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Book Name: Delivered Fast
Author Name: Annabeth Albert
Series: Portland Heat
Book: Three
Standalone: Yes! Each book is connected by the
city, and are all standalone
Publisher: Kensington/Lyrical
Cover
Artist: Fiona Jayde
Release
Date: May 26, 2015
Blurb:
Portland, Oregon, aka
Hotlandia, where the coffee shops, restaurants, and bakeries are ready to serve
everything piping hot, fresh, and ready to go—like the hard-working,
hard-bodied men behind the counters—with no reservations…
Sure, Chris O’Neal has problems. His restaurant is still co-owned by his ex. His flannel-and-tattoos style is making him accidentally trendy. He can’t remember the last time he went out and had fun. But he’s not lonely, he’s driven. And the hot bakery delivery boy is not his problem, no matter how sweet his buns.
Chris is old enough to know Lance Degrassi’s sculpted good looks and clever double entendres spell nothing but trouble. Lance is still in college—he should be hitting the clubs and the books, chasing guys his own age, not pursuing some gruff motorcycle-riding workaholic. Especially when he’ll be leaving for grad school in a few months. But Lance keeps hanging around, lending a hand, charming Chris to distraction. Maybe some steaming hot no-strings indulgence won’t hurt.
Then again, maybe it will…
Sure, Chris O’Neal has problems. His restaurant is still co-owned by his ex. His flannel-and-tattoos style is making him accidentally trendy. He can’t remember the last time he went out and had fun. But he’s not lonely, he’s driven. And the hot bakery delivery boy is not his problem, no matter how sweet his buns.
Chris is old enough to know Lance Degrassi’s sculpted good looks and clever double entendres spell nothing but trouble. Lance is still in college—he should be hitting the clubs and the books, chasing guys his own age, not pursuing some gruff motorcycle-riding workaholic. Especially when he’ll be leaving for grad school in a few months. But Lance keeps hanging around, lending a hand, charming Chris to distraction. Maybe some steaming hot no-strings indulgence won’t hurt.
Then again, maybe it will…
Pages or Words: 45,000 words
Categories: Contemporary, Erotica, Fiction, Gay
fiction, M/M Romance, Romance
Excerpt:
From Chapter One of
Delivered Fast
The delivery boy had
sweet buns. Not to mention prize-winning
rolls. He wore a pair of those fancy over-the-ear headphones and
shimmied around the white bakery truck, his hips and ass working in time to
what was apparently a killer beat. Even the way he climbed into the back of the
truck was a choreographed dance. I wasn’t usually one to get distracted by eye
candy, but that ass . . .
I’d propped open the
service door at the rear of my coffee shop about fifteen minutes earlier,
hoping to coax a cool breeze into the stuffy storeroom where I’d been working.
I leaned against the door frame, appreciating the unexpectedly fine view in the
alley.
When the guy emerged
from the truck—headphones around his neck, carrying a stack of pink boxes—I
pushed away from the door and met him at the edge of the concrete steps. I
tried to play it cool, like I hadn’t spent the last five minutes perving on his
world-class bubble butt.
“You’re not Vic,” I said
as I ushered him into the hallway that led back to the kitchen and storeroom.
“Nope. I’m Lance, Vic’s
cousin. I’ll be handling your deliveries from here on out.” His smile—a wide,
toothy grin—was almost as adorable as his butt. The only resemblance he had to
my usual beefy delivery guy was in the chiseled facial features and light olive
skin. He looked like he’d be right at home playing World Cup soccer for Italy
with his wide shoulders, lean torso, muscular thighs and legs. And that ass.
Which I was going to
stop thinking about right the hell now. He was too young—I could see that even
more clearly under the fluorescent lights of my kitchen. Early twenties, if
that. His gelled-up black hair fell across his forehead in artfully bleached
strands. Too high maintenance for my taste.
“I’m Chris O’Neal. Here,
let me help you with those.” Taking part of the stack from him, I showed him
the metal racks where I stashed recent deliveries.
“Nice setup you’ve got
here.” Lance looked around the cramped but efficient kitchen area.
“Thanks.” Most of The
People’s Cup square footage was devoted to the coffee bar and seating area in
the front, so I made do in the back with my organization system, which bordered
on the obsessive. I’d installed floor-to-ceiling shelving on every wall,
including over the cooktop and counters. The center prep table was where most
of the action happened, and its broad expanse was covered with the beginnings
of several dishes for tomorrow’s Sunday brunch.
“I’ve been here before
with friends from PSU—for your Sunday thing. And during the week once or twice
to study.”
I made a noncommittal
noise. Great. A college kid. As if I
needed to feel like more of an old, cranky perv.
“Let’s get the rest of
the boxes.” I herded him back out to the alley. I was eager to get him and his
distracting ass on his way. I had several more hours of staging work ahead of
me to prepare for Sunday’s buffet. During the week we were just another
coffeehouse, but we were known all over Portland for our Sunday brunch.
“So are you the owner?
This all yours?” Lance asked as he got another load of boxes from the truck.
“Yeah. Mine and my
partner’s. Business partner.” I fumbled the stack of boxes he handed me. Why had
it felt so necessary to make that qualification? Like the kid would be in any
way interested in my messed-up business relationship with my stubborn bastard
of an ex.
Despite his pretty-boy
looks, the kid was probably straight; he had a confident swagger girls his age
likely found irresistible.
“I’ve been to your other
place, too—the one in Northwest. Did the delivery there earlier. I like this
location better.”
“Me too,” I said, my
voice drier than gin. “Randy give you any issues?”
Randy had his location;
I had mine. Our relationship had turned into something out of a bad chick
flick, except there wasn’t any cute ending coming.
“Randy? Nah. It was some
girl named Becky, with a nose ring and huge gauges.”
I nodded. That sounded
about right for Randy’s taste. And I was not
going to care whether he was banging her or how long she’d last as an
employee. His shitty employee turnover wasn’t my problem. I’d washed my hands
of what happened at the 23rd Street store.
“You want a cup of coffee
for the road?” I asked before I could stop myself. It was the same courtesy I’d
always extended to his cousin and to most of our other delivery people, but
somehow my offer felt tinged with more than politeness.
“What do you have on
offer today?” His grin was more than a little wicked.
Wouldn’t you like to know? I bit back the
flirtatious retort. And what the hell was up with that? I did not flirt. Hell, anything other than
bitter and grumpy hadn’t been my MO for months now.
*****
Can Lance bring out the
softer side of this cranky chef? Find out in DELIVERED FAST!
Sales Links:
Tour
Dates & Stops: May 26, 2015
Prism Book Alliance, Parker Williams,
Multitasking
Mommas, Bike Book Reviews, Cate Ashwood,
MM
Good Book Reviews, Divine
Magazine, My
Fiction Nook, BFD
Book Blog, Inked Rainbow Reads, Bayou Book
Junkie,Dawn’s
Reading Nook,
Wicked
Faerie's Tales and Reviews, Molly Lolly,
Tara Lain, 3 Chicks After Dark,
Scattered
Thoughts & Rogue Words, Carly’s Book
Reviews, Foxylutely Book Reviews, Velvet Panic,
Charley
Descoteaux, Fangirl
Moments and My Two Cents, The Hat
Party
About the author:
Annabeth Albert grew up sneaking romance novels
under the bed covers. Now, she devours all subgenres of romance out in the
open—no flashlights required! When she’s not adding to her keeper shelf, she’s
a multi-published Pacific Northwest romance writer.
Emotionally complex, sexy, and funny stories
are her favorites both to read and to write. Annabeth loves finding happy
endings for a variety of pairings and is a passionate gay rights supporter.
In between searching out dark heroes to redeem, she works a rewarding day
job and wrangles two toddlers.
Represented by Saritza Hernandez of the Corvisiero Literary Agency
Where to find the author:
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/annabethalbert
Facebook
Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/annabethalbertauthor
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/AnnabethAlbert
Tumblr:
www.annabethalbert.tumblr.com
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/Nb9yv
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