DRAWN TO YOU
A BEYOND THE COVE NOVEL
JACLYN QUINN
M/M ROMANCE
RELEASE DATE: 11.20.18
COVER DESIGN: Cate Ashwood Designs
BLURB
Leaving his enormous family behind, native New Yorker, Elijah, decides to move to Brighton Pier for a fresh start. Being part of a large LGBTQ community and landing his dream job at Inkubus, a local tattoo shop, is too big of a draw for him to turn down. But just when he thinks his new life is going perfectly, he finds out his burgeoning relationship is nothing more than a friends-with-benefits arrangement to the man he was swiftly falling for. Suddenly, everything that felt so right to him feels all wrong, and he wonders if New York, with his family, is where he is meant to be after all.
Jake has worked hard for the life he’s made for himself in Brighton Pier. His life as a bachelor is pretty set in stone. Running his own business and spending time with his family and friends is enough for him, or so he’s convinced himself. Though he’s met a man he cares for, he’s adamant about keeping his single life as is. He has his reasons for not wanting to commit to the beautiful man he’s irrevocably drawn to. He just hopes their friends-with-benefits arrangement will be enough to keep Eli in his life.
When tragedy strikes, and Jake’s world is turned upside down, his instincts lead him to lean on the one person who’s become someone special, despite his best efforts to try and push him away. Eli—unable to turn Jake away when a loss so great takes the strong man to his knees—steps selflessly into the void in Jake’s life, regardless of the toll it takes on him. As both men struggle to deal with their own emotional turmoil, their lives veering off course, they grow inevitably closer as the days pass. But even so, they are still left wondering—can two people, drawn together by tragedy, turn a devastating situation into a fresh start? Or is it too late for a new beginning?
For some reason, aside from my very first novella (which I haven’t published), all my books have been set in states other than the one I’ve lived in all my life. I’m a Jersey girl through and through, born twenty minutes from the Jersey shore. So, when I introduced Jonah’s family in my last series, I knew Elijah, Jonah’s brother, had to be in New Jersey so I could bring my stories home.
Drawn to You is set in a fictitious town called Brighton Pier. The town may be made up, but it’s a combination of so many places I love at the Jersey shore. Brighton Pier is mainly based on a town near me called Asbury Park. If you’re a Bruce Springsteen fan, you’ll recognize the name from his debut album, Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ. How is Brighton Pier based on this town, you ask? Or, maybe you didn’t, but I’m going to tell you anyway. Asbury Park, just like Brighton Pier, has a large LGBTQ community. If I was going to bring my stories home to Jersey, Asbury Park was the place to bring them.
But my love for all things Jersey shore made it impossible to base the Beyond the Cove series in the real town of Asbury Park. If I did that, I’d have to be completely accurate and specific to the details of that town. So, I did, what I figured, was the next best thing. I used parts I love from several towns on the shore and Frankensteined them up, if you will. No, it’s not a word, but you get me. Brighton Pier is the best parts of the Jersey shore, but more importantly, it’s a town that recognizes love in all forms.
What could be better than that?
Greetings from Brighton Pier, NJ!
July flew by and August was reaching an end. But even after the talk he’d had with Jonah over two months ago, and the promises he’d made to himself that things were going to change, he was still letting this shit happen. Eli stretched his arm across the bed and patted the cool sheets. He had no clue what the point was when he already knew, without having to look, that he was alone. Still, when he finally pried his eyes open and saw the other side of the bed empty, disappointment cut through him like a knife.
He’d let it happen again.
And every time he woke up alone, he loathed himself a little more. What single, twenty-eight-year-old was sitting around, pining over one person? Fucking pathetic.
“Way to have some fucking willpower, asshole,” he grumbled as he swung his legs off the side of the bed and sat up. He stayed there for a minute with his head hung and eyes closed, taking a deep breath. The last thing he wanted to do was see Novak at the shop, but he had no choice. He had three clients lined up for the day that he couldn’t reschedule now. “Fuck,” he groaned as he stretched his arms above his head, feeling the ache in his muscles and resenting the reason they felt that way.
It didn’t take him long to shower, dress, and eat, but he took his time walking to the shop. His first client wasn’t until eleven, so there was no point in rushing. By the time he got there, someone was sitting in the waiting area, another guy was at the front counter filling out forms, and Kenz was walking someone back to her stall. Jake and Ryder were in the middle of a conversation, making plans to go out that night and get laid. Something inside Eli snapped because it was then that he realized…he was the last resort. All too often, Jake went out with Ryder, and then ended up at Eli’s door. I’m such a fucking idiot.
Jake’s eyes landed on him and they held each other’s stare for a minute. Eli’s muscles tensed, and he ground his teeth just to keep from exploding. Abruptly, he looked away, avoiding eye contact with anyone else as he walked down the hall to his station and began cleaning and setting up for his first appointment. A knock on the door frame had him looking up to meet a pair of chocolate brown eyes. He bit his tongue and looked back down without a word.
“Hey.” Jake shifted from foot to foot in the doorway, but Eli couldn’t find an ounce of fucks to give that the guy was uncomfortable. Jake took a couple steps inside the room, no doubt to avoid nosy eyes on him. “About last night—”
“Don’t.” Eli paused with the cellophane in his hand hovering over the armrest of the chair. He glanced up at Jake then back down and proceeded to wrap the arm in the plastic. “I already know what you’re gonna say. I don’t need to hear it again.”
“I’m not cut out for that shit, Eli. You know that.” The pleading in Jake’s deep voice was too much for Eli to handle.
“What I know is that we were headed for that shit, whether you’d like to admit it or not. I don’t know what the fuck happened.” He moved over to the other arm and wrapped it tightly. “Quite frankly, I no longer give a shit.”
I have been an artist from a very young age. From drawing cartoon characters and evolving into portraits, making jewelry, photography, and now writing. I have an amazing support system in my family and friends and couldn’t be more grateful.
I live in central New Jersey, love summers at the Jersey Shore, rock music, wine, sexy men, and laughing a lot with my amazing friends and family. Sunday dinners at my parents’ house are crazy, hysterical and you can count on a movie quote…or ten…being thrown out. Insults between siblings is how we show our love for each other!
When I’m not creating, you can find me reading books from my favorite authors. I’m a hopeless romantic, starving for passionate characters and always craving that happy ending, whether in reading or in writing my own books.
