Today I am so pleased to welcome DJ Jamison to Joyfully Jay. DJ has come to share an exclusive excerpt from her latest release, My Anti-Marriage. She has also brought along a book to give away. Please join me in giving her a big welcome!

Excerpt

“A wedding ring?” Ant said with an uncomfortable laugh. “No way. Nope. We did not get drunk-ass in Vegas and get fucking married. I’d remember something like that.”

Chris waved his hand around in the air. “Then what’s this about?”

His horrified expression was a little insulting. Ant didn’t want a husband, much less the drunk-ass kind who didn’t remember or consent to be his lawfully wedded man, but it wasn’t a horror show. Despite the slogans, marriage wasn’t forever. He had the divorced parents to prove it.

If it happened, they’d undo it. If it happened. His memories of the night before were murky, but seriously? No one got married while they were too drunk to remember it.

He looked down at the ring on his finger, the little chip in his certainty. He remembered Chris sliding it onto his finger. Well, more like shoving it while Ant laughed because it wouldn’t go over his knuckle. Good thing he’d been too drunk to feel anything, because that sucker was tight.

He didn’t remember what happened before or after that moment, but Chris’s words came back to him.

“With this ring, I thee wed.”

Huh. That wasn’t exactly reassuring.

“Are you listening to me?” Chris asked now.

Ant blinked. “What?”

“I said, what are we going to do about this? I can’t be married to you of all people!”

“Ouch. Way to kick a man when he’s down.”

“Oh God, you know you’re the last man I’d choose to marry,” Chris carried on, apparently content to keep kicking Ant in the metaphorical nads.  “I couldn’t expect you to keep your vows, even if you did remember them.”

Yeah, Chris thought Ant was a cheater and a player. He didn’t need the reminder.

“But this is … is…” — Chris continued, throwing his hands up in the air, as if they could catch the words to adequately describe the situation — “is a farce! My life is a fucking joke!”

“Calm down,” Ant said.

“Don’t tell me to calm down!”

“Okay, be hysterical. I’m sure it’ll help.”

“You are such a—”

Something trilled. Ant looked around, then spotted a phone on the floor. He picked it up.

“My phone!” Chris snatched it from his hand as if it was his lifeline out of a reality show. Ant watched him read a text, chewing his bottom lip.

Chris had nice lips. Pale pink, not super plump, but sculpted. Panic looked good on him, too. His skin had flushed pink, and there was a lot of skin on display because he was still in just a towel. He was one of those pale guys. The sort of blonde who didn’t tan easily, but who blushed often. Ant found it crazy sexy.

If he and Chris were virtually naked together in a hotel room at any other time, he’d be all over that. His gaze drifted back to the ring on his finger. Yeah, sex wasn’t happening.

“Brad sent a group text. He wants everyone to meet them for brunch. He says he doesn’t care how hungover we are.”

“So?” Ant shrugged. “We’ll go.”

Chris closed his eyes. “They’re never gonna let me live this down. God. I totally ruined their wedding. Every anniversary they’ll remember how I crashed their wedding weekend.”

“You didn’t crash anything—”

“You know what I mean!”

“Then don’t tell them.”

Ant snagged the phone and tapped out a reply. “Be down soon,” he read out as he typed. “Don’t expect me to be nice to Ant.”

Chris huffed. “Guess that sounds about right,” he admitted grudgingly.

“We’ll take off the rings. Problem solved.”

“No, problem not solved. We’re still married.” Chris’s breathing sped up. “We have to undo it!”

Ant guided him to the bed and pushed him down on the edge. Squeezing his shoulders, he met Chris’s eye.

“Come on now. Maybe this isn’t what it looks like.”

Chris laughed harshly. “I know that line is like your bread and butter as a player, but it’s always what it fucking looks like. Why the fuck else would we be wearing wedding rings?”

“I don’t know,” Ant growled.

“Do you remember last night?”

“Some,” he said grudgingly. “I remember hitting every casino we passed on the strip and taking a few shots at each one. You were hell-bent on checking out wedding venues for Brad and Riley. Maybe we took that too far, huh?” Ant smiled wryly. “What about you?”

“Not much after you found me at the fountain,” Chris admitted. “You were playing the responsible sober guy card with me, trying to get me to go to dinner. So, how the hell did we end up here?”

“My guess? You were totally unreasonable,” Ant said.

Chris huffed. “Sure, it’s my fault. I made you follow me around like a muscled-up bodyguard.”

Ant rolled his eyes. They were getting off-track. “So, we both have a few memory gaps,” he said, massively understating the issue. “I’m sure I’ll remember eventually. Or you will.”

Chris sighed. “What now? Everyone’s waiting on us downstairs.”

Ant shook his head. “Brunch first. Try to act normal. No one has to know. Divorce can wait for dessert.”

“Annulment,” Chris corrected. “Annulment makes it like it never happened, right? I want that one.”

Blurb

Can one drunken night in Vegas and a pair of wedding rings lead to a happily ever after?

Love has never been a good bet for Chris, so going on a Vegas wedding trip for his friends is bittersweet. Especially when Ant, the last man to break his trust, is suddenly along for the ride. Which explains why Chris wakes up in his hotel room with the mother of all hangovers. Not so much why Ant is in his bed … or worse, wearing a matching wedding band.

Ant invited himself on a Vegas trip, gambling on a second chance with the man who got away. He never dreamt he’d be the one with a wedding ring on his finger, but if their predicament gets Chris talking to him again, he’ll make the most of it.

Between keeping their secret from friends and trying to figure out what really happened that first crazy night in Vegas, passions ignite. If they can hold on to their fresh start, maybe the Vegas motto doesn’t have to hold true: What happens in Vegas doesn’t have to stay there.

Buy Link: Amazon

Bio

DJ Jamison is the author of more than a dozen m/m romances, including the Ashe Sentinel series and the Hearts and Health series. She writes a variety of queer characters, from gay to bisexual to asexual, with a focus on telling love stories that are more about common ground than lust at first sight. DJ grew up in the Midwest in a working-class family, and those influences can be found in her writing through characters coping with real-life problems: money troubles, workplace drama, family conflicts and, of course, falling in love. DJ spent more than a decade in the newspaper industry before chasing her first dream to write fiction. She spent a lifetime reading before that, and continues to avidly devour her fellow authors’ books each night. She lives in Kansas with her husband, two sons, two fish and, regrettably, one snake.

Giveaway

D.J. has brought a choice of backlist book (with the exception of box sets or anthologies) to give away to one lucky reader. Just leave a comment at the end of the post to enter. The contest ends on Tuesday, June 19th at 11:59 pm ET.

• By entering the giveaway, you’re confirming that you are at least 18 years old.
• Winners will be selected by random number. No purchase necessary to win.  The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning.
• If you win, you must respond to my email within 48 hours or another winner may be chosen. Please make sure that your spam filter allows email from Joyfully Jay.
• Winners may be announced on the blog following the contest. By entering the contest you are agreeing to allow your name to be posted and promoted as the contest winner by Joyfully Jay.
• Prizes will be distributed following the giveaway either by Joyfully Jay or the person/organization donating the prize.
• All book prizes are in electronic format unless otherwise specified.
• By entering you are agreeing to hold Joyfully Jay harmless if the prize or giveaway in some way negatively impacts the winner.
• Readers may only enter once for each contest.  Duplicate entries for the same giveaway will be ignored. In the event of technical problems with the blog during the contest, every effort will be made to extend the contest deadline to allow for additional entries.
• Void where prohibited by law.