Hi! I’m Grace Kilian Delaney and I’m excited to be at Scattered Thoughts and Rouge Words promoting Living on a Dare, the first book in my Shore Thing series. In Living on a Dare, Draven and Jules, former college roommates, get thrown into a fake engagement complete with lots of misunderstandings and a chance to find out if their feelings go beyond friendship. For today’s exclusive blog tour post, I thought it would be fun to explore Draven and Julien meeting for the first time.
Scrambling to find a roommate a week before the semester began sucked. A friend of a friend mentioned a tight-laced nerd from the Boston area who needed a roommate and connected us. After texting the nerdy guy a couple of times, he asked me to meet him at his apartment. He was either brave or naïve handing out his address without meeting me first. Or maybe our mutual friend put in a good word about me.
I anticipated spending more time away from the apartment than being in it anyway. My training schedule for the gymnastics team was brutal. Add my classes and homework and I’d be lucky to get any sleep, let alone hang time with my new roomie. Which was a damn shame.
“I’m Julien,” the cutest guy in the world said as he welcomed me into his apartment. His cheeks dimpled as he smiled and the dark frames he wore screamed hot-nerd. I wondered if I was drooling. I wanted to cuddle him, squish him, kiss him. He was the kind of guy that made me break out in a case of warm and fuzzies.
“Draven,” I answered, redirecting my attention to the apartment, deciding I could not be roommates with this hottie. Okay. I totally could. My love life was zero with no chances of improving, and there were far worse things than having an unrequited crush on a roommate.
“It’s not much but I have the essentials.” Julien gestured toward the expensive-looking sectional couch—its plush cushions were already coaxing me into taking a nap on it—and a four-foot flat screen TV on a stand that probably came from Restoration Hardware. Those were the essentials?
“I already have Netflix and Prime,” he said, “so you don’t have to pay for any of that stuff.” Aw. Isn’t he sweet? He’s blushing and fidgety. And that hint of a Boston accent was going to kill me. I was hoping this guy was gay or bi, or just plain curious. No. That would be too distracting. I had a gold medal to win.
“Yeah, that’s not how I work, but thanks. We go in half for all the bills except food. I eat, like, really specific stuff and I eat a lot of it. It wouldn’t be fair for you to pay for that.”
“Right, Dave mentioned you were on the gymnastics team.”
“Did he also mention that I’m gay?” No sense in being roommates with anyone who was a homophobic douchebag, no matter how enticing the roommate.
He shrugged. “Okay. Do you want to see the bedrooms?”
“Excuse me?” I think I turned a million shades of red. Cuz, hell yes. I’d like to see the bedrooms.
“Oh, sweet lord, that was a bad transition.” He shielded his eyes with his hand. His face flushed. Living with Julien was going to be a lot of fun and require frequent cold showers.
“How about you finish giving me the grand tour of the place and I treat you to dinner?” I asked. It wasn’t a date. It was an interview. Julien might be content letting some stranger into his home, but after growing up in LA, I was far less trusting. Sweet, innocent-looking nerd types might secretly be cannibals.
“Alright,” Julien said and showed me the rest of the apartment. Bedrooms and all. Thankfully, the shower had great water pressure. Yup, I checked.
Stuntman Draven O’Connor never turns down a dare—even if it means getting down on one knee to propose to his former college roommate and friend. The same man he’s been crushing on since the first day they met. The same man that has grown distant over the past year. And the same man who just agreed to be his fiancé.
Julien Bouchard is tired of living a lie. He spent the past year exploring his sexuality in secret, enduring countless dates with women to appease his mother, and dodging his best friend, Draven, who knows everything there is to know about him, except the one thing that could change their friendship. Ready to face his friend, he meets him at a bar and is greeted by an unexpected marriage proposal. The dare isn’t surprising; it’s the scorching hot kiss that sends Julien’s head and heart in a tailspin—and gives him an idea for the perfect plan.
But perfect plans are never go according to plan, and news of their fake engagement spreads to their families as fast as a wildfire, forcing them to confront their true feelings about each other and hope they don’t get burned.
Author Bio
Grace Kilian Delaney is a LGBT writer, musician, animal lover, and author of the sweet and sexy bisexual romance Living on a Dare: A Shore Thing Novel. She spends her free time performing kitchen concerts to an audience of her two cats and a dog and loves long beach runs. Her previous books include Seven Minutes (Dreamspinner Press) and Waking Oisin (NineStar Press).
Twitter: @GracekilianD
Facebook: GraceKilianD
Amazon Author Page: Grace Kilian Delaney on Amazon
Website: gracekiliandelaney.wordpress.com
Gmail: GraceKilianDelaney
Mailing List: http://bit.ly/2UeYlHC
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