New Orleans, the specter of Malachi’s PTSD and the growing stress over the secret he hides from Bran threaten their relationship. Before it’s too late, Malachi must confront his past and face his fears about the future, all without losing himself—and Bran—in the process.
Readers love Broken Halo by Michaela Grey
“Grey continues to outdo herself as a writer of male/male erotic romance…. Broken Halo is an eye-opening page-turner that titillates and teaches how to love oneself.”
—RT Book Reviews
“…a warm romance and lots of angst to those who enjoy their novels multi-layered.”
—Joyfully Jay
“Grab a blanket and a cup of tea (or my preferred glass of wine) and some tissues. Get lost in a well written world that will leave you smiling at the end.”
—Love Bytes
MICHAELA GREY told stories to put herself to sleep since she was old enough to hold a conversation in her head. When she learned to write, she began putting those stories down on paper. She resides in the Texas Hill Country with her cats, and she is perpetually on the hunt for peaceful writing time, which her four children make difficult to find.
When she’s not writing, she’s knitting while watching TV or avoiding responsibilities on Tumblr, where she blogs about cats and writing, offers dubious life advice, and tries to keep her cat off the keyboard.
Tumblr: greymichaela.tumblr.com
Twitter: @GreyMichaela
Facebook: www.facebook.com/GreyMichaela
Email: [email protected]
By Michael Grey
COFFEE CAKE
Coffee Cake
Beignets
MENDED HEARTS
Broken Halo
Broken Rules
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.
Broken Rules
© 2018 Michaela Grey.
Cover Art
© 2018 Kanaxa.
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.
Digital ISBN: 978-1-64080-500-2
Trade Paperback ISBN: 978-1-64080-501-9
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018930565
Digital
published July 2018
v. 1.0
Printed in the United States of America
Broken Rules Page 23