TERRIBLE THINGS
BETH BOLDEN
M/M ROMANCE
RELEASE DATE: 01.19.19
Cover Design: Cate Ashwood
BLURB
When Caleb Chance walked out
in Detroit five years ago, leaving his band, millions of his fans and his lover
behind, Leo knew he could never forgive.
Some things, no matter what the cause, are unforgivable.
But Leo never expected Caleb to show up again, clean and sober and wanting to get their band, Star Shadow, back together. He definitely never expected to agree to Caleb’s plan.
He never expected to confront the love of his life again—or the disaster of his past, the hopelessness of his future, and every terrible thing he’s been carrying inside him.
But maybe some things aren’t so terrible after all.
Some things, no matter what the cause, are unforgivable.
But Leo never expected Caleb to show up again, clean and sober and wanting to get their band, Star Shadow, back together. He definitely never expected to agree to Caleb’s plan.
He never expected to confront the love of his life again—or the disaster of his past, the hopelessness of his future, and every terrible thing he’s been carrying inside him.
But maybe some things aren’t so terrible after all.
EXCERPT
“Are you
sure you’re going to be okay setting up without help?” Caleb asked.
Leo
rolled his eyes, trying to return to normal interaction. Caleb didn’t need to
know about all the little, unbearably painful, things that still caught him
unawares. It turned out that grief wasn’t only that yawning chasm of missing
someone so much your teeth ached; sometimes it was the tiny, most insignificant
bits of a destroyed, disintegrated life.
“I’m
perfectly capable, you know,” Leo insisted. “I can have people over without
making a mess of it.”
“Of
course you can. I just want to help,” Caleb said, sounding flustered. “That’s
why I offered to cook.”
“You
shouldn’t be cooking for your own celebration,” Leo said.
“You used
to like it when I cooked.”
Leo
couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled out of him at this understatement. “I
fucking loved it when you cooked.”
Caleb
looked pleased. “That’s good. Really good. I mean, I want to make you feel that
way. Again. Um.” He hesitated, mouth twitching. “All the time, actually.”
It was
good to hear. Leo had missed someone taking care of him.
But
again, that wasn’t exactly accurate. For Christmas two years ago, Benji had
given him the services of a housekeeper for six months. At the time, Leo had
been over the moon, thinking it was the perfect gift. But it turned out that he
hadn’t liked someone in his business all the time. He didn’t like the way she’d
look down her nose at him for leaving dirty dishes overflowing on the coffee
table or the way he’d track mud in after a run or that sometimes he wouldn’t
leave his warm, comfy bed until two in the afternoon.
In the
end, he’d written her a big check, buying both her absence and her silence.
So,
specifically, what Leo missed was Caleb taking care of him.
“Maybe
that’s something we could do again. Dinner sometime.” At first Leo couldn’t
believe he was suggesting it—hadn’t he just thought that Caleb back in the
kitchen was too much to handle? But he also told himself that they were trying
to be friends again. And friends could share a friendly meal.
“Really?”
Caleb sounded incredulous, but he was looking at Leo like he’d just hung the
moon and the sun and the stars in the sky.
“Of
course,” Leo said, like it wasn’t a big deal. “I know we’ll be off on the tour
soon, but maybe when we get back.”
“That
would be so great.” He paused. “Like maybe even . . . maybe even a date?”
Leo was
twenty-six years old but he honest-to-god blushed when Caleb said the magical d
word.
“Sure,”
Leo said. He couldn’t believe he’d said yes. He also couldn’t believe Caleb had
asked after last night’s conversation.
“I know
it seems sudden,” Caleb added.
Leo
shrugged. “It isn’t like we set a date and time. Just . . . sometime in the
future.”
“Nice and
vague,” Caleb agreed. “Vague is good.”
Leo was
aware they were both grinning at each other like idiots. This was confirmed
when Max wandered over and did a double take.
“You
two,” he said with a short, barking laugh. “Stop flirting and get going. You’ll
see each other soon, I promise.”
Beth Bolden lives
in Portland, Oregon with her supportive husband. She wholly believes in Keeping
Portland Weird, but wishes she didn’t have to make the yearly pilgrimage up to
Seattle to watch her Boston Red Sox play baseball. She’s a fan of fandoms, and
spends too much of her free time on tumblr.
Beth has been writing practically since she
learned the alphabet. Unfortunately, her first foray into novel writing,
titled Big Bear with Sparkly Earrings, wasn’t a bestseller, but
hope springs eternal. She’s published eight novels and two novellas, with Catch
Me, the next novel in the Kitchen Gods series,
releasing in May 2018.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Twitter: https://twitter.com/beth_bolden
Website: www.bethbolden.com
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