OF SUNLIGHT AND STARDUST
RILEY HART & CHRISTINA LEE
M/M ROMANCE
RELEASE DATE: 09.21.18
Cover Design: JAY AHEER/ Simply Defined Art
Cover Image: Strangeland Photography
Blurb
After the death of his wife, Tanner Rowe takes a step toward making her dream come true and buys the house with the dilapidated barn she’d been inexplicably drawn to in the picturesque Upper Peninsula. But after a year, he still can’t get past his grief long enough to make the repairs he’d promised.
Recently out of prison, Cole Lachlan has little to his name. Homeless, broke, and without many options as a felon, Cole heads to Red Bluff with hopes of a second chance. There, he meets Tanner, whose loneliness mirrors his own and soon, Cole is trading room and board for rebuilding the burned-out barn on Tanner’s property that hasn’t been touched in seventy years.
Turns out, the barn holds a lot more secrets than either of them could have imagined. After unearthing a hidden journal from 1948, Cole and Tanner spend their evenings poring through the pages and reading about a young man pining after his best friend. As they delve deeper into this forbidden affair from the past, the more Cole and Tanner’s own relationship shifts—from acquaintance to friend…to undeniable attraction.
But as they begin to deal with the newness of falling in love amid Cole’s past and Tanner’s loss, they also become more determined to unravel the mystery of the young lovers who’ve captured their hearts, the rumors about the fire, and what really happened that fateful night.
Tanner nodded. “I’ll be inside.”They went their separate ways. Once Tanner was in the house, he turned the heat on the sauce to low to keep it warm. He pulled plates from the cabinet, set them on the table, then felt weird about it, so he put them back. They could grab their own to make their plates when they ate.
He fiddled around until he heard Cole at the kitchen door. He knocked gently and then opened the door. Tanner leaned against the counter with his arms crossed, and Cole said, “You don’t have to wait for me to eat.”
“No, it’s okay. I’m not real hungry yet anyway.”Which was a lie. He was starving, but he also wanted to talk, needed to talk, and eating before Cole would defeat the purpose, wouldn’t it?
Cole gave him another nod. He also always looked at him like he was seeing more than Tanner showed, or was looking for more, if that made sense. It was as if Tanner was a puzzle Cole wanted to figure out, and part of him wanted that because he missed having someone in his life. The other part wanted to slam the door on him because it had hurt so damn bad to lose Emma. But again, this was different. This was just someone to talk to, someone to work with. It wasn’t as if he and Cole would ever be close, or as if Cole leaving would feel like losing Emma had. Nothing could feel like that.
When he realized they were standing there staring at each other like a couple of weirdos, Tanner turned toward the cabinet and grabbed a glass. There were footsteps behind him, and then the sound of the bathroom door closing.
Again, Cole’s shower was quick. He wondered if the man liked quick showers or if he did it because he felt he had to. It was just a few minutes later when he came out in nothing but a pair of jeans and socks with a hole in the toe. His dark hair was wet, shaggy, and hanging over his forehead.
“I don’t have any other clean shirts. Would it be alright if I did laundry again?”There was a tightness to Cole’s voice that told Tanner he hadn’t wanted to ask.
“You don’t have to ask. You can use it anytime you want, and I might have a few old shirts if you want—”
Riley Hart is the girl who wears her heart on her sleeve. She’s a hopeless romantic, a lover of sexy stories, passionate men, and writing about all the trouble they can get into together.
She loves reading, flawed characters, and hanging out with her husband and children, who she adores. She and her family live in Southern California, soaking up the sunshine while also missing seasons. Not a day goes by that she isn’t thankful she gets to wake up and do what she loves.
Life is good. Riley also writes young adult and new adult under the name Nyrae Dawn.
Once upon a time, I lived in New York City and was a wardrobe stylist. I spent my days shopping for photo shoots, getting into cabs, eating amazing food, and drinking coffee at my favorite hangouts.
Now I live in the Midwest with my husband and son—my two favorite guys. I’ve been a clinical social worker and a special education teacher. But it wasn’t until I wrote a weekly column for the local newspaper that I realized I could turn the fairytales inside my head into the reality of writing fiction.
I write Adult, New Adult, and M/M Contemporary Romance. I’m addicted to lip gloss and salted caramel everything. I believes in true love and kissing, so writing romance novels has become a dream job.
Congrats on the new book release!