Release Blitz, Exclusive Excerpt & Giveaway:
Mother Parker by Rhys Everly
Mayberry Protectors Series, Book 1
Divorced. Beaten down. A failure. Until a ray of sunshine comes into my life…
People call me Officer Grumpypants, but wouldn’t you be if life kept knocking you down?
My life is an endless sh*t list that I can’t even begin to unravel.
It all started when my parents died.
It continued when I was forced to sell my house.
And it all came to an epic conclusion when my wife walked out on me.
What I need is to get my mind in order and my life back on track.
So when my old commander offers me a job in Mayberry Holm, I grab the opportunity by the balls.
I’m ready to put my head down and my hands to work.
What I wasn’t planning though was becoming pet food for crows by this infuriating little man who throws seeds at my face.
Or being hired to help said man with his new store.
Or having to protect him from a bunch of criminals that prey on his softness and sweetness.
Even though he drives me insane, I can’t stop thinking of him. And even though he’s annoyingly cheerful, I can’t help but smile around him.
Or fantasize about him doing… naughty things to me.
What the hell is happening to me? Am I falling for the young, bubbly, pink-haired man? And is it too late to stop it?
Welcome to Mayberry Holm, a small island in the Atlantic full of crime, secrets and happily-ever-afters, and the ex-Navy SEALs that come to deal with them all.
Universal Link
Amazon
Goodreads
“Here, try this,” I said.
The straw smacked his nose, and he grimaced—surprise, surprise.
“I told you I don’t like this shit.”
I see we’ve gone back to the tough-boy act, huh?
“That’s why I’m not asking you to try shit. I’m asking you to try bubble tea. Now do it before I sneak into your house while you’re sleeping and dye your beard pink like my hair,” I threatened. Although now that I’d said it, I sooo wanted to do it.
“Fine,” Parker grumbled, grabbed the cup from me, and pinched the straw with his teeth.
He took two sips and tried to pass me the cup, but I put my hands behind my back and cocked my head waiting for his response.
“And?” I asked when he didn’t offer me one.
“It’s fine,” he huffed.
I raised an eyebrow. “Just fine?”
“Yeah,” he grumbled.
“Wait a minute, are you using ‘fine’ because you don’t know any other words?”
“What words?” He raised an eyebrow.
“I don’t know, perfect, tasty, divine, heavenly. Ambrosial!”
“Ambrosial?”
“It’s a word,” I said.
“Right,” he said, mocking behind an inkling of a smirk.
“So? Would you say this is ambrosial?” I asked, pointing at the cup in his hand.
“Ambrosial?” I nodded. He shook his head. “No. Definitely not ambrosial.”
“Then I need to experiment more,” I said, pursing my lips, and got back to work altering the recipe.
I wasn’t going to stop until he was so rocked off his feet that he actually cracked a smile.
I poured double the chocolate powder and twice the corn syrup. Pumped a few extra shots of peanut butter syrup, added a splash of banana extract, shook, and poured into a cup. I finished it off with an extra dash of chocolate shavings and chips and returned to Parker with a fresh straw.
“Here,” I said.
He snatched the cup from my hands and pinched the straw with two fingers, and I watched him like a hawk.
Just before he took a sip, he stopped and looked at me.
“Is that really necessary?” he asked.
“Oh, I’d say it’s vital,” I bit back.
“That’s a bit dramatic,” he said.
“Well, I didn’t say I wasn’t a drama queen. Now drink!”
He took a deep breath, flaring his nostrils, and took a sip of the new blend. His brows furrowed deeper and his eyes slit harder, but even as he swallowed, he didn’t give anything away.
“Yeah. It’s all right,” he said.
My fingers curled into fists and I all but growled. I’d been making Parker teas to try nonstop since he’d started, and he never admitted he liked any. Even the worst bubble tea critic would enjoy one of the mixes I’d made, even if it had no topping.
“Fine,” I snapped at him.
“Now who needs an expanded vocabulary,” he said with an amused grin.
Well, at least that was something. He might not want to admit he liked me—erm, my bubble tea—but at least my efforts entertained him.
“I’m going out,” I said.
“Bye,” he said and turned his back to me, picking up the first box that needed lugging into the storeroom.
I shook my head, grabbed the tray of samples I’d already made, and marched out of my café.
To celebrate his new release, Rhys is giving away a signed Paperback of Mother Parker (Open Internationally)!
Enter the Rafflecopter giveaway for your chance to win!
Rhys Everly-Lawless is a hopeless romantic who loves happily-ever-afters.
Which would explain why he loves writing them.
When he’s not passionately typing out his next book, you can find him cuddling his dog, feeding his husband, or taking long walks letting those plot bunnies breed ferociously in his head.
He writes contemporary gay romances as Rhys Everly and LGBTQ+ urban fantasy and paranormal romances as Rhys Lawless.
You can find out more about him and his work by joining his Newsletter or his Facebook group, Rhys Everly After.
Connect with Rhys:
Website: https://www.rhyswritesromance.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rhyswritesromance
Instagram: @rhyswritesromance
Twitter: @rhyswritesmm
Tiktok: @rhyswritesromance
