Title: One Night in Dallas

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Release: Oct 25

Buy Links: Amazon

Blurb:

Over a decade ago, Avery Laniston fell in love with his brother Bran’s best friend but walked out on him and married his career instead. He’s regretted it ever since. After twelve years abroad, he returns for Bran’s wedding, hoping to make amends—only to get stranded in an airport with the man he left behind.

When Paul Gladwell finds himself stuck in Dallas with Avery on the way to Bran’s wedding, he decides a one-night stand might be the ticket to closure. Instead it rekindles a spark that threatens to burn him a second time. The romantic atmosphere at the wedding venue doesn’t help, nor does scheming from their friends and family. But the worst culprit is Paul’s heart, which refuses to listen to his head’s warning that Avery hasn’t changed.

Avery knows he hurt Paul before, and he’s determined to make it right. But he doesn’t know where his next job might take him, and Paul is hesitant to trust him again. Can Avery prove he’ll be the partner Paul deserves—that he can balance his career and his personal life? Or will he add one night in Dallas to his years of regrets?

Thanks for joining me on Love Bytes today! I’ve got an exclusive excerpt from One Night in Dallas to share. Paul and Avery are tasked with setting up the bridal suite at Bran’s wedding, and Paul has done his best to try–and fail–to convince Avery that he doesn’t need to help. Setting up a romantic evening with his ex-boyfriend-turned-airport-hookup doesn’t seem like a great idea to Paul, but he’s stuck with him.

One Night in Dallas excerpt:

Paul wanted to argue, but he knew it would be pointless. Avery was a stubborn bastard, and Paul would only make things worse by fighting. He didn’t want Avery to know that he was getting under his skin, which meant he couldn’t call attention to how much he wanted to put some space between them.

“It’ll be quick. Bran has all the stuff in his suitcase.”

Paul had intended to walk to the cabin to stretch out his absence, but with Avery tagging along, he decided snagging a golf cart would be a better choice. Get in, get out, get through the rest of the reception, and then he could excuse himself to his cabin. A couple of hours away from Avery and a good night’s sleep would cure what ailed him for sure.

“It better be just hearts and roses and not freaky sex stuff,” Avery warned as they climbed into the cart.

Paul didn’t know what kind of sex stuff Avery would consider freaky, and he didn’t really want to think about that or what sex stuff Bran might have at all. They were best friends, but they didn’t talk about their sex lives in anything other than broad, sweeping terms. It was a habit they’d started while Paul was dating Avery, since Bran didn’t want any details about that. He could see through Avery’s veiled attempt to goad him into talking about sex and was determined to avoid it.

“As far as I know, it’s flower petals, bath salts, and stuff like that. The bellman was supposed to get Ellie’s suitcases and bring them over, so we’ll have to check to make sure they got there.”

“Boring hetero vanilla sex stuff, got it,” Avery said.

“Of the two of us, you’d be the closest thing to an expert on hetero sex stuff,” Paul blurted, cursing himself for not being able to ignore Avery’s bait.

“True. Does that make you the resident expert on boring vanilla?”

Damn it, this was exactly why he should have ignored Avery’s comment. Avery knew precisely how to tease and where to poke to engage Paul in a debate. Avery loved to talk, and Paul used to love listening to him ramble about the most inane things.

“Though role-playing strangers meeting in an airport and having an illicit tryst isn’t that vanilla. I guess your tastes have changed as you’ve aged,” Avery teased.

Paul pulled up to Bran’s cabin and yanked the parking brake abruptly enough to make the cart shudder.

“Nope. Still pretty vanilla,” he said, unable to let Avery have the last word despite his better judgment.

When Paul opened the front door, Avery leaned in and murmured, “That’s always been my favorite flavor anyway.”

Paul stood there dumbly, staring after Avery as he swept past him into the cabin. Somehow Avery always threw him off balance, though this time he had no one to blame but himself. He knew better than to respond to Avery when he was in this kind of playful mood.

Bru Baker has been writing gay fiction since 2012. She believes in Happily Ever Afters, but she almost always makes her characters work to get there. Bru and her husband live in the Midwest with their two children, whose antics make finding time to write difficult but never let life get boring.

Release date: Oct. 25, 2022

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