Cover Art: Bree Archer
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Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to host Kelly Jensen here today on her Counting on You tour. Welcome, Kelly.
On Dates and Henry and Marc by Kelly Jensen
Disastrous dates have been the hallmark of Henry and Marc’s relationship up to this point. First, they got stuck on the side of the road in upstate New York during a blizzard. On Christmas Eve. Though this wasn’t a date, being trapped together in a rental car gave them the opportunity to finally put some misconceptions aside and actually get to know each other.
Their second date was set for New Year’s Eve and instead of attending the party of a co-worker, they got trapped in the basement of the building. While no one would count that as a good date, Henry and Marc actually had a pretty good time (when they weren’t crawling through duct work).
When it came to writing Counting on You, I really wanted the guys to have an actual, not get trapped anywhere, do relatively normal things and have a good time, date. And they do—or they plan to until Marc takes Henry’s surprise and turns it back around.
I hope you enjoy this excerpt! And if you haven’t met Henry and Marc yet, the first two novellas of the Counting series are discounted through the end of November at all retailers.
Thanks for following my tour! At the end of every post, I’ll be asking a question. Leave a comment with your answer (and your email address), and complete the Rafflecopter to enter! There are two prizes, both available internationally. One winner will receive $15 (US or equivalent) to spend at the Dreamspinner Press store. A second winner will receive the entire Counting series in ebook format, gifted through the Dreamspinner Press store.
Q. Suggest a karaoke song for Henry and Marc!
Counting on You
Henry and Marc can’t seem to catch a break. They’ve had two disastrous dates—the first trapped in a car during a blizzard and the second locked in a basement—followed by nearly two months apart. Even though they work for the same firm, their relationship is held together by flying visits, phone calls, and text messages. A joint assignment in Washington D.C. might be more togetherness than they can handle, however.
Henry is still battling insecurity, and this assignment is too important to his career to mess up. Marc is committed. He’s falling for Henry and looks forward to having him permanently on his team and at his side. But the real test isn’t the assignment. When Marc finally lays his heart on the line, can he count on Henry to be there for him, in every way that matters? And can he do the same for Henry when Henry needs it the most?
Excerpt
Marc moved into the crowded bar. The place smelled like wet wool and desperation. A damp coat hung over the back of every chair, and everywhere he looked, ties were loosened and buttons were undone as men and women laughed together, eager to put the workweek behind them. After finding them somewhere to lean, Henry melted into the throng. He reappeared moments later holding two tall glasses of effervescent amber liquid.
Marc nearly snatched his. “God, I have never been so happy to see a glass of beer in all my life.”
Henry grinned. “I figured.” He lifted his glass. “Cheers.”
After draining nearly half his drink in one extended swallow, Marc found a smile. “Thank you. I needed that.”
“I know.”
“Three more and I might actually start to feel human again.”
“Go ahead, you earned it.”
“We’ve got a deal to construct.”
“Marc, you did more work this afternoon than we might have done together in two days. You were a machine. We’re good. We have enough information to start structuring a new deal, meaning we can take some downtime.”
Thinking about lunch tomorrow, Marc scowled. “That isn’t exactly good news.”
“I could break your leg for you.”
“You think a broken leg would excuse me?”
“Ah….”
Marc tried to drain the rest of his glass but swallowed awkwardly, catching a large bubble in his throat. Wincing, he forced it down. The tears at the corners of his eyes felt ironic.
“You could just not go,” Henry said. The words were barely audible over the buzz of conversation around the bar, but Marc caught them.
“Not how it works. He expects me not to show up.”
“I don’t get it.”
“Never mind.” Marc tipped his head toward the bar. “Get you another?”
“Sure.”
He elbowed his way through the crowd and ordered another round, this time choosing a darker ale. Henry had emptied his first by the time Marc got back and toasted him with the fresh glass. “We’ve got this, Winnamore.”
Smiling, Marc set about killing his second drink. Somewhere around the middle of the glass, he slowed down. The beer was tasty, and his anger had faded. The bar was cozy, the atmosphere more cheery and less desperate than a beer ago… and the afternoon had been too long. Add in the fact his ire had been replaced by a practiced burn, and he really couldn’t convince himself to spend any more of his free time on it.
When the after-work crowd thinned, they found a table and ordered burgers.
Henry made a game out of sorting the sugar packets by color, volume, and ingredients. “Did you know there are about eighteen thousand grains of sugar in a single packet?” he asked.
“I do now. Please tell me you haven’t counted them.”
“No. I tried once. I crapped out at about seven hundred.”
“Seriously?”
Henry chuckled. “No. I got to thirty before my mother swept the sugar off the table and told me to stop counting things.”
Marc laughed. “I can so picture it. Did you use to get up in the night and count the silverware?”
“Of course not. I always knew how many books and comics and Legos and things I had, though.”
“You’re certifiable.”
“All the best minds are.”
Their burgers arrived and the casual conversation continued, warmed by juicy sirloin and another round of beer.
“This is exactly what I needed,” Marc said, leaning back to pat his pleasantly full belly.
“No, what you need is still to come.”
He brightened. “Sex?”
Henry tipped his head back and laughed. “Okay, yeah. Sex is good. I was talking about this, though.” He tapped the upright placard at the end of the table.
Marc leaned forward to read it. “Kara—no.”
“Aw, c’mon. You know you want to. I’ve heard stories. You rock at karaoke.”
“I really, really don’t.”
“Everyone at B and M has heard you sing but me.”
“That’s because you don’t come to Mulligan’s on Thursdays.”
“Yeah, well, I would have if either of us had been in town at the same time, on a Thursday, over the past couple months.”
“Heh.”
“So tonight’s the night. I want to hear you sing.”
Marc cocked his head with a soft “Hmm,” letting beer-and-beef-softened thoughts slip slowly across his brain. “I’ll do it if you do.”
“What? No.”
“You know you want to.”
“That was my line.”
“It’s a good one. I’m borrowing it. You should be flattered. Now….” He held up a hand to ask for a second to make his case. “I’m going to offer a one-time deal.”
“Deal?”
“If you’re too chicken to stand up there on your own, we can pick a song to sing together.”
Henry’s mouth dropped open. Sound might have escaped, but Marc heard nothing but his own laughter.
Dreamspinner Press
About the Author
If aliens ever do land on Earth, Kelly will not be prepared, despite having read over a hundred stories of the apocalypse. Still, she will pack her precious books into a box and carry them with her as she strives to survive. It’s what bibliophiles do.
Kelly is the author of a number of novels, novellas and short stories, including the Chaos Station series, co-written with Jenn Burke. Some of what she writes is speculative in nature, but mostly it’s just about a guy losing his socks and/or burning dinner. Because life isn’t all conquering aliens and mountain peaks. Sometimes finding a happy ever after is all the adventure we need.
Connect with Kelly: Twitter | Facebook | Website
Giveaway
Thanks for following my tour! At the end of every post, I’ll be asking a question. Leave a comment with your answer (and your email address), and complete the Rafflecopter to enter! There are two prizes, both available internationally. One winner will receive $15 (US or equivalent) to spend at the Dreamspinner Press store. A second winner will receive the entire Counting series in ebook format, gifted through the Dreamspinner Press store.
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Follow the Tour!
11/22 Dreamspinner Press Blog
11/27 We Three Queens
11/28 Love Bytes
11/28 TTC Books and More
11/29 The Novel Approach
11/29 Boy Meets Boy Reviews
11/29 Scattered Thoughts
11/30 Joyfully Jay
11/30 Bayou Book Junkie
12/1 Diverse Reader
What happens when the flamboyant (and alliterative) Frankie Faraday finally finds his boss in the storeroom at the end of annual inventory? Not much until both men freak out when the lights go out and the door accidentally locks behind them, leaving them alone in the building because Bill, the boss, had told the others they could leave. 
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 