Taste on my Tongue
Page 26
The generous compensation package Five Points as well as the boosted promotion for the bakery are two of the biggest reasons Quentin wanted to do the show. Even if he was already halfway working himself to death.
“Ian is having the lawyer look at the contract,” Landon says casually.
Quentin, elbow deep in croissant dough, jerks his head up. “I didn’t realize you were that serious about getting out of it. You didn’t tell me.”
Yeah, because Landon is positive that his reaction would be similar to the one he’s getting now. Extreme reluctance.
“Because you’re determined to work yourself to death.” Landon tries to say it without the hurt edge to his voice, but it’s hard to hold it back. There’s a reason he’s up at four in the morning, sucking down caffeine like it’s going out of style—he loves Quentin and he’s determined not to lose their relationship to a lack of quality time.
Quentin opens his mouth to say something, but Landon jumps down off the counter, and plants a warm, coffee-flavored kiss onto his lips. When he pulls back, the fight has gone out of Quentin’s eyes. “If it was awesome and going to work out, you know I’d be the first in line. I loved the idea of doing something with you. We do too much apart these days.”
There’s guilt hovering in Quen’s tired blue eyes. Landon wishes he would listen to it a little more.
“What about the adjustments Jordan wanted to make?”
Landon shrugs. “We’ll look at them before we make a decision. But I’m not losing more time with you over something miserable we don’t enjoy and that probably isn’t going to be a success. End of story.”
Quentin brushes flour off his hands and leans back against the counter, gaze suddenly appraising as it sweeps from the top of Landon’s bedhead to the sneakers he shoved his feet into before they staggered out the door this morning.
“Who are you and what have you done with my boyfriend?” Quentin asks, the side of his mouth tilting up into a grin.
“Are you saying I was careless and thoughtless before?” Landon exclaims in mock outrage. “How dare you.”
Quentin shrugs, amusement replacing the haunted look in his eyes from earlier.
“Well,” Landon pronounces. “Better not let that happen. Nobody will be here for another forty minutes. Better be spontaneous now.” Before Quentin can even begin to wonder what Landon has in mind, he slides to his knees and runs a hand up Quen’s jean-clad leg, resting it on his fly and on the thickening bulge behind it.
If Landon gets flour in his hair, then nobody is there to see but the two of them—and it’s not like it hasn’t happened a thousand times before.
Landon hates being wrong.
“These changes are fantastic,” he tells Jordan, and if he sounds a little incredulous, sue him. Jordan Christensen, before he came to work at Five Points and decided he could rewrite Landon and Quentin’s Dream Team script, was a professional football player.
How was Landon supposed to know that he could write so well? Or fucking nail their dynamic as a couple?
“I might have watched Kitchen Wars a few dozen times,” Jordan admits quietly, tucking a pen behind his ear and looking surprisingly studious and incredibly unlike an ex-football player as they stand on-set, ready to re-film the three episodes they’d done last week. “And the editors loved you two. But then, you already knew that.”
“Oh.” Landon doesn’t know what to say. He wishes there was something he could say or do to assuage Jordan’s broken heart. But from his own experience with Steve, Landon knows there’s nothing anyone can do. The only thing that helps is time and perspective.
Jordan glances over at him, and probably sees the resigned panic on Landon’s face as he tries to figure out how to dig them out of this conversational black hole.
“It’s fine, really,” Jordan says, and there’s a glimmer of a smile on his handsome face. “Glad it came in handy for something.”
“Why’d you leave football?” The question slips out before Landon can grab it back. At least it’s one of the milder ones, with nothing to do with Reed.
Jordan shrugs, his attention turning back to the script pages he’s reviewing before they go into the teleprompter. “Felt like the right time. Always wanted to be a writer. This job came open and it was a no-brainer. Besides, I was never going to be a huge star. I’m good, but not great.”
“I have no idea,” Landon admits. “I mostly watch for the tight pants. Quen keeps trying to teach me the rules.”
“You watch football together?” Landon wishes he couldn’t hear the wistful note buried in Jordan’s voice.
“Sometimes, yeah. My mild-mannered, sweet-as-pastry boyfriend is a Raiders fan,” Landon tells Jordan. “You should come over sometime and watch with us.”
Maybe Landon can’t fix what broke Reed and Jordan; he doesn’t even know what it was, and he isn’t cruel enough to ask Jordan about it. But maybe Landon can be a friend.
“You don’t gotta do that,” Jordan says. “You don’t owe me anything.”
“I know,” Landon says calmly. “But I like you. You laugh at my terrible jokes. And two people teaching me the rules is probably better than one.”
“I’ll think about it,” Jordan says gruffly, and Landon is almost certain there’s a note of apology in his voice. “Now, let’s get this show on the road. You boys ready?”
Landon shoots Jordan a triumphant look. “I was born ready.”
Quentin emerges from their green room onto the sound stage, and he’s balancing an entire fresh fruit Carmen Miranda headdress on his curly blond hair. He looks fabulous.
When the cameras start rolling, Landon reaches over and plucks a grape from Quentin’s head and eats it. “Tasty,” he observes, his most innocent smile plastered on his face.
Quentin glances over, affection overflowing out of his gaze. “Hungry, babe?”
“Starving,” Landon says. “Let’s cook.”
Want to read more Landon and Quen?
A free deleted scene is available here.
Read about Jordan and Reed in:
WRAPPED WITH LOVE
Release: November 14, 2017
Delicious food isn’t the only thing cooking this holiday season . . .
NFL player Jordan Christensen walks into Reed Ryan’s restaurant without a reservation. It isn’t the most serendipitous of meet-cute’s and they certainly aren’t the likeliest of romances, but over venison steaks and crème brûlée, they fall in love anyway.
Flash forward two years . . .
Jordan isn’t a football player anymore.
Reed sold his restaurant.
But even more drastically, they’ve lost each other.
When Reed moves to Los Angeles take a new job, he doesn’t realize Jordan now works there too. But Jordan definitely realizes how precious the second chance fate has bestowed on them is. He’s determined to make up for everything that fell apart the first time around, and it turns out he’s not the only one scheming to right old wrongs.
Starting a new career is always difficult but sharing office space—and big projects—with an old lover is particularly rough. Between impromptu Secret Santa exchanges, Christmas light viewings, and more tacos than even Reed can eat, the two former lovers have an eventful holiday season to navigate.
Discover more about the Five Points holiday novella at:
www.bethbolden.com/wrapped
Acknowlegements
There are a lot of people to thank for Taste on my Tongue—both the original iteration and the heavily-edited new version. It’s embarrassing how many people I need to write a book, but it takes a village to raise a child, right?
Liz, for being a valuable editor, both times around.
My wonderful beta readers who caught so many British-isms and were invaluable fonts of wisdom and advice: Libbi, Rachel, Carra, Kirsty, and Carly.
My editor and proofreaders: Bri and Judy.
The most brilliant cover artist who kept saying, “I’m really not good at t
his, but I’ll give it a try.” AngstyG, just so you know, you are a huge liar. You are fabulous, and captured Quentin and Landon so beautifully on the cover.
Leslie, for being a supportive and fantastic partner in helping to promote this book and others.
There are so many great readers, authors, bloggers and professionals who supported me during the release of my first m/m romance, The Rainbow Clause, and a little bit of this book needs to be dedicated to them because without them, I wonder if Landon and Quentin’s story would have ever seen the light of day.
Lastly, my husband who, when I tell him I need to work tonight (again), just smiles and says, “whatever you need.” I couldn’t ask for a more supportive partner in this crazy journey we call life.
About Beth
Beth Bolden lives in Portland, Oregon with her supportive husband and their beloved cat. She wholly believes in Keeping Portland Weird, but wishes she didn’t have to make the yearly pilgrimage up to Seattle to watch her Boston Red Sox play baseball.
Beth has been writing practically since she learned the alphabet. Unfortunately, her first foray into novel writing, titled Big Bear with Sparkly Earrings, wasn’t a bestseller, but hope springs eternal. She’s published five novels and two short stories, with her next novella, Wrapped with Love, releasing in November 2017.
www.bethbolden.com
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Beth’s Books
THE LUCKY SERIES
The Lucky Charm
Getting Lucky
Luck isn’t a Lady (October 2017)
FIVE POINTS BOOKS
Summer Attractions
The Rainbow Clause
Taste on my Tongue
Wrapped with Love (November 2017)
SHORT STORIES & NOVELLAS
Eye of the Storm
Mermaids
Copyright © 2017 Beth Bolden.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, at the address below.
Beth Bolden Books
beth@bethbolden.com
www.bethbolden.com
Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.
Book Layout © 2017 Beth Bolden
Book Cover © 2017 AngstyG
Ordering Information:
Quantity sales. Special discounts are available on quantity purchases by cor-porations, associations, and others. For details, contact Beth Bolden at the address above.
Taste on my Tongue/ Beth Bolden. -- 1st ed.
ISBN 978-1974010172 (paperback)
Table of Contents
Title Page
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Epilogue
Bonus Deleted Scene
Wrapped with Love
Acknowledgements
About Beth
Beth's Books
Copyright