by RJ Scott
“Is this the ring?” he asked, and I nodded. “Holy shit.”
“Mom should be a private detective,” I joked, reaching for his left hand. He giggled nervously as if I’d not done this before. I had, with the small white gold band next to his golden hockey sticks, but this time it felt… perfect and absolute. Right. Now everything felt right. “I’ve waited forever to see that ring on your finger. I couldn’t wait a single day more.”
The band slid down his finger perfectly. He smiled at me. I took his face between my hands and captured his mouth, kissing him with every ounce of devotion I had in me. He moaned softly into the moment, broke the kiss with a sigh, and eased us back inside, closing the sliding door on the past and all its pain and worries. From now on, we were focusing on the future. And what an amazing future it was going to be…
The End
What’s next for RJ & VL?
Shadows and Light (Arizona Raptors, book 3)
Is it easier to fall into the shadows than hold on to the light?
Injured in a horrific car accident by a man who made him feel like nothing, Henry was left with life-threatening injuries, his career as a hockey player on hold, and nightmares that chased him in his sleep. He’s struggling to walk, and as much as people tell him to have hope because he’s young and fit, his vision is compromised, and he’s spiraling into despair. He’s finally been allowed out but his mom’s resolution that he will never see a rink again drives him away from staying with her and he’s grateful when family friend Adler Lockhart offers him a house to recuperate in. His mom wants him to move home and join the family’s realty company, but the thought of that is terrifying. Hockey gave him freedom, and now it’s all been taken away.
Drugs work to take the edge off, but it’s only risky experimental surgery that will fix his eye. On the one hand, if the invasive operation is successful, he could one day get back on the ice, but on the other, if it fails, he could be left permanently blind. Sending his mom away gives him back the illusion of control, but loneliness kills him one day at a time until Apollo arrives at his apartment and tells him that they’re moving. With his sunny smile and infectious optimism, along with his no-nonsense rules, Apollo slowly becomes an integral part of Henry’s life. But one day, when Henry is better, Apollo will leave, and what happens then? Has Henry really fallen for the dark-eyed man, or is it all just smoke and mirrors.
If there is one thing that Apollo Vasquez knows all about, it’s helping others and living with quirky athletes. After all, he’s spent most of his adult life tending to one of the richest hockey-playing heirs in America. His days have been filled with friendship, laughter, and the knowledge that he’s needed. Or he used to be. Over the past year Apollo’s best friend, Adler Lockhart, has been slipping away, his time spent with his boyfriend, on the ice, or traveling the world with the man he loves. This leaves Apollo feeling like a clunky third wheel or all alone in a luxurious apartment with no one to fuss over.
Knowing that his life is at a crossroads, his loving nature leads him far away from his childhood friend to the dry desert town of Tucson, where he signs on to care for Henry Greenaway as the young Raptor recovers both mentally and physically from a near-fatal car crash. Henry is also facing a new life, one that might lead him from the sport he has loved for so long. Cooking, cleaning, and providing moral support is just what the doctor ordered for Apollo, and he soon finds himself not only rediscovering himself and a new life he adores but also falling for the sweet, lost, injured man who’s slowly capturing his heart one timid smile at a time.
What’s new for RJ Scott?
The Single Dads Series - Single | Today | Promise
Promise Single Dads, book 3
Leo Byrne is a cop, Jason Banks is an ex-con. Even after one stolen kiss, something has to give before Leo can convince Jason that falling in love is even an option.
Adopted at a young age, Leo is part of the sprawling Byrnes family. With his dog Cap, three siblings and a whole mess of nieces and nephews, he is never lonely, and his life is full. Love is the last item on his to-do list, but seeing his best friends Sean and Eric happy and making new families makes him want things he doesn’t think is possible. Kissing Jason at an event to honor his bravery was one thing, but anything other than that is off limits. Until Jason has no one left to turn to, and it’s Leo who helps him at his lowest. Taking Jason and his daughter into his home is one thing, but falling for the ex-con is something else altogether.
Jason made a deal to keep his daughter safe and spent years behind bars as a result. Volunteering as a convict firefighter was as much about helping the community as saving his sanity, but now that he’s out, he doesn’t even have that. He’s lost his future, his self-respect, and has no friends or a place to call home. Worst of all, even after rescuing his daughter he still can’t keep her safe from the man who wants to use her as a bargaining chip for money. Meeting Leo might give Jason a way to keep Daisy safe, but falling for the stubborn cop means the truth has to be revealed, and he could lose everything all over again.
* * *
Lancaster Falls, book 2
Mystery / Murder / Suspense Romance
What Lies Beneath | Without a Trace | All That Remains
Without A Trace (book 2) - 21 February 2020
When long-buried secrets are exposed, and the search for truth becomes a race to save a life, how can two men ever hope to find real love?
Losing his brother has shaped Drew to become the man he is today—heartbroken, alone, but determined to make a difference in the world. Joining the military, fighting battles in places that he’s never even heard of, is his attempt to make amends for telling his brother to go to hell. After his brother disappeared, he’d clung to the hope Casey was out there living his life. Of course, he’d be furious at Drew, and probably hate his brother, but at least in Drew’s head, Casey was safe.
One call changes everything. Casey’s body has been found, and the hope that had fueled Drew’s constant search for the truth is destroyed. Coming home to Lancaster Falls to bury his brother and face his mom’s anguish and accusations, is a nightmare made real, and he has nowhere to run from the pain.
Logan has made a home in Lancaster Falls. As a police officer, he plays by the rules, and he would never think of working off-the-grid. All that changes when an anonymous tip crosses his desk, and he is thrust headlong into solving a hundred-year mystery that could be connected with the modern day death of Casey McGuire. Fighting an attraction to Casey’s brother is hard enough, but the infuriating man is there at Logan’s every turn, interfering with the case, breaking the rules, and demanding that Casey’s story be heard.
What’s new for V.L. Locey?
Christmas Oaks - OUT NOW
Can the magic of Christmas, and the soft voice of a man who has seen too much, show Bryan a future where anything is possible?
Bryan Graham is shocked to find he’s inherited a hunting cabin in north-central Pennsylvania. From his grandfather of all people; a stubborn man who went out of his way to make Bryan’s childhood miserable. He’d vowed never to go back to the small, rural community of Kutter’s Summit, not that he didn’t have fond memories of the place. It’s just that he’d rather be celebrating a quiet Christmas back in Nashville with his cat and his contracts.
A couple of weeks of hunting, cleaning, and handyman work, and he can hopefully put the place up for sale and move on with his life. He never expected to find his childhood friend Parson Greer living in the cabin. Parson is no longer a boy, but a handsome, wary man consumed by the demons of a faraway desert war. When a rekindled friendship shifts into something deeper, Bryan finds himself lost in emotions that a workaholic like him has never made time to experience before.
* * *
Christmas According to Liam
Sequel to the bestselling Life According to Liam
First Christmas as Mr. & Mr.
What a magical and romantic time for newlyweds.
Unfortunately, B
ryn and Mike won’t be spending Christmas Eve cuddled up alone in front of a fire roasting chestnuts. They’ve been unexpectedly called upon to play Santa for Mike’s precocious nephew, Liam, when his mother and her boyfriend are called out of state to attend a funeral. It should be easy to make this holiday a special one despite the unforeseen upset, right? All it will take is love, laughter, a little romance, lots of hugs, and a heaping helping of patience when Old Kris Kringle leaves the easy assembly for someone else.
Hockey from Scott & Locey
Harrisburg Railers
Changing Lines (Book #1) | First Season (Book #2) | Deep Edge (Book #3) | Poke Check (Book #4) | Last Defense (Book #5) | Goal Line (Book #6) | Neutral Zone - A Christmas Novella (Book #7) | Hat Trick - A Stan/Erik Novella (Book #8) | Save the Date - A Wedding Novella (Book 9) |
Owatonna U
Ryker (Book #1) | Scott (Book #2) | Benoit (Book #3) |
Arizona Raptors
Coast To Coast | Across The Pond | Shadows and Light
Authors Note
If you enjoyed Christmas Lights…
…we would be incredibly grateful if you could leave a review somewhere on a retailers site, or Goodreads, or on your personal social media platforms.
Reviews are the reason someone else might pick up this book – or start at the beginning of the series.
Thank you.
Hugs and kisses,
RJ & V.L. xx
MM Hockey Romance
For up to date news and information on the Railers series, the next Railers book, a new series based on the Arizona Raptors, free short reads from your favorite characters, and lots of other hockey stuff, go here:
www.mmhockeyromance.com
Also by V.L. Locey
Lost In Indigo
Mathieu Beresford was so close to seeing his dream come true.
The thirty-eight-year-old captain of the Buffalo Surge had led his team to the final round of the playoffs with his aggressive defensive play and leadership. During the first game of the championship series, he was taken down, and his leg snapped upon impact with the boards. From his hospital bed, Mathieu watched his team go on to win it all.
Adrift in anger, resentment, and the new direction of his life, he returns to his mansion along the St. Lawrence River. Alone and sulking, Mathieu is not prepared for Indigo Neu to enter his life. The genderflux twenty-year-old botany major signs on to play nursemaid, confidant, and groundskeeper over the summer and slowly leads Mathieu out of his confusion––one tender smile and touch at a time.
The deeper Mathieu falls, the more he wonders if being lost might not be so bad after all.
The Colors of Love Series
* * *
The Point Shot series – MM Hockey Romance
Now, you can have the books that introduced Victor Kalinski to the world in one reasonably priced boxed set! With over 350 Goodreads reviews and ratings combined, the romance of Vic Kalinski and Dan Arou is one that once read, will never be forgotten. In this three-book set, you’ll get to experience all the passion, sarcasm, hockey action, and romance that reviewers have called “Beautifully Written”, “Surprisingly Heartfelt”, and “Hot! Hot! Hot!”
“The writing in this is snappy and awesome, the story moves at a great pace and oh it’s HOT AS EVER-LOVING HELL. There’s romance that never veers into a too-sappy place, it’s FUNNY and full of great lines right and left, and so engaging that I couldn’t stop reading it. The ending is satisfying, with our characters not becoming perfect people but becoming better together than they are apart, and that’s just about as romantic as it gets.” Avon Gale – Author of the Scoring Chances series.
The Point Shot Series
Also by RJ Scott
Single Dads | Bodyguards Inc | Heroes | Sanctuary | Texas | Legacy | Montana | Ellery Mountain | And others - more details here
Meet V.L. Locey
V.L. Locey loves worn jeans, yoga, belly laughs, walking, reading and writing lusty tales, Greek mythology, the New York Rangers, comic books, and coffee.
(Not necessarily in that order.)
She shares her life with her husband, her daughter, one dog, two cats, a flock of assorted domestic fowl, and two Jersey steers.
When not writing spicy romances, she enjoys spending her day with her menagerie in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania with a cup of fresh java in hand.
vllocey.com
[email protected]
Meet RJ Scott
RJ is the author of the over one hundred published novels and discovered romance in books at a very young age. She realized that if there wasn’t romance on the page, she could create it in her head, and is a lifelong writer.
She lives and works out of her home in the beautiful English countryside, spends her spare time reading, watching films, and enjoying time with her family.
The last time she had a week’s break from writing she didn't like it one little bit, and has yet to meet a bottle of wine she couldn’t defeat.
www.rjscott.co.uk | [email protected]
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