Release Blitz, Exclusive Excerpt & Giveaway:
Stray Awakening by F.A. Ray
Rainbow Rescue Cat Café, Book 1
I fled my hometown seven years ago. I never planned to come back. I never planned to give up my city life for a small town. And I definitely never planned to fall for another man.
Henry
Tripp Lake, the place I love the most. Working at a cat café on Main Street gives me a chance to get some deserving cats their forever homes.
But when a blast from the past walks into my café, I’m not sure what to feel. Alex was always hot and popular in high school – and straight.
So it’s a shock when he keeps accepting my invitations to hang out. I don’t think I’m imagining the spark between us, but is Alex actually interested in me, or am I letting this straight boy break my heart?
Alex
Tripp Lake, the place I hate the most. I’m only here because of my father’s heart attack. But the second I return home, I remember all the reasons I ran away.
My parents are overbearing. This town is small and boring. And I want nothing more than to flee back to my new life in San Francisco – a life that doesn’t come packed with any surprising new feelings about a guy I went to high school with.
Henry is a ray of sunshine amid this bleak journey home. But I’ve never been interested in a guy before. When a relaxing hike results in my first timid kiss with another man, I start questioning a lot more than just my decision to leave Tripp Lake. Is Henry worth staying in this crappy town for?
Stray Awakening is a small-town MM romance with first-time gay experiences, a sweet ray of sunshine winning over a jaded grumpy, spicy open-door scenes, and, of course, lots of cats. Go to linktr.ee/faraywrites for CWs.
Universal Link
Amazon
Add on Goodreads
“Hey.”
He startles. “Oh, hi. Um…”
“Henry. From high school?”
“I remember.”
Does he? I have no reason to doubt him, but why would he bother remembering someone like me?
“So, you … work here?” he says, stiff and awkward. “I thought you went to college on the East Coast. How’d you end up back in a place like this?”
His sneer unfortunately does not take away from his handsomeness whatsoever. He talks like I’ve sentenced myself to some horrific fate. Does he hate his own hometown that much?
“I did go to school out east,” I say. “But afterward I moved back here.”
“Why?” He catches himself and shakes his head. “Sorry, I didn’t mean that. I just…”
I laugh behind my hand. “It’s okay. I missed this place when I was out on the East Coast. I thought I wanted to get away, but it turned out four years was enough. By the time I graduated, I couldn’t wait to be back in the Pacific Northwest. I think the East Coast might be a bit intense for me. You’re visiting, I assume?”
His scowl deepens, and I really wish every expression didn’t look so good on him, because he’s probably married or something by now. Even if he isn’t, I shouldn’t be pathetically pining over a customer, and one who I know is straight. It’s just hard when the hot, popular dude from your high school returns out of nowhere and is somehow even more attractive than you remember. Up close, I can tell that Alex filled out in all the best ways, his shoulders and chest broad under his hoodie, his five o’clock shadow dark and rugged. He smells like grass and man, and it’s a perfume that makes my head light.
“Visiting,” Alex confirms. “Just for a few days.”
I should not feel disappointed, but I do. As useless as it is, I want him to say he’s staying here, because that means I could bump into him again some time.
A brush of fur against my leg finally distracts me from unhelpful thoughts. Poppy is rubbing against my leg and purring for attention. I take the excuse and bend down to pet her, nice, firm pats like she prefers. She purrs and preens, dancing around me to get more attention.
When I look up, Alex is watching me.
He towers with me crouched on the floor petting Poppy, his dark eyes like inky pools. And I know I’m being pathetic and overly optimistic, but I swear I see something more in his face than the annoyance he wore a moment ago, something that has my whole body reacting on pure instinct.
It’s a bad instinct. A bad, stupid instinct. Because there is absolutely no way some straight guy from my high school who looks like he hates every inch of Tripp Lake could be looking at me with anything even remotely resembling interest.
Right?
To celebrate the release of Stray Awakening, F.A. Ray’s giving away 2 e-copies of the release!
Enter the Rafflecopter giveaway for your chance to win!
About the Author:
F. A. Ray started writing fiction as a child and has never stopped. When they aren’t writing, they enjoy rock climbing and hiking in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, where they live with their partner and cat.
Visit linktr.ee/faraywrites to find out more. You can also sign up for my Patreon, where I post WIPs, updates, bonus scenes, deleted scenes and short stories that don’t appear anywhere else.
Catch up with F.A. Ray:
linktr.ee/faraywrites
https://patreon.com/user?u=95880046
https://sendfox.com/faraywrites (newsletter)
https://bsky.app/profile/faray.bsky.social
https://www.instagram.com/faray_author/
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100085890955881
https://twitter.com/FARayWrites
