Today I am so pleased to welcome Sid Love to Joyfully Jay. Sid has come to share an exclusive excerpt from his latest release, Let It Go. He has also brought along a great giveaway. Please join me in giving Sid a big welcome!

Excerpt

Stay away from him.

Everyone asked him to stay away from Virat. First Tammy – his sister – and now Ayesha. Only if it was that simple.

Damon strolled along the beach, spending some time alone with his thoughts. The sound of the waves in the lonely night calmed him every single time. It was music to his ears and made him feel closer to home.

Has Ayesha blown my cover? Damon wondered. His stomach twisted, feeling sick thinking how they’d react. There was no way Ayesha was going to keep this from them. He wouldn’t be surprised if she’d told them already. What if Virat didn’t wish to see his face ever again? That’d work real good because then he wouldn’t have to do anything to stay away from him. Virat would have kicked him out of his life.

He would return home with his wife, forgetting all about a certain man named Damon whom he’d met in Goa, and the only one left with the painful memories would be Damon.

It brought him back to the question – why did he meet Virat if there was no hope for them?

He passed a group of college kids lying on the sand peacefully watching the sky. Damon stifled a yawn and realized how tired he was. It was very late, so he decided to head back to his room.

With his shoulders slumped, he dragged himself on his way. As he entered the hotel’s front gates, he heard Virat’s voice shout his name.

Damon wanted to keep walking but he couldn’t. Not after that sexy voice had called him. He turned, fearing it was for the worst.

However, when he faced Virat, the only thing he could find on his face was true concern. “Hey, you didn’t come in after you left.”

“Yeah, I was taking a walk outside… wanted to clear my thoughts, you know.” His voice wavered.

Virat nodded. “You left in such a hurry and Ayesha wouldn’t tell me what happened. I was worried for you, buddy.” He gently touched Damon’s upper arm.

“You were?”

“Yes, of course. I thought you’d gone to your room, so I went there to check on you. I knocked but no one answered. So I wondered where you went.” That made Damon smile. “You missed the dinner too. Did you eat anything yet?”

“No, I … I don’t think I’ll be able to eat anything,” Damon said. “But hey, I bet the food was delicious.”

“Oh … yes, I think so … I didn’t eat,” Virat stammered, then added quickly. “Much, I mean. I’d eaten too much of the cake.”

“Okay.” The awkward behavior on Virat’s part was weird. Damon didn’t know what to make of it. Suddenly, he realized Virat was out as well. “What are you doing outside this late anyway?”

“Ayesha… she left for the campus to celebrate with her friends. So, I went to get her a cab.” He replied, then hesitated for a moment before he asked. “What happened between you two that angered her so much? It was weird, but Jyoti told me she said you were a bad influence on me? What did she even mean by that?”

Damon blinked. So Ayesha didn’t tell them everything, but made sure to warn her sister. “No idea.”

Virat stared at him, probably trying to search for an answer in his expressions. Damon tried hard to keep his face emotionless. “Okay.” He nodded, still eyeing him. “I think I’ll go up to my room.”

Damon nodded. As he was about to follow Virat inside, his attention was caught by something hanging above him. With a pleasant shock, he realized the two of them had coincidentally ended up standing below a bunch of finely decorated mistletoe. “You’ve gotta be shitting me.” A grin spread across his face and he dashed inside with a new surge of excitement born in his heart. “Virat!” he called, sounding desperate even to himself.

The guy jumped and looked startled. He was just about to get into an elevator. “What? What happened?”

“Nothing.” Damon laughed. “I just wanted to ask … can we do something together tomorrow? Go see the bird sanctuary, the old church maybe … have a drink or two?”

“Oh!” His head jerked back at the weird suggestion. “Um … I’m sorry Damon, but my wife and I have already made plans for tomorrow. Maybe some other time?”

“It’s my birthday!” he said with a sense of urgency, feeling a bit out of breath.

“Gosh … why didn’t you tell me before. It’s midnight already. Happy birthday, Damon!” He grinned and immediately gave him a full hug. The warmth of Virat’s body sunk in and Damon wanted it to stay. But sadly, Virat stepped back too soon.

“Thank you. I usually celebrate my birthday with my friends and family. I’ve got no one here but you. So …”

“Say no more. Jyoti and I will spend the entire day with you.” Damon’s grin faltered. “We won’t let you feel lonely on your birthday.”

Damon wanted to spend some more time with Virat, to feel closer to him. But with his wife? He couldn’t stand looking at the two of them together for the whole day! “Uh … I’m sorry I’m silly. Never mind. You guys already had plans, I don’t want you to …”

“Damon, it’s alright! We’ll be there and make the day a memorable one for you.” He grinned. “Come on, let’s go upstairs now. Jyoti must be wondering where I am.”

They stepped into the elevator and rode up. Within a couple of seconds, Damon’s floor arrived and the door slid open with a chime. “We’ll see you tomorrow at ten in the lobby?” Virat said behind him.

“I can’t wait.” Damon replied with a smile. As soon as the door closed between them, his face dropped and he rolled his eyes. “Great! That’s fucking great.” He threw his hands in the air and walked over to his room. Gritting his teeth together in anger, he opened the door with a key. “Happy fake birthday to you, Damon.”

Blurb

“Everyone tells me to stay away from him. But if only I knew how to resist him…”

Goa isn’t supposed to be on Damon O’Neil’s list of places to stay while working in India. It’s merely a substitute for his planned trip to visit his sister in Paris for Christmas and the New Year. His boss had other ideas. He’s sent Damon to carry out urgent upgrades to the company’s offshore units and Damon can’t say no.

When Damon encounters an extra-spicy curry, a handsome Indian guy named Virat comes to his rescue. Damon is instantly smitten with his looks, and especially with his cute smile. But Damon soon realizes he is very much out of his league when Virat introduces his new wife.

However, there might just be a chance Virat isn’t all he pretends to be …

Bio

SID LOVE grew up in one of busiest cities in the world, Mumbai, listening to the excerpts of Indian epics from his father every night. While it served as an inspiration back in time, he has always had an ambitious mind. In 2007, when he had just turned sixteen, he decided that he would make his lifelong dream come true—to become a well-known, respected author someday.

Ask him and he would refuse to accept that he is obsessed with books. Or movies. Or TV shows. Addicted may even be the right word. He is a die-hard fan of Jane Austen’s romance novels and loves to reread them time and again.

You can find him on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sid.love.16;
or tweet him anytime: https://twitter.com/FatefulMercy;
or simply e-mail him at sidlovethewriter@live.in.

Giveaway

Sid has brought a $10 Amazon gift card to give away to one lucky reader. Just leave a comment at the end of the post to enter. The contest ends on Monday, February 2nd at 11:59 pm EST.

• 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.
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• Prizes will be distributed following the giveaway either by Joyfully Jay or the person/organization donating the prize.
• 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.