Featuring seven brand new novellas, each answering the question—what happens when the one meant for you was right there all along?

    He grew up as the son of two psychiatrists, so he finds most people tediously easy to figure out. He finds his way to Pennsylvania State University, longing for a rural experience, and ends up being lured into joining a frat by Micah Springfield, the hippest guy on campus.Nothing in Sloane’s classes is as intriguing as Hank Springfield, Micah’s brother and fellow frat house member. Hank looks like a tough guy—big muscles, tatts, and a beard—but his eyes are soft and sweet. He acts dumb, but he’s a philosophy major. He’s presumably straight, but then why does Sloane feel such crazy chemistry whenever Hank is around? And why does Hank hate Sloane so much?When Sloane ends up stuck on campus over Christmas, Micah invites him to spend the holidays at their family farm in Amish country. It’s a chance to experience a true Americana Christmas--and further investigate the mystery that is Hank Springfield. Can Sloane unlock the secrets of this family and unwrap the heart hidden inside the beefcake?

    in love.Cambridge art professor Larry Morton takes one, alcohol-glazed look at the huge, tattooed man looming in a dark alley, and assumes he’s done for. Moments later he finds himself disarmed—literally and figuratively. And, the next morning, he can’t rest until he offers an apology to the man who turned out to be more gentle than giant. Larry's intrigued to find there's more to Al Fletcher than meets the eye; he possesses a natural artistic talent that shines through untutored technique. Unfortunately, no one else seems to see the sensitive soul beneath Al’s imposing, scarred, undeniably sexy exterior. Least of all Larry's class-conscious family, who would like nothing better than to split up this mismatched pair. Is it physical? Oh, yes, it’s deliciously physical, and so much more—which makes Larry’s next task so daunting. Not just convincing his colleagues, friends and family that their relationship is more than skin deep. It’s convincing Al. Contains comic misunderstandings, misuse of art materials, and unexpected poignancy.

    If I've missed him way more than I expected when he left to train with a new skating coach, that’s because he’s so easy to hang with. And yeah, he’s gay, but he’s not into me. Why would he be? I’m straight.We're not boyfriends.But now Etienne needs me, so I’m rushing to the mountain village where he's skating in a holiday show. That’s what best friends do.EtienneI know Sam will never like me the way I like him.Never love me the way I love him.But now that my competitive skating career might be suddenly ending, I need my best friend by my side. Thank god Sam’s spending the holidays with me.It's okay that he'll never love me back.It’s okay that there's only one bed in this cozy little cabin.We’re best friends. Nothing’s going to happen.Only One Bed is a gay Christmas story from Keira Andrews featuring friends to lovers, forced proximity, bisexual awakening, first times, snowy holiday vibes, and of course a happy ending.

    Shy and uncomfortable with his height, he's always tried to blend in rather than stand out. When his former foster sister and best friend cons him into going on a singles' trip to Walt Disney World, Quinn is certain he will be miserable. Then he meets Josh.Being dumped by his high-maintenance boyfriend a couple of weeks before a trip to Disney World isn't what Josh Hart had planned, but he's determined not to let it get him down. Rebooked on a singles' trip, Josh intends to make the most of his first trip to an amusement park. On the first day, he meets shy, sexy Quinn, but the man is clueless about his own appeal.If Quinn wants to catch the man of his dreams, he'll have to be willing to risk the one thing he's never put on the line before—his heart.Genres: Gay / Contemporary

    I was told not to send you another text, but I never was any good at listening. I love and miss you. I always will.When I lost my partner of eight years, I felt like my world was crashing down around me. In order to feel some relief from the overwhelming emptiness, I’ve found myself sending him texts every year on his birthday, even though I know he will never answer. It makes me feel like there’s a piece of him still alive, at least in my heart.I’m sorry, you must have the wrong number. I apologize for not responding sooner, but I was at work.That is, until someone responds to my text. Jace is charming, sweet, and everything I could ever want. But how can I accept someone new in my life when Daniel’s only been gone two years? Even so, Jace starts to consume my world. It feels like I can finally breathe as he helps me understand that my life doesn’t have to revolve around my grief.Soon, I find myself laughing again as he pulls me away from the hopeless cycle I’ve been caught in, and I love spending time with him, whether it’s playing video games together or discussing our comic book alter egos. But I still need to let go of this guilt and allow Jace to show me that I can love another without replacing what I’ve lost. Jace rewrites my entire world with every word and smile he gives me, and it’s becoming harder to not give in and hand him my heart. Maybe Daniel did respond after all.The Last Text is a 37k word novella about overcoming loss, finding hope, and friendship that leads to new love.

    A boy genius who fast-tracked his way to college professor by his early twenties, he doesn’t know any other way to be. People confound him. So when Josh Horton, the assistant football coach, pursues him, Brendon isn’t sure what to make of him. Josh has his own problems. His successful parents aren’t particularly happy with his career path, and some of the players don’t like having a gay assistant coach. He begins to have doubts, but Brendon makes the world look a little brighter. But when Brendon’s department head starts to make trouble, Josh and Brendon discover that standing up for each other is the first step to standing up for themselves.

     Betrayed by first his body and then his girlfriend, Liam O’Reilly, assistant coach of the Seattle Thunder, is not having a very merry Christmas. So when a smoking hot hockey player in a Santa suit offers himself up like a present begging to be opened? Well, it’s a freaking Christmas miracle. If only the man in question wasn’t hockey’s own bad boy, Joey ‘the Looch’ Luciano, his best friend’s little brother and the same kid who used to trail behind Liam like a loud, mouthy shadow. Whatever. Wrong as it might seem, a one-time hookup with Joey is exactly what he needs to make the yuletide gay. By tomorrow, he’ll be back in Seattle, Joey will be in New York, and his troubles will be miles away. But as Christmas Eve becomes Christmas Day, Joey weaves his way past all Liam’s defenses, and Liam starts to see the sensitive, caring man behind the cocky smirk. When the last present is opened and the Christmas lights go dark, will Joey and Liam's night together be just another Christmas memory or can the holiday magic they made survive the pressures of the real world? Boy Toys is a heart-warming Christmas story featuring the inappropriate use of a Santa suit, sibling bribery, and ninety separate instances of the f-word.

    He and Elise have been in Boston for eight years, he loves her, and she loves him. They’ve got a great apartment that’s kept its value, they’re both up for promotion, and he can hook up with any guy he likes—all the sex he wants, so long as it’s of the “no strings” variety. And that’s all fine and dandy… until a chance meeting at the checkout. * * * “This isn’t a fluffy m/m filled with stupid misunderstandings…this is a book about the cost of being truly grown up; not in a YA coming of age, but in a turning over a whole new chapter way, complete with love and loss. Excellent read.” “…wonderful and refreshing and just laugh out loud funny at times.” “A powerfully written, life changing book. A beautiful read.” * * * WARNING: this story contains sex acts between consenting male adults. * * * Also in this series: Checking Him Out For the Holidays - a Hanukkah/Christmas novella. Hiding Out - a Hiding Behind The Couch / Checking Him Out crossover novella.* * * * * * First published as part of the Love's Landscapes Anthology (DRiTC 2014, MMRomanceGroup.com), based on the prompt: Dear Author, When I met the love of my new life (his words not mine…ass), I was simply waiting in the checkout line. I might have been caught up in a conversation with my best friend/wife of X amount of years about something, I can’t remember at the moment. So anyway, we were distracted and didn’t notice that the line had moved. So after maybe 30 seconds, or a minute at the most (I’m pretty sure it wasn’t that long), Mr. Impatient, with an accent like that character on The Originals (not that I watch that show at my age), got our attention in the rudest way in my opinion, or in my wife’s heart-of-a-ho opinion, the kindest way possible for our insensitive asses. I’m pretty sure his accent, mixed with his damn charm, got him out of more trouble than it should. We had a rough start, but we had quiet moments when we weren’t all over each other or fighting, in and out of bed. Anyway, I would love a story about our first year. P.S. I want a story with interesting secondary characters interacting with the main characters. I want it to be known that the marriage is a *lavender marriage—no one is being fooled here. I want humor mixed in with hot-damn, slightly overwhelming sex. Alpha males with a bad case of the giggles at inappropriate moments. No BDSM please. One other request is that I wish the main characters to be in the age range of late twenties to early thirties. *A lavender marriage is a “beard” marriage of convenience. Sincerely, T

     This collection is more than 38,000 words and contains short stories such as: Midnight Perp No Boyfriends Allowed A Night Off Taking It Slow This is Us And a very special bonus.

    After a long day playing tourist, he's on the hunt for some cheap beer and a good burger. Instead he finds a man hunting him, an arrogant prick with only one thing on the brain: the kind of meat that doesn't come on a bun.Eighty-hour weeks at a trading desk don't leave Malcolm Kavanagh much time for meaningful relationships. Besides, in his world, everything's a competition-even sex. When his newest one-night-sub fails to show, Malcolm sets his sights on the pretty young Yank on the bar stool beside him.Owen's all for an adventure with a native, but he's not the pushover Malcolm thinks he is, and Malcolm's not as shallow as he tries to be. They both soon learn that nothing's too intimate to share with a stranger, and the strangest things happen when two people share the most important pieces of their hearts.

    He doesn’t expect to unleash a glittery whirlwind on his orderly, very homogenized life. From minute one, Zach is like nothing Stephen’s ever known and like everything he’s secretly craved.Zach doesn’t hide who he is for anyone’s comfort, even his own, but for a chance at a man like Stephen, he’d be willing to be an “undercover lover.” But while Stephen lusts after the vibrant man, hooking up with a guy who’s never used his “closet” for anything but fashion isn’t going to do his straight-acting routine any favors.The sex is sizzling, no doubt, but Stephen wonders if there’s more to his relationship with Zach that’s worth gambling on...

    Figuratively speaking, at least.Enter Sonny Valentine, a go-go dancer at Blue's sister club, Silver's. Levi has secretly admired Sonny from afar for years, but there's one problem–he can't stand Sonny and the feeling is entirely mutual. When Levi learns Sonny is to play the third part in a scene he considers his worst nightmare, he figures things can't get any worse.But when preparations for the scene from hell collide with tragic events in his personal life, he finds his fast growing, red hot attraction to Sonny the one thing left between him and a bullet.

    Just imagine if you had a chance to meet him and all your fantasies started coming true. There's only one catch: Between you and your dream guy is his less-than-pleased boyfriend. They say that love conquers all, but can love conquer love?Like and Subscribe is a new short story by Jay Bell, the author of Something Like Summer.

    Of course, we had to deal with the man who didn’t want us to be together, and then we ended up back in LA, and we had to figure out what was going on with my brother, and, and… Okay, deep breaths. FYI, Philadelphia is nowhere near our home in northern Washington. Additionally, I wonder how Viagra really works, and what’s it gonna take to get a proposal around here? Honestly. I’m not saying Henry jinxed us, but I’m writing the damn card next year. Warning: This story contains more sugar than the cookies you leave for Santa, and it's chock-full of greetings and updates from other characters written by Cara, titles including Noah, Home, Path of Destruction, Uncomplicated Choices, and more. (A 40k words long Christmas-themed sequel to Out. Not a standalone.)