Title: Too Close to the Flame

Author: Ryan Taylor & Joshua Harwood

Publisher: Wainscott Press

Release Date: July 31, 2020

Heat Level: 3 - Some Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 86,000 words

Genre: Romance, Hurt/Comfort Gay Romance, Sweet Gay Romance

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Synopsis

Can he ever learn to trust again?

Brandon Weber’s old boyfriend almost beat him to death. Brandon survived, but still bears the emotional scars. Eighteen months later, he has withdrawn into himself, convinced he’ll never be able to trust another man.

Devin Macadam, fresh out of law school, has an exciting new job. He is also on the lookout for just the right guy, someone to take care of and love.

When Devin shows up for the first day of work at his new office, he meets Brandon, a legal assistant there. Sparks fly, but Brandon is paralyzed by fear and isn’t about to give another man the power to hurt him again. Devin, never one to give up easily, doesn’t want to take no for an answer. Both men feel the magic, but can their relationship ever get past the friend zone?

Too Close to the Flame is a dark-to-light, sweet romance featuring out and proud gay men, lots of feels, steamy love scenes, and a wonderful happy ending. The book is approximately 86,000 words and has X-Ray enabled for your reading pleasure.

Trigger Warning: Too Close to the Flame contains specific memories of physical abuse.

Excerpt

I raced into the kitchen like a madman, afraid that something was on fire. Acrid, gray smoke billowed out of the toaster, and I barely kept from yelling in frustration. Everything was going wrong this morning. My alarm hadn’t gone off, the water in the shower was cold, I cut myself shaving, and my best blue suit had come back from the dry cleaner with a stain on the lapel.

After unplugging the toaster, I used a fork to coax out the pieces of charcoal that used to be a bagel. Damn it!—it was the last one. Now I’d have to take time to scramble eggs, because there was no way I could go to my first day at a new job on an empty stomach.

Returning to the bedroom, I decided my gray suit would have to do. A white shirt and maroon Hermès tie made it look better than it was, and I wore my black cap toe oxfords. They were comfortable and looked great with the suit. Another glance in the mirror and I headed back into the kitchen, where I barely had time to cook and inhale three eggs. The drive to the office had taken about fifteen minutes when I did a practice run a few days earlier, but I wanted to leave half an hour early just in case.

The extra time turned out to be a good thing. Traffic on Massachusetts Avenue was mostly fine, but there was an accident where I was supposed to turn onto 9th Street. I sat for ten minutes waiting to make the turn. “Fuck!” I yelled about five minutes into the delay, and banged on the steering wheel for good measure. I ended the tantrum with a long blast of my horn.

My new job was a good one, and I wanted to do well. I had to be ready to do anything, as soon as I was asked to do it. Furthermore, I had to do a kickass job because I didn’t want anyone thinking I got the position because of my last name. But being the best wasn’t only measured by doing great work. Early and eager were watchwords I needed to live by.

Waiting for the intersection to clear, I thought back over the last few months. When I graduated from law school in May, I felt like I had the world by the tail—law degree, awesome boyfriend, and a job waiting at one of the hottest boutique firms in the nation’s capital. Things changed when I got home from bar exam prep class one day and heard a strange knocking noise in the bedroom. Afraid someone had broken in, I picked up a baseball bat that was leaning against the wall—I hadn’t put it away after our game the night before—and slowly crept through the apartment. When I pushed the bedroom door open, I almost threw up. My awesome boyfriend was riding one of our supposed best friends in the middle of our goddamned bed, his face screwed up in the ecstatic expression I’d thought was only for me to see. He must have heard the door creak, because he opened his eyes and smiled. “Hey, Dev. Want to join?”

Barely resisting the urge to wield my bat on both of them, I left the apartment and went to cry on my friend Jacob’s shoulder. He was a 2L, a year behind me, and was my best buddy since I helped with orientation for his class. After listening to me curse fate for a while, he pointed out that the lease to the apartment I shared with my ex-boyfriend was in my name. After a beer to soothe my nerves, he and I walked back the building where I lived. The ex-boyfriend was gone, so Jacob and I packed up his stuff and carried it out onto the front steps.

A honking horn brought me back to the present. Traffic was moving again, and I made it to the office with five minutes to spare. After introducing myself to the receptionist, I asked for Liam Macadam, my new boss. She made a quick call, but it wasn’t Liam who came around the corner thirty seconds later. An impossibly beautiful man with light blond hair and sparkling, sapphire eyes, put out a hand. “I’m Brandon Weber.”

I took his hand and —whoa!— the spark flew right up my arm. I jerked away. “Sorry. Static electricity?”

We both chuckled but he seemed frozen in place as he didn’t put his arm down. Seeing too good an opportunity to pass up, I reached for his hand again. He widened his eyes and I realized I needed to say something. “I’m Devin Macadam. Today is my first day.”

Brandon broadened his smile and nodded. “I know who you are. I’m Liam’s assistant. He’s running a little late, but he’ll be here soon.”

I gave him a flirty smile but couldn’t seem to move. After a moment, Brandon tugged his hand away. “Why don’t I show you your office and give you a tour?”

The spell was broken, and I quickly put my professional expression back on. “That sounds good. This is a nice place.”

“We like it. It’s an old warehouse, and you should have seen it when Liam and Michael—the first two partners—rented it. The building was a disaster and needed to be completely renovated. I can’t believe it’s the same place.”

A small cleft in Brandon’s chin caught my eye, and it was a few beats too long before I answered. “Yeah, it’s nice.” Oh God, get a grip. He’s a guy, that’s all.

Brandon put a hand on my elbow and guided us down the hallway. I noticed that he moved with an unusual, stiff gait. Three doors in, on the right, he held out his hand. “Here we are.”

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Interview with Ryan Taylor & Joshua Harwood

About Too Close to the Flame

1. Please tell us about your new book, Too Close to the Flame.

Too Close to the Flame is a slow burn, hurt/comfort, sweet romance featuring Devin Macadam, a brand-new lawyer who goes to his first job and meets Brandon Weber, a legal assistant at the firm. They are immediately attracted to each other, but both try to ignore it. Devin needs to concentrate on his work, and Brandon is walled off in his own world. Brandon’s ex-boyfriend abused him, emotionally and physically, and almost killed him. To protect himself, Brandon has retreated into his own safe place, one that definitely doesn’t include boyfriends.

Neither man can ignore their mutual attraction for long, but it seems as if the more Devin tries to bring Brandon around, the more Brandon pulls away. The men become friends, and eventually Brandon tells Devin about his past. Soon after that, they finally become romantic, but as you can imagine, it isn’t all smooth sailing.

The book talks about Brandon’s abuse, but that isn’t the focus of the story. Too Close to the Flame is a wonderful love story. It is about Brandon’s recovery and Devin’s role in helping him get better. The men have a beautiful, fun romance, and the book winds up with the best HEA we ever wrote.

2. What inspired you to write this book?

Two things. First, we wanted to show the power of love to overcome even the most difficult obstacles. Second, we also wanted to spotlight the issue of domestic violence in gay relationships. There are many evils in life, but to be utterly betrayed and hurt by someone you love and should be able to trust implicitly has got to be one of the worst.

Our book is a romance—there isn’t one statistic in it—but please allow us to quote a few here. Domestic violence is not only a heterosexual problem. Many people are shocked to learn that as many as 40 percent of gay and bisexual men have experienced rape or other physical abuse. Only about a quarter of those men call the police for help, and fewer than 5 percent seek court orders of protection (restraining orders). Before we go on, it’s important to say that while our book is about gay men, there are shocking levels of abuse involving all queer people. Involving all people, period.

If Too Close to the Flame can bring even a little more attention to the absolute unacceptability of abuse in any relationship, we will be happy. Beyond that, if readers can think about the power of love to heal some of the worst of what people experience, and enjoy a beautiful romance story besides, we’ve done what we set out to do.

3. You’ve made no secret of the fact that some of your books were inspired by real events. Was Too Close to the Flame inspired by a true story?

Yes, there are real events behind the book. Love is real, and domestic violence in gay relationships is real. To try to deny their existence is only to bury our heads in the sand. People in our lives have suffered abuse and were redeemed by love, so that certainly helped inspire us.

4. What did you learn when writing the book?

All our books have some genuine issue simmering away under the surface. However, this is the first book in which we have dealt with an abhorrent problem up front. We learned that it is very difficult to write a sweet love story that also involves such a terrible thing. We had to get past our own emotional involvement and focus on the love between Brandon and Devin. That carried us through, and the result was much better for our struggle.

5. What else would you like us to know about the book?

Don’t be put off by Too Close to the Flame! The book doesn’t focus on negativity or even on Brandon’s abuse. It’s about a glorious romance between two men that delivers Brandon from his unhappy past and lands both of them in a first-class HEA ending. Some people have special sensitivity to the subject matter, and they should probably not read the book. But people who like some angst with their sweet romance, and aren’t afraid of a difficult topic, should find Too Close to the Flame to be a great read!

Important: We have to say, if you or someone you know needs help, don’t wait. If there’s an emergency, call 911. For assistance or information, you can also call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. Domesticshelters.org (https://www.domesticshelters.org/) offers a ton of useful information, and on their website, you can find the location of safe shelters near you.

Meet the Author

Ryan Taylor and Joshua Harwood met in law school and were married in 2017. They live in a suburb of Washington, DC, and share their home with a big, cuddly German shepherd. Ryan and Josh enjoy travel, friends, and advocating for causes dear to their hearts. In addition, Ryan loves to swim, and Josh likes to pretend he has a green thumb every chance he gets. Both men love writing, and the romance they were so lucky to find with each other inspires their stories about love between out and proud men. You can contact them through their website at www.ryanandjoshth.com.