Today I am so pleased to welcome R. Cayden to Joyfully Jay. They have come to talk to us about a new release, The Flower Shop Arrangement. Please join me in giving a big welcome!
Exclusive Excerpt
As Clay cleans up the construction site, I walk into the shop to grab a couple dark purple orchids to feature in the bouquet I’m building. “Any plans for your evening?”
“Probably just fix some shit upstairs.” He coughs. “What about you?”
“Straight home after I finish up here. Sunday night is my only real chance to clean my apartment. Oh—but I am meeting with my friend Finn for dinner on my free night this week. I haven’t seen him in a bit, so that should be fun.”
Clay nods. I’m not sure what he’s thinking, but since we’re talking, I decide to give him an opening.
“Ignore this question if you’d like, of course,” I tell him, “but I’m curious. Does the fact that you came out to me indicate that you’re starting to come out in other parts of your life, too?”
Clay slides his hammer into his belt. “Huh? I don’t know. It’s still…” He waves his hand in the air like he’s annoyed. “Imaginary.”
“Sure,” I tell him with a gentle shrug. “Although my future husband and soulmate is currently imaginary, too, but I’m sure as sunshine that I want him.”
Clay sits back on my work desk. “What about your friend?” he asks. “You’re getting dinner. That’s not a date?”
“It’s like I told you the other day. It’s a friend-date.”
“Forget relationships. Even your friendships sound complicated.”
I shrug with a smile. “No less complicated than your situation, I guess.”
Clay clicks his tongue. “Got me there.”
I grin, able to tell that his mood is lightening even though he barely changes his expression.
Once more, he gives me a look that almost feels like checking me out, and curious desire trembles through me.
“It’s not that I’m ashamed of being bi,” he says. “I just honestly haven’t ever thought to explore it. Or when I could have, I wasn’t ready yet. I don’t know. It seems wrong to start calling myself that, telling other people that’s who I am, when I don’t even know…” He trails off and rubs at his stubble, like he’s trying to think but coming up short. “That’s all,” he says.
“If you do want to experiment with men,” I tell him, “you have a great opportunity right here.”
Clay tilts his head to the side, and something different washes over his features. I hear my own words and realize the implication, like I’m offering myself, and I quickly stammer on to cover up.
“While you’re in the gayborhood,” I add. “I’m sure you could find a guy who would be happy to oblige you.”
“Right.” Clay nods. “That’s true.”
“I understand feeling hesitant,” I tell him, sharing more. “But it sounds like you have more experience with casual hookups than I do, at least. I only do that when I’m on vacation.”
He frowns. “I guess this is like a vacation for me. One where I work all day. But the guys in this town must be worth shit. You’re a damn catch, and even you can’t get a decent date.”
“I am a catch, thanks for recognizing,” I tell him with a laugh, emboldened a little more by all the implications of what he’s saying. “And you would be a catch, too. For casual sex or for hand-holding and romance, if you ever changed your mind.”
“Not gonna lie. Experimenting with hand-holding sounds even more terrifying to me. I might be as bad as the other guys in this town.”
Blurb
An opposites-attract M/M romance, full of heart and heat, and set in a little flower shop with enough charm to overcome any scowl.
When I inherit a building from a grandpa I’ve never met, there’s only one plan: take the money and run.
Enter Nicholas, the florist with the little shop downstairs. I’m an awkward loner of a carpenter, a straight guy who is totally out of place in this unfamiliar city’s gay district. I don’t know what to do with Nicholas’s easy smile or his hopelessly romantic worldview, so I just ignore how it makes me feel when he says my name.
But as I start on some quick and needed renovations, friendly and talkative Nicholas keeps catching my attention, and my eye wanders where I’ve trained it not to go. The future of his business lies in my hands and what I do with this old, falling-down building. I can’t afford to think about him this way, but we make each other smile, and desires I’ve buried for years rise back to the surface with every loaded silence and moment caught alone together.
Nicholas doesn’t let me grunt and trudge away. He surprises me one night with a proposal. Turns out, Nicholas with the sweet little flower shop has some desires of his own, and we might be the perfect match. With love and romance off the table, we can focus all our attention on the bedroom until I sell the building and leave town, and no one needs to know about it.
No commitment is perfect for me. I’ve spent my entire life building walls.
But the second I get my hands on Nicholas, they all start tumbling down.
Bio
R. Cayden writes steamy M/M romance and easy reads.
My novels feature characters learning about love, life, and sex through unconventional relationships. I’m usually reading and writing, but when not, I’m happily catching time with my husband at the lake, and maybe enjoying a game or two of pool.
If you want to be notified of new releases, sign up for my newsletter! You’ll receive updates when a new novel comes out, as well as free stories written for dedicated readers.
My books are available on Kindle.
Connect with R.:
https://rcayden.com/contact-me/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18960729.R_Cayden
Welcome, R., and best wishes as you release The Flower Shop Arrangement!