Release Blitz, Exclusive Excerpt & Giveaway:
Mr. Jingle Bells by Leta Blake
Home for the Holidays, Book 3
Opposites attract as frosty business partners become fake boyfriends in this Christmas gay romance!
Playing fake boyfriends starts their sleigh ride into love!
After an emergency forces Ashton Sellers from his apartment, all he wants for Christmas is new lipgloss, zero contact from his abusive family, and a place to stay for the holidays. Cue his business partner begrudgingly taking him in.
Walker’s a fuddy-duddy with no sense of fun, but he does have a safe, warm home with four adorable dogs and delicious food on the table.
If it turns out Walker’s also a secret softy with a tender side and a hot body beneath his endless parade of golf shirts? Great, good, cool. And if Walker wants Ashton to pretend to be his boyfriend for his sister’s Christmas-themed wedding? Awesome, amazing.
Could Walker be the safe haven Ashton missed out on as a child? Could they be falling in love for real?
But when Ashton uncovers a painful mistake in Walker’s past, it hits too close to home. As the jingle bells quiet and the snow settles, will Ashton be able to forgive Walker, or will their relationship be over before it ever truly begins?
Mr. Jingle Bells is a gay Christmas story by Leta Blake featuring forced proximity, opposites attract, fake dating, office romance, steamy scenes, and a taffy-sweet happy ending. It’s set in the Home for the Holidays universe, which began with Mr. Frosty Pants, but can be read as a standalone.
Content warnings for childhood abuse, past addiction issues, PTSD episodes, and gambling.
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Usually cheerful and chatty, it turned out that morning-Ashton was quiet and disheveled with sleep creases on his cheeks. He came down to the kitchen in his pajamas—a loose pair of sweatpants and an even looser T-shirt that showed off his collarbones in a way that made Walker’s throat feel dry and his breathing go wonky—and proceeded to slouch at the table in a daze.
Walker, already wearing his work clothes and feeling guilty as hell for having ever made Ashton feel unwelcome in his home, and for having harbored uncharitable suspicions of him, handed over a mug of freshly brewed coffee. “Do you take anything in it? Cream? Sugar?” He watched as Ashton stroked the dogs, his eyes half-lidded with sleepiness as he shook his head and lapsed into stillness again.
When Walker placed the plate of bacon and eggs in front of him, Ashton gasped and stared at it like he’d never seen breakfast food before.
“This okay?” Walker asked.
“This? This is amazing.” He took the fork Walker handed to him and dove in.
Walker found himself smiling a little at the pink hearts drawn in Sharpie on Ashton’s right hand, glowing bright in the morning sun through the kitchen window. He’d noticed them before, but now he really noticed them. They were ridiculous, but somehow so Ashton.
The night before had passed easily enough after the awkwardness of their quid pro quo session. Learning that Ashton wasn’t low on cash because of some bad habit like gambling or drugs but because he was an actual hero, doing his best to help a troubled cousin had pricked Walker’s conscience badly.
After all, Walker was living in his grandfather’s house because he’d savaged his trust fund to pay off reckless gambling debts. It’d been hard to look himself in the eye while brushing his teeth before bed, thinking of all the unkind things he’d accused Ashton of when talking with Casey, while all along he was the one who’d been proven untrustworthy with money. It was amazing Casey hadn’t been sterner when reminding him of his gambling history. He’d deserved a lot worse than he’d gotten.
Walker also felt like there was a hell of a lot more story behind what Ashton had revealed to him the night before—especially about his family—but he wasn’t about to push. He’d already come across like a total jackass, and, truth be told, if they played quid pro quo again? Well…the last thing he wanted was for Ashton to ask more questions about Walker’s life and choices. Right now, it seemed like Ashton thought Walker was exactly what he appeared to be: a moderately successful thirty-three-year-old with his life all together, and Walker didn’t want Ashton to realize he was actually anything but.
They’d watched three episodes of a comedy series on Netflix, laughed together over the hijinks, and finished off the bottle of wine before turning in early. Walker had slept lightly, overly conscious of the fact that there was a guest in his house who wasn’t his grandfather. He woke several times fretting over thoughts that Ashton might be too cold, or too hot, and wondering if Simone had done her trick of using her paw to push open the guest room door, demanding access to Ashton’s bed.
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About the Author:
Author of the bestselling book Smoky Mountain Dreams and the fan favorite Training Season, Leta Blake’s educational and professional background is in psychology and finance, respectively. However, her passion has always been for writing. She enjoys crafting romance stories and exploring the psyches of made up people. At home in the Southern U.S., Leta works hard at achieving balance between her day job, her writing, and her family.
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