Instagram Tour Incl Exclusive Excerpt & Giveaway: Earthquake Ethan by R.L. Merrill
Forces of Nature, Book 3
The Earth shook the morning actor Ethan Bradley arrived in Los Angeles looking for a second chance. He hoped his former producers Reese Matheson and Toby Griffiths meant it when they said to look them up if he were ever in LA because he had no other options. The pictures the paparazzi took at the wrap party for their London show made sure of that. What he wasn’t counting on was the reception he got from their manager, Arthur Frye. He was absolutely the kind of together guy Ethan wished would notice him, and for more than his pretty face and talent. Too bad Arthur only sees Ethan as a complication.
Arthur Frye has his hands full with his best clients—and best friends. The last thing he needs is another diva to care for, especially one who has a reputation for causing trouble. He has a strict rule against getting involved with the talent, no matter how pretty they are. Only Ethan Bradley shines for real, and when Arthur realizes his nice-guy innocence is genuine, he’s ready to do anything to help Ethan get his career back on track and get him out of LA. He’s too much of a temptation, and Arthur can’t afford to lose focus…not even for a chance at happiness for himself. Especially not when his star clients are about to risk their professional and personal happiness with their newest creation; a musical about two boys falling in love in the 1960s featuring music written by Reese’s grandfather, whose health is in decline.
Ethan Bradley shakes things up wherever he goes, and Arthur Frye is afraid he’ll be left in the wreckage if he gets too close. Can these two opposites find love on solid ground?
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Arthur woke with a start and sat up straight. Elvis, his twenty-pound furry roommate, launched himself off of Arthur’s bare leg.
“What the—”
The window rattled ominously and the bed felt as though someone had kicked it. Hard. The framed print of Elvis Costello’s debut album that he’d hung up hastily next to the bathroom—the one he knew he should have used molly bolts to hang—swung back and forth before crashing to the ground, the glass shattering.
Fuck.
An earthquake was a helluva way to start his day. All signs were pointing towards trouble and he hadn’t even stepped foot out of bed.
He cursed when he remembered he’d left his slippers downstairs and therefore would have to walk past the glass to get to the broom and dustpan.
Fuuuuuck
Elvis howled from the kitchen to announce that morning had broken and it was time to break his fast.
“Don’t worry, my friend. The ground quakes, the path is strewn with danger, but I shall sacrifice it all for your care and comfort, your majesty.”
It was silent for exactly three seconds before a louder howl was heard.
Fucking fuckshit fuckery of fucks.
Arthur swung his feet over the edge of his queen-sized bed and stepped down. In something squishy.
The amount of fucks that spilled from his normally curse-free mouth were numerous and passionate. He walked on the side of his foot to keep from spreading the foul substance on his laminate floor and spotted another pile just outside his doorway.
“At least you didn’t vomit on my duvet again,” he said, counting his one lucky star that the infuriating feline hadn’t soiled his bedding. Removing the cover from the duvet without spreading the mess was difficult, but replacing the cover after a thorough wash and dry in hot water was an ordeal.
Arthur carefully stepped around the pieces of glass that thankfully remained in a small pile in the doorway and entered the bathroom. He stuck his foot in the shower and turned it on, cursing colorfully once more when he remembered he still wore his satin pajama pants. Removing them now would most definitely bring them in contact with the disgusting substance on his foot, so he pulled the leg up and did his best to rinse the muck off without getting water all over his floor.
He failed.
While removing his pants he stepped in a puddle and slipped, catching himself on the counter and smacking his funny bone in the process.
Yeeeoooooowwwwwlllllllllllllll
“Oh, I’m coming, you insufferable menace!”
Arthur stomped down the stairs and into the kitchen. He flicked on the Keurig to warm and then opened a can of prescription cat food. The lid snapped off and flicked the gooey mess onto his bare stomach.
“Really?” he shrieked.
Mrrrrrrooooooowwwwwwwwllllll
Elvis sat on the counter next to his bowl like the prince he was, swishing his fluffy black and white tail back and forth, knocking yesterday’s mail onto the floor in the process.
“Honestly, I was going to move that—”
The plus-sized cat brought a giant paw up to lick.
Arthur sighed and scooped the food into the cat’s bowl. Elvis was supposed to be a temporary resident in his home when his best friend Patricia surprised her now ex-husband mid-blow job with a drag queen in Las Vegas and subsequently went on a much-needed sabbatical followed by an amicable divorce, but when she returned, she asked if her cat could remain with him until she found a new place. Her parents had refused her furry friend as her mother was allergic.
He’d agreed. How could he not? The poor woman discovered her husband indisposed with a drag queen while she was in Vegas attempting to ensure her client, rock god Danny Black’s, wedding went off without a hitch. There was, instead, a drunk and disorderly arrest followed by Patricia’s tearful acceptance that her marriage was over.
That was four years ago.
Arthur adored Patricia—and Elvis, if he were being honest—and would do anything for her, although on mornings like this when he was supposed to have a blissful day of no commitments ahead of him, he wished he weren’t so loyal.
But the fact that he was loyal had him running for his phone when he heard it ringing upstairs next to his bed. The ringtone—”Good Vibrations”—let him know it was Reese Matheson, and if Reese was calling today after he’d promised Arthur a day off, something might be amiss.
It was an appropriate theme song for this morning, Arthur thought with a smirk.
Arthur hit the top step and forgot all about the broken picture frame.
Glass crunched under his left foot, a stabbing pain shot up his leg and he fell onto his hip and slid across the floor on his left butt cheek.
No amount of swear words would save him from the sting, the ache, or the prospect of cleaning the trail of blood up off his floor.
He sat with his back against the bed and tried to catch his breath, afraid to look at his foot. The ringtone stopped for a few beats and then started up again. Of course. Reese was persistent.
Arthur grabbed the phone off the bedside table, shouted more fucks to the heavens above as loud as he possibly could, his neighbors be damned, and answered.
“Hey, Reese. What’s up?”
“I have a situation.”
Reese frequently had a situation. First it was the pictures, then the disaster breakup, then complications with his grandfather, then his whirlwind affair with his grandfather’s caregiver…all while they were in production for their new musical, which was set to open in three weeks. What could it possibly be this time?
“One that couldn’t wait until tomorrow?” He wanted to take the words back as soon as he’d said them. Reese was a great guy, one of his best friends as well as a client, and he’d been through a world of shit in the past couple of months. Arthur prided himself on always being there for his clients, a trait that made him one of the top managers at Slade Artist Management, Patricia being the other. Losing his temper with his bread and butter was a no-no.
“Yeah. I’m sorry about that. Uh, I have a visitor.”
Arthur frowned. “Okay?”
“It’s Ethan.”
“Oh. Kay. Well.”
“Yeah. He came to the house.”
Arthur winced. “Awkward much?”
“He doesn’t have anywhere to go,” Reese said, his voice low. Arthur imagined this was a delicate situation for him and his live-in boyfriend Jude.
“How did he find your address?”
To celebrate the release of Earthquake Ethan, R.L. Merrill is giving away a $25 Amazon Voucher!
Enter the Rafflecopter giveaway for your chance to win!
Check out the other books in the Forces of Nature Series
Book 1: Hurricane Reese
The life of Tony-winning musician Reese Matheson resembles a natural disaster, and caregiver Jude De La Torre is caught in the eye of the storm. But can the love of two opposites survive caring for an ornery octogenarian with wayward balls and a meddling family insistent upon tradition?
Fresh off the successful London run of his musical, the last thing Reese expects when he comes home is a house surrounded by paparazzi and his girlfriend throwing his stuff into the pool. All he wants to do is spend time with his beloved grandfather and musical mentor who suffers from Alzheimer’s. Reese knows he doesn’t have much time left before the elder Matheson forgets who he is. In classic “Hurricane Reese” form, he moves into the cottage by the sea and displaces Jude, the intriguing caregiver he hired two years before. When Grandpa proves too much for Reese to handle on his own, Jude comes to his rescue, taming Grandpa… and the Hurricane as well. Soon all Reese can think about is how to get Jude out of his scrubs and into his bed—permanently. Will Hurricane Reese destroy everything in his path, or will this odd couple learn to harmonize together?
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Book 2: Typhoon Toby
On the surface, Toby Griffiths appears to have it all—talent, money, a brilliant mind, and model good looks. With his best friend, Reese, he’s built an empire as a singer/songwriter.
But beneath that glittering exterior, Toby suffers the lasting effects of abuse. To keep his tempestuous past where it belongs, he insists on anonymity with lovers—no names, no personal information. But a vacation fling in Bali changes all that, and he can’t get his recent playmate out of his mind.
Therapist Spencer Hart left Bali with a bad case of pneumonia and a broken heart. Although he’s recovering, he’s shocked to find his secretive partner on TV, and he’s determined to see him again. Spencer arranges to attend one of Toby’s fundraising galas, and their reunion is tense.
Toby tries to stick to his rules… until a New Year’s kiss with Spencer washes away the last of his resistance. But Toby is a man with secrets, and when the storm comes ashore, it could devastate not just his professional life but his fledgling love affair and his longtime partnership with his best friend.
Will Spencer stand by his side and help him weather the storm as Toby faces his worst fears?
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About the Author:
Whether she’s writing contemporary romance featuring quirky and relatable characters or diving deep into the paranormal and supernatural to give readers a shiver, R.L. Merrill loves creating compelling, diverse, and inclusive stories that will stay with readers long after. Winner of the Kathryn Hayes “When Sparks Fly” Best Contemporary award for Hurricane Reese, and a Foreword INDIES finalist for Summer of Hush, and Daphne DuMaurier finalist for Connection, Ro spends every spare moment improving her writing craft and striving to find that perfect balance between real-life and happily ever after. She contributes paranormal hilarity to Robyn Peterman’s Magic and Mayhem Universe, and recently joined the Carnival of Mysteries shared world project. You can find her connecting with readers on social media, advocating for America’s youth, cruising around town with Great Dane Velma, cuddling with twin black cat familiars Frankenstein and Dracula, or headbanging at a rock show near her home in the San Francisco Bay Area! Stay Tuned for more…
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