It is always a joy to welcome Victoria Sue to TCO. I adore this woman, and every time I see her, I give her a big hug, and maybe harass her about how she says words like “coat”. 🙂 I love this series she has put together, so check out her guest post about Charlie’s Rainbow. I have a feeling this book might need a box of tissues next to you as you read it in one sitting. So grab the preorder so you don’t forget, and its ready for you right away on April 10th!
Eventually being diagnosed with reactive attachment disorder as a child, difficult didn’t even begin to describe the nightmare of Charlie’s life. Escaping the drug-induced limbo he existed in and running from his alcoholic mother and despotic grandfather, he finally finds some peace and a home on Rainbow Key.
Noah is also running, even if he doesn’t realize it, and the guilt he feels over his brother’s suicide chases him no matter where he goes. When he meets and falls for Charlie, he finally thinks he might have the chance to make a home and a future with the adorable man, except he doesn’t realize that the secret that Charlie is hiding is the one thing that he fears the most.
And not even a chance of mending their future can heal the scars of Charlie’s past.
Preorder at Amazon
I guess when I set out to write my Rainbow Key series I was thinking cute, possibly funny, and definitely no dead people.
All the things I thought would be cool to have in my first contemporary series.
I should have known better.
No, it’s okay – no one is dead. You may wish a couple of characters are but that isn’t because they have been shot, stabbed, drowned, blown-up, or disintegrated in a cloud of zombie dust… (note to self – write that down as a plot point.)
I was only ever going to write character A falls in love with character B. True love might not run smoothly but there’s no apocalypse.
Or that was the plan.
And Joshua happened. And Daniel. And because I wanted to play about a little I ended up with an ex-rent boy with zero confidence and a heart as big as he is; plus a too-old, too-mean, too-busy, businessman who needs to get off the merry-go-round before he breaks something…possibly himself.
And they have friends. And… because the urge to mess with my readers took over a little more in the second book we have Charlie.
Charlie has tactile sensitivity. He can’t stand being touched to the point it causes him physical pain. Noah has his own problems. Actually, he gets ditched at the altar and as Charlie puts his fiancé had to be blind, because Noah is every one of Charlie’s boyfriend fantasies wrapped up together.
If he had a fantasy.
Or if he had a boyfriend.
Or if Charlie could cope with being touched.
I know, right?
Rainbow Key – held together by love, family, and sticky-tape.
Joshua’s Rainbow is out now on Amazon. https://goo.gl/d4W1GM
Charlie’s Rainbow will be out in two weeks (April 10). (Noah’s just trying to persuade him to have their first kiss.)
For all updates, free short stories, competitions and excerpts join Victoria’s Secrets https://www.facebook.com/groups/1182647028418709/
Noah dropped his fork next to his half empty plate and peered at his phone. Seven twenty. Another ten minutes or so and Lindsey would be home from work and he could call her. He’d checked flights and had quite a few to choose from. Matt had brought him dinner an hour ago, but he’d picked at it and couldn’t summon the enthusiasm for anything.
He stood restlessly and went to the window. He was lucky enough his room overlooked the beach, and he gazed at all the empty sand.
Except it wasn’t empty.
Noah took a sharp breath as he stared at what he was seeing. Charlie—even as the sun set his blond hair was visible—stood in shorts and a T-shirt with his feet covered by the waves. Charlie took another step into the water, and all the things about his behavior seemed to coalesce. Panic. He had panicked when Noah had gotten close, to the point he hadn’t even liked shaking hands. His warning about going swimming. Charlie took another step, the waves nearly up to his knees.
He was terrified of water.
Everything he’d learned about Charlie came rushing back, and then it wasn’t Charlie he was seeing walking into the ocean, it was Jacob. His brother. The closest thing to a best friend he would ever have, and never would again.
Because he was dead. Because he had killed himself.
Noah didn’t remember wrenching his bedroom door open or clattering down the stairs. He didn’t remember racing past the pool or the sun beds or even his bare feet hitting the sand. The first time he breathed was when his hands closed around Charlie, who had turned in fear as Noah came crashing through the water towards him.
“What the actual fuck?” Noah screamed as he shook Charlie’s arm, hard.
Charlie opened his mouth, and then he was just there. In his arms. So close, he could breathe him in. His lips close enough to touch his own… and for a second they almost were. Noah groaned his surrender, nearly swallowed the tiny protest from Charlie’s throat, and gathered Charlie’s slim body close. He could smell the salt, almost taste the ocean where it touched his skin, and underneath that the taste that must have been all Charlie. Sweet, and oh so tempting. Noah wrapped his arms tighter and pressed Charlie’s slim body into his.
For a second, Jacob was safe. No… Noah shook himself and gulped air. Charlie. Charlie was safe.
“Noah?” The small question forced its way into his consciousness, and Noah blinked awareness back in. He stared into Charlie’s blue eyes.
“What are you doing?” Noah croaked the question out, not sure if he wanted to. Asking the question meant taking responsibility for whatever answer you got, and he wasn’t sure he wanted the responsibility of another human.
Not when he’d failed so spectacularly last time.
“You—let go.”
The whispered plea finally got Noah’s attention, and his grip eased.
“You’re getting wet,” Charlie commented breathlessly. Noah looked down. The waves were hitting the top of his shorts. Noah released one hand and turned, but he didn’t let go of Charlie until they were both on the sand.
He let his arm drop and slowly their eyes met. He swallowed. “Don’t do that. Whatever it is, nothing’s that bad.”
Charlie’s eyes widened, and his lips parted again as utter astonishment crossed his features at the same time as embarrassment blazed through Noah’s body. Fuck. He turned sharply and took three determined strides back to the hotel. He would pack, get Matt to take him to Sanibel. He would fucking swim if he had to.
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My stories are very character driven. I listen to them and let them tell their story as they see fit. That being the case, I let Zane tell me where he was. He made it pretty clear from the beginning that he was somewhere peaceful. Yes, he was lonely and yes, he still missed Isaac terribly, but he’d finally found a place that brought him peace and he was, for the most part, happy. I could actually see him, floating on the lake in the early morning hours while staring up at Isaac’s star. Once he showed me that, I knew exactly where he was.
