TRUST THE CONNECTION
by Brigham Vaughn
Scars run deep but run loves even deeper
BLURB:
After a lifetime of being told he’s worthless, Evan Harris is forced out of the closet and the only home he’s ever known. Jobless and homeless, he makes a desperate call to a couple he barely knows. They give him a place to stay at their place in Atlanta while he gets back on his feet. But he’s too shy to explore the big city and go after what he wants: a relationship.
Physically and emotionally scarred from a devastating car accident, Jeremy Lewis struggles to reconcile the brash, outgoing man he used to be with the social recluse he’s become. He’s resigned himself to being alone, but an encounter with an ex-boyfriend shakes up his dull existence and
brings Evan into his life.
Loneliness draws Evan and Jeremy to each other, but a strong mutual attraction isn’t enough. At thirty-six, Jeremy is convinced a relationship would be holding twenty-one-year-old Evan back.
Evan must be strong enough to fight for what he wants and Jeremy must let someone close enough to see his scars. Otherwise, they’ll miss out on the love of a lifetime.
NOTE: This story was previous published as a two-volume serial under the titles of “Connection” and “Trust”. Minor updates have been made but the story is essentially unchanged.
This is a re-release.
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42630972-trust-the-connection
Rafflecoptor Givaway:a Rafflecopter giveaway
Author Bio:
Brigham Vaughn is on the adventure of a lifetime as a full-time author. She devours books at an alarming rate and hasn’t let her short arms and long torso stop her from doing yoga. She makes a killer key lime pie, hates green peppers, and loves wine tasting tours. A collector of vintage Nancy Drew books and green glassware, she enjoys poking around in antique shops and refinishing thrift store furniture. An avid photographer, she dreams of traveling the world and she can’t wait to discover everything else life has to offer her.
Her books range from short stories to novellas. They explore gay, bisexual, lesbian, and polyamorous romance in contemporary settings.
To stay up to date on her latest releases, sign up for the Coles & Vaughn Newsletter
Social Media Links:
Facebook Fan Group (Brigham’s Book Nerds)
EXCERPT:
“It’s hard enough to find love in this world, and the thought of tellin’ my son he’s wrong for wanting it makes no sense to me.”
Evan looked down at the white bread plate and excessive number of forks in front of him. “Want to go tell my parents that?”
Jeremy, who had apparently been paying more attention than Evan realized, put his hand on Evan’s knee. “I think I’m first in line to give them a piece of my mind for how they treated you.” Evan flushed at the contact and the protective note in Jeremy’s voice.
“Sure, but only if I get to say how I feel about your parents to their faces, Jeremy,” he replied. It still made him so angry that they’d abandoned Jeremy when he’d needed them most. “They’re worse than mine.”
“His too?” Alan shook his head and handed a huge plate of crab cakes over. “This is what I mean! It’s goddamn ridiculous.”
Evan turned his head and grinned at Jeremy. He liked Alan a lot and began to see where Russ’ personality had come from. He put some crab cakes on his plate before handing it over to Jeremy, who made a face and passed it on. Evan shifted so he could look Alan Bishop in the face. “You really never cared that Russ was gay?”
“Naw. Just changed things a bit. Parents—the decent ones anyway—worry about their kids. Russ being gay made me worry about different things. But, hell, I was pretty sure he was gay long before he’d worked it out in his head. There was some singer who turned into an actor. Can’t remember his name, but he was real popular when Russ was a kid. Russ was maybe five or so and he was glued to the radio or the TV screen whenever he was on.”
Evan grinned, wondering whom Alan was talking about. “You don’t remember his name?”
“Not off the top of my head.” He raised his voice so Russ could hear him. “Russ, who was the singer you had a crush on when you were little? He’s an actor now. Did the movie about the gold heist.”
Russ groaned and it was the first time Evan had ever seen him look embarrassed. “You had to bring that up, didn’t you, Dad?”
Alan chuckled and Stephen looked back and forth between them. “You aren’t talking about Mark Wahlberg, are you?”
Russ rubbed his forehead. “Yes.”
“Didn’t he have another name as a singer though?” Alan asked. “He was in some band or somethin’.”
“Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch,” Russ muttered.
Stephen burst out laughing. “Oh, Russ.”
“I was a kid! Trust me, now I wonder what the hell I was thinking.” Russ shook his head. “So embarrassing.”
Jeremy laughed. “I don’t know. I was a pretty big fan of him too. I was about twelve or thirteen when his Calvin Klein underwear ads came out. Trust me, I jerked—” he glanced at the elderly woman at the end of the table and cleared his throat “—err, found the ads very … inspiring.”
Everyone at the table laughed, and Miss Esther had a small smile on her face that made Evan think that despite her age, she wasn’t exactly an uptight old lady.
“See, someone gets it.” Russ threw Jeremy a grateful smile. “When I was a kid, I might not have known why I liked him, but I knew I did.”
“Hell, I knew you did,” Alan said. “Russ just didn’t look at girls the way he did boys. My brother was gay, and I had a pretty strong suspicion Russ was too, but I didn’t see any point in bringin’ it up ’til he was ready. He thinks I don’t know about the times he snuck out to meet up with a guy that whole summer before he told me he was gay, but I knew that too.”
Russ buried his head in his hands. “I have no secrets, do I?” he muttered, and Stephen grinned and rubbed his neck.
“I like hearing them,” Stephen teased.
Jeremy sat back in his chair and crossed his arms. “Oh, I’d bet you have a few embarrassing crushes in your past too, Stephen.”
“You might be right.” Stephen gave Jeremy a wry grin. “Doesn’t mean I’m going to admit to them.”
“Aww, come on,” Jeremy coaxed. “You didn’t have a bachelor party. A few embarrassing stories at dinner seems fair.”
Russ grinned. “Yeah, I want to hear them, Stephen.”
Stephen sighed and shook his head. “I’m sure you all remember Dukes of Hazzard, right?”
“The one from the eighties, right, old man?” Jeremy teased, and Stephen rolled his eyes. Evan glanced over at Russ, who seemed amused rather than jealous of the banter between them.
“Yes, the one from the eighties. Not the ridiculous remake.”
“That was one hell of a car,” one of the men from Stephen’s work said.
Stephen grinned. “It was. Although I was more excited about Luke Duke. Never was a fan of blonds.” He ruffled the back of Russ’ hair affectionately, and Russ turned his head for a quick kiss.
“I’m afraid I was partial to Daisy,” Alan said, chuckling. “There wasn’t a man alive who didn’t want that car, and every straight man I knew wanted that woman.”
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