Love Bytes Welcome author Meg Macy to their blog to share a guestpost and an excerpt of their new release: “Love Me Do”.
Welcome 🙂
Love Me Do – Guest Post
Twenty Random Characteristics
Hello readers! When book 2 of the Love Is Love series, Love Me Do, begins, the main characters Jack Riley and his lover Reese Baxter have been in a committed relationship since last summer in book 1, All You Need Is Love. The adage “opposites attract” definitely applies to this pair.
Besides having communication problems, Jack has an explosive temper and Reese bottles things up. Plus there’s financial problems at the Here Comes the Sun café that’s stressing Jack out, along with his business partner pressuring him to build an outside patio. When an ex-lover who seems far more than a hookup of Jack’s appears out of the blue, Reese is beyond shocked. Can he help being jealous? Is it too much to expect their love to last?
But Jack and Reese still have plenty to learn about each other in the course of the series. The random things below without italics were revealed in book 1, and the ones in italics are still secrets when Love Me Do begins. Enjoy!
Jack Riley
- Preferred “see you never again” hookups until meeting Reese
- Broke his arm as a kid climbing a ladder, resulting in debilitating fear of heights
- “Life of the party” since Jack loves people and loves performing
- Visited Fire Island’s The Pines community one summer for wild parties and sex
- Uses the ballet barre more than other exercise equipment in home gym
- Runaway, homeless on streets as a gay teen, nearly killed in accident
- Earned money “on his knees” at 15 in various places while homeless
- Does not enjoy cooking on the line at café but loves baking
- Betrayal issues as a child and an adult, emotionally distant at times
- Loves Reese’s sculpted muscles and strength, smartness, quiet support
Reese Baxter
- Doting, anxious mother believes her only child being “gay” is just a phase
- Closeted, never dated, prefers quiet time at home until meeting Jack
- Very detail oriented, a neat freak, can freeze up with severe panic attacks
- Forced to attend a Christian church from childhood, hates judgmental people
- Hired full time from internship after college, promoted early at 26
- Fears being outed beyond parents, cousin, aunt, especially at work
- Prefers watching sports over participating
- Extremely loyal to certain family members
- In therapy for years to deal with severe social anxiety, parental issues
- Loves Jack’s openness and humor, femboy looks, fashion style
I am writing book 3 now, P.S. I Love You, which continues Jack and Reese’s story and hope to publish in June. But both All You Need Is Love and Love Me Do are available at Amazon, B&N, Apple, Smashwords, and Kobo. Thanks for the opportunity to discuss my characters!
Meg Macy has a new MM contemporary romance out, Love Is Love book two: Love Me Do.
Longtime friends Jackson Riley and Juliette (aka Jules) Baxter are committed to fulfilling their first year of business at their breakfast café, but trouble is brewing again in their personal lives. Jack and Reese Baxter are in a committed relationship — or are they?
Jack’s not so certain given Reese’s continued reluctance to come out of the closet. Jules has ended her polyamorous relationships, but she’s juggling her romantic attraction to two café staff members – a man and a woman. Jules’s parents split in their support of the cafe, and Reese’s mother is making a big stink as well.
When more details of Jack’s secret past rise from the ashes, everything is thrown in turmoil. Will they all survive to celebrate?
Warnings: Anxiety, past abuse, foster care, trans attack, cutting
About the Series
In the Love Is Love series, three LGBTQA+ contemporary romance novels explore past hurts, healing, and the vulnerability of gay love and acceptance. Friendship, trust, courage, and resilience unite to combat fear and homophobia in reshaping lives and communities.
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Juli eyes Jack. “How come you two didn’t stay at the Unicorn until midnight on New Year’s Eve?”
He glances over the table at Reese, whose cheeks flush again. “We agreed to go home early. My man gets overwhelmed with so many people.” Jack leans over and whispers a phrase that Chris doesn’t catch, then taps out a pattern on the table with a finger. “You good?”
Reese taps the same pattern with a smile and visibly relaxes. But he keeps his eyes on the table, avoiding the growing crowd around them. Chris steers the conversation in a different direction, figuring that might help as well.
“I heard last year the Unicorn was so crowded, people couldn’t get in.”
“Yeah,” Jack says. “I was so squashed, I got bruises.”
“You kissed all the pretty boys that night,” Juli teases him. “You went missing a few times, too. Bet you were popular in the men’s restroom, is that it?”
“Hey, I missed my friends after being gone,” he says, his face scarlet from his hairline to his neck. “But Stevie and me left for Blake’s house. They don’t like crowds, neither.”
Reese remains silent, eyes hooded. Chris saw the social media posts from over a year ago, and Juli’s right—Jack was the life of that party. A couple photos showed him sandwiched between two guys on the dance floor, hugging, kissing, groping.
Juli squeals when the waiter sets her pulled pork entrée down with a separate plate of French fries. “Oh my God and the angels, these are so good!”
He steals a few garlic fries. “Remember you owe me, babe.”
“For drinking some of your milkshake?”
“Some? Like more’n half!”
Jack finishes his salad bowl and leans against Reese’s shoulder. “I’m stuffed, that was so good. Glad we didn’t order that churro. You’re as bad as my man chowing down on beef, cheese, and bacon all together. Talk about risking a heart attack.”
Reese shakes his head, his mouth turning up into a half smile. “Don’t listen to him. More than eighty percent of vegetarians go back to eating meat.”
“I’m pescatarian. Just for that, I’ll making pasta with tofu tomorrow for dinner.”
“Hmm. I might have to work late.”
“What a coward! You won’t get a tattoo neither.”
“My body is a temple, not a canvas—”
Juli giggles at their teasing exchange. “Love always wins in the end.”
Chris notices a tall, well-built guy in a hoodie staring at them near the door before he saunters over to their table with a big grin. Doesn’t say anything, but stands behind Jack, his muscular arms crossed over his chest. Cocks his head, clearly listening.
“You ain’t gonna believe this. I was sat down when this lady comes up to me, asking—” Seeing Chris point a finger behind him, Jack twists around in surprise. “The hell?”
The stranger pulls him up from the bench and gives him a ferocious bear hug. “Tink! Knew I’d run into you at some point.”
Jack pulls free. “Never expected to see you in Michigan—wait, hold on.” He turns toward the table. “Hey, everyone. Kyle Kingston is an actor friend from New York. This is my business partner, Jules Baxter, and Chris Bouchard. And here’s my hot man, Reese Baxter.”
Already standing, Reese extends a hand to shake. The actor accepts and gives Jack a knowing smirk, which puzzles Chris. Is Kyle gay or straight? He eyes Juli with interest, winking at her and acting more like a “bro” with a swagger, but keeps a hand on Jack’s shoulder. Chris notices how Reese looks more stone-faced while Jack and Kyle exchange tidbits about theater friends they knew back in New York. At last the actor glances around at them, as if realizing they’re all listening.
“What kind of business are you in, Tink?” the actor asks.
“Running a breakfast café,” Jack says. “Here Comes the Sun’s north of the river. You should stop in and see it. I can text you the address. You still got the same number? Did you ever replace your Android, that damned screen was so scratched….”
Chris stays quiet, but Juli’s attempts to get a word in edgewise are hit or miss. She glances his way and hides a smile behind one hand. Signals him to leave by hooking a thumb at the door. He tosses money on the table to cover their part of the bill.
“Nice meeting you, Kyle! See you guys later.” Juli hurries outside, Chris trailing her, but she turns and holds out a few bills. “This wasn’t a date, remember, so I’ll pay for myself.”
“I just figured you wanted to get out of there fast.”
“I did! You saw Reese? I swear steam came out of his ears,” she says, laughing hard. “He is soooo jealous. I could tell if Kyle has the hots for Jack, didn’t you think so? I wonder if there’s more between them than we know.”
“I remember Stevie or Blake talking about some guy Jack was dating in New York.”
Juli rubs her hands together with a wicked gleam in her blue eyes. “You mean more than a hookup? Oooh. Guess I’ll have to dig for the gossip! If Blake doesn’t know, then for sure Stevie will tell me.”
“She doesn’t know everything about Jack, though,” Chris says, “and Stevie claimed that Jack avoided committed relationships. He’s been with Reese for what, over six months?”
“Yeah, Jack resisted whenever I tried to them up for a blind date last year when we opened the café. Hey, today was a lot of fun,” she says. “Sometimes I get so wrapped up at home or doing a bunch of errands, I never enjoy a day off.”
“Yeah, I get that. I’m also Stevie’s personal assistant, doing her laundry and getting her groceries. Without the benefits—money or sex,” Chris adds with a wink.
Juli bursts out laughing again, her reddish-gold hair framing her face like a halo.
National bestselling author Meg Macy is a reader first and foremost. She’s always found comfort, adventure, and connection in books—which might explain why she now writes stories that offer all three.
Best known for her Shamelessly Adorable Teddy Bear Mystery series (Kensington), several Christmas romance novellas with rescue pets, and as one-half of D.E. Ireland, the Agatha Award-nominated duo behind the Eliza Doolittle and Professor Higgins mysteries, Meg has long embraced the cozy end of fiction.
Now, she’s rewriting the rules with a new direction: LGBTQA+ romantic suspense —queer characters in a cozy setting, with spice, intrigue, and plenty of emotional payoff. M/M or M/F polyamory, traditional or trailblazing, her stories are comfort reads with a twist. Unique? Yep. Meg loves breaking the rules. She lives with her writing companion, Mr. Whiskers the cat, and prefers pages to parties any day.
Author Website: http://www.megmacy.com
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