by
John Hancock Darrow left his North Carolina hometown after college. The only reason he’s there twenty-eight years later is to deal with estate business when his mother and sister are killed in an automobile crash. The realtor he chooses to list his mother’s B&B can’t make that hurt less, but he can help John forget it for a while.
Small-town, self-employed, multiple job holding Daniel Washburn doesn’t expect more than after-dinner sex with the big-city lawyer. When the man turns up at the local ballroom studio a few days later, Daniel’s happy to dance with him. When they start working out an unusual deal for the B&B, they begin to feel like friends. Then during one of their many phone calls, John asks if he can take Daniel to dinner.
John and Daniel keep finding reasons to stay in touch. Then to be lovers. Then to get married. It’s a convenience, John says. Daniel knows it’s more. But John’s ten years older, successful, the kind of man who owns a million-dollar New York City condo and can afford to give away a house. If he wants Daniel on any terms, he surely has his reasons.
Daniel’s willing to wait for the right moment to put that convenience nonsense to rest. Because he’s got his own reasons, and the truth will set them free.
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Publisher: JMS Books, LLC
Editors:
Genres:
Pairings: M-M
Heat Level: 3
Romantic Content: 4
Ending: Click here to reveal
Character Identities: Gay
Protagonist 1 Age: 36-45
Protagonist 2 Age: 46-65
Tropes: Age Difference, Class Differences, Interracial Relationship, Marriage of Convenience
Word Count: 74,600
Setting: US
Languages Available: English
We connected on Sunday evening again, and this time there was none of that irritation in his tone. “Mr. Washburn,” he said. “How’s life treating you?”
“Well, one of my other listings is under contract, I’ve lined up a room to rent in Charlotte, and nobody at home has found me out yet, so I’m good.”
He was laughing. “Tell me about Charlotte.”
Really? He wanted to know that? I swear, this man made me feel like we were friends. “You met Sarah at Partner Up, I believe. Pretty lady who teaches there.” I heard a sound of assent. “She’s got some friends over that way, quite a lot of friends actually. One of them’s had an empty nest since last year and doesn’t like it. But she didn’t much want a twenty year old stranger moving in, being all kinds of a mess. When she heard how old I was, she said we should meet. So I ran over there this week, we had lunch, and we shook hands on it.”
READ MORE“I suppose if Sarah vouched for you, she was inclined to like you anyway. Then when she met you, she probably thought she won the lottery.”
I laughed. “There you go again, making me feel special.”
“You are special.” He cleared his throat, which made me think maybe he hadn’t meant to say that, and changed the subject. “So about this damn house of Angelica’s.”
I gave him the rundown. All the pros and cons for the nonprofit about leasing, and about buying. “They’re looking at a proposal I drafted,” I told him. “Trying to make it a workable deal for everyone.”
“Appreciate that,” he said. “I meant to boil down what my colleague told me and get it to you, but it’s been another hellacious week. Long story short, they think I’d be crazy to do it as a lease agreement. Too much potential liability, especially at long distance.”
No surprise there. “I kind of figured,” I admitted. “So maybe it’s better to consider it as a purchase, but is the no money down thing an automatic deal-breaker?”
“Hmm.” John didn’t rush to answer, and I didn’t try to hurry him along. After a minute, he said, “Not to be a dick about it, but I’m not hurting for money. So I don’t truly need a down payment. If it’s thirty years of payments, that’s something to consider for retirement. I should talk to the people who handle my trust.”
“Yeah, okay.” I didn’t know anybody else who had a trust. What even was a trust? Lord have mercy, this man was so out of my league.
The thought made my brain short out a little. We were just friends, right? We hooked up once, and now we were talking about selling his house, with a side order of my back to college adventure. That’s all it was.
Then he said, “Look, I’ll prioritize these questions tomorrow so we can get this moving. I know those folks need to get something settled in time to fill the place up before school starts. Once I know what I need to know, I’ll pass it along to you. And if the alumni association decides to proceed, I’ll come down there to meet those people.”
“Sounds good.”
“And Daniel.” He stopped. I made an inquiring sound. He made a hesitant sound, then sighed. “When I’m down there again, can I take you out to dinner?”
I held the phone away a little bit, stared at it, then put it back to my ear. Cautiously, as if it might explode. “Uh, John, how do you mean? Because of course, but did you mean like a date? Or am I just hearing what I want to hear?”
He huffed out a laugh. “You wanted me to ask you out?”
“Hell yeah!”
John laughed out loud. “Well good, because that’s what I meant. I’ve got no business asking you out, but I keep thinking about you.”
“I do too,” I said softly.
COLLAPSETriple Review on Queeromance Ink wrote:High-powered New York lawyer John Hancock Darrow returns to his small hometown after the sudden death of his estranged mother and his sister. He needs to settle the estate and sell the B&B in his family’s ancestral home. Daniel Washburn is the real estate agent he signs with. They have an attraction and have what they assume is a one night stand. But then they run into each other at the local dance studio. They both enjoy ballroom and as John is getting ready to leave to head back to his law partnership in New York, he asks if he can call Daniel. Daniel says yes of course.
Daniel is tired. He’s working three jobs, supporting his extended family and not happy with his prospects. One day he breaks down at the dance studio where he has taken to going to get work done away from his family drama. He gets support from his friends there. He had dropped out of school in his last semester after a bad breakup with his first boyfriend. He just couldn’t bring himself to finish – what was the point? So he’s been hustling for 20 years getting no place. He shares this with John in one of their phone conversations. John tells him something he literally has never though of before. That advice is the catalyst he needs. He is going to make change in his life and go for what he wants so that he doesn’t have to spend the second half of his life on the hamster wheel.
Meanwhile John is figuring some things out too. He really likes Daniel and he wants to see where this could go. Daniel also brings him a creative solution to his real estate problem. They are both ready to move on to the next stage of their lives. Never mind that they have different background and experiences. They have both been through a lot and John wants things now he never thought he would. But he’s nearly 50 and he’s lonely and he finds Daniel more than physically attractive. He knows Daniel is a good person, smart, motivated, a hard worker and he has a very good heart.
When Daniel’s long ago ex comes back into the picture it’s a big surprise. And the even bigger surprise is that he needs Daniel’s help. He’s also very sorry when he learns that the breakup sent Daniel into a tailspin and that he’s been struggling all this time while he went on to fame and fortune. But he is truly sorry and he wants to make things right. This turns out to be serendipitous and plays into John’s desire to spend more time with Daniel and he makes him an offer to marry him. They really do get along and though he makes the offer as a marriage of convenience, nobody is too fooled. Certainly John’s best friend Quinn isn’t. And Quinn’s new man Marc isn’t.
Daniel is still finishing his degree though and his time with John is limited. But they manage holidays and a wonderful trip to New York for Daniel over the semester break. John still has a lot of baggage and things to sort through post his devastating loss. Luckily he understands that the needs professional help and he gets it. There is a lot that needs doing for him to get closure. With the love and support of family and friends and a few surprises along the way, this couple earns their well-deserved HEA.
This is a very engaging story was such a good read. There are so many great life lessons and insights in this book. I kind of don’t want to spoil the theme of the story, but I can say it’s recurring and valid and yes, liberating. Whether it’s John advising Daniel, Marc advising John or Daniel advising Brianna and Derrick, over and over this theme is so important to the arc of these characters stories. I truly loved how things ended up for all of the important people in this book. There is also a nice little easter egg crossover with the first book I read by this author, Mistletango. I really do not want to spoil the unfolding of this story or the lessons learned and the romance of these two men. I will just end by saying that this is a very effective tale of two men who connect at the right time and are able to provide for each other the path to true personal liberty.
The Reviews
Jay
This is a very well written novel about a romance between two older, middle-aged men. John is a hot-shot lawyer, but is single partly because of abandonment issues. When he goes to deal with a house he has inherited, he meets Daniel, who dropped out of college for personal reasons and is getting by on a number of jobs, with issues of self esteem and family problems.
There is instant chemistry (and sex) but the romance grows slowly. When Daniel returns to education, the men enter into a marriage which both claim is one of convenience, but their love is obvious to their friends and families.
This is set against a great deal of information about their careers, their hobbies, and the people they know. The worldbuilding gives us a strong sense of their backgrounds and their characters, and whilst there is no serious drama other than self-questioning, there is constant interest in how they and others will react to their romance.
There is a sub-plot relating to coming out of the closet for Daniel’s ex, and another to John’s absent father.
A beautifully structured novel that builds a fascinating and detailed picture of the two men, and has the reader hoping all will go well for both of them. Highly recommended.
Five Stars.
Tony
Liberty is a gentle story about being strong and going for what you want from life, rather than doing what everyone expects of you. I’m not talking about selfish aims, but the ones that mean the most, without losing sight of those you love.
Talking about love, that’s the other strong theme in this romance. Yeah duh! The two main protagonists. John and Daniel, meet and are attracted to each other, but don’t see any way they could get together except for the fact they meet again at a dance studio. There is a running theme of Liberty, in the form of the Statue of Liberty, or Lady Liberty as referred to here, but I think there is also a case for thanking Lady Luck or Fortuna, one of the Fates.
John and Daniel have both been let down in love under similar circumstances. The story charts their different responses to that, and how strong it has made them. One of the things they have in common is their unwillingness to speak their true feelings for each other, although they are honest to their inner selves.
This book is full of southern charm and warmth, without making those of us with a cold Northern soul groan. It is not all smiles and rainbows, as the two guys have to face up to difficulties of a long distant relationship and ex partners who won’t stay down.
There are moments that make you chuckle, and others that make your heart sing. It took me a while to get into it but the rewards are well worth it. A really lovely read.
Ulysses
I liked this book from the start; but what seemed at first like a flirty little romance became, as the story unfolded, something ineffably profound and moving.
First we have the fifty-year-old New York corporate lawyer, returning to his small North Carolina hometown to settle his mother’s estate after a tragic accident has claimed the lives of both his mother and his sister. We only know his name is John.
Then there’s the realtor who’s taken on the task of selling John’s “problematic property,” a rambling Victorian turned into a bed-and-breakfast with far too many bedrooms for any family to want. Ten years younger than the lawyer, he overhears an awkward conversation between John and a local married man who, apparently, was his boyfriend back in high school.
The odd circumstances give the realtor the opportunity to come out to the lawyer, sharing a similar story of being jilted by a closeted boyfriend in the very same high school. This leads to a romantic interlude which might have been the end of it—had not John run into Daniel—as we learn his name is—at a local ballroom dancing club called Partner Up.
John is white, and from a “good” family in this small town near Asheville. He left town when he was rejected by his mother for being gay, and made his way into a big-city future. Daniel is black, and he stayed behind to help his family, who struggled financially and needed him. Two different men, half a generation apart, who have had similar experiences but different opportunities and made different choices as a result.
The core of this tale is the gradual awakening of John and Daniel to each other, their initial sexual interaction is a catalyst for a friendship that neither of them expected. John is a workaholic, and so is Daniel; but John has become rich, and Daniel is still barely getting by. Both of them are lonely. Both of them love to dance. Their common roots in the same repressed small southern town provide a link that becomes something more.
What is striking about Caluen’s story is that race, while significant, is not the driving force of the narrative. It seems that their ten-year age gap is the key. I get the feeling that, if they’d been in school together, both of their stories might have been different. Quite by accident, each of them gets a second chance at happiness.
It’s a subtle structure that Caluen weaves here, not following the usual romantic tropes. Each man balances his self-interest with his growing feelings for the other. It is not starry-eyed love at first sight; it is mutual respect that inspires self-transformation.
Five stars.
LIBERTY addresses issues of family rejection, internalized homophobia, and racism.
