by
All is fair in love and war. Let the battle begin!
Blue:
“Try producing an album,” they said. “It’ll be fun,” they said.
It’s in the running for the worst advice I’ve ever heard.
When we’re not in the studio, the aspiring rock star with the banging voice and music industry in his genes wants to spend his free time in bed – with me. Flirts have never bothered me. As long as they keep their hands to themselves, they’re harmless.
Brady doesn’t see it that way.
He’s been cheated on before. It’s a definite trigger, and no matter what I say, he sees plumes of white smoke that mean something is about to burst into flames. He’s sure that something is me. Suddenly everything we’ve built together feels as stable as a pile of feathers under a ceiling fan.
All I wanted to do was grow my career. I never imagined it would turn out like this.
Brady:
Blue calls the kid in the studio a flirt. I call him an interloper.
It’s bad enough that he spends every evening making cow eyes at my boyfriend. When he starts throwing around pet names and inventing excuses to touch Blue, it crosses a line I intend to defend.
I’ve seen this routine before. I lost my last boyfriend to a similar temptation when he convinced himself that a little extracurricular sex would help his career.
Blue doesn’t think there’s a problem. I do, and that difference of opinion is dragging us down a road I never thought we’d walk.
One way or another, I could lose everything.
cw: past SA, past physical assault
millionaire · age gap · damaged lead · rockstar
- 1 To Be Read list
Publisher: Independently Published
Cover Artists:
Genres:
Pairings: M-M
Heat Level: 4
Romantic Content: 5
Ending: Click here to reveal
Character Identities: Gay
Protagonist 1 Age: 18-25
Protagonist 2 Age: 36-45
Tropes: Age Difference, Cheating, Famous / Not Famous, Hurt / Comfort, Love Can Heal / Redemption, May/December, Single Again
Word Count: 87400
Setting: Vancouver, British Columbia; Los Angeles, California
Languages Available: English
Blue Atkins stepped from the six-passenger jet into the same overcast gloom he'd left that morning, the Vancouver sky refusing to give C.K. a sparkling reception. The pilot retrieved C.K.'s luggage from the back of the jet and rolled the bags into the two-story private terminal.
They paused in the reception area that resembled a law office more than an airport. Blue carried C.K.'s guitar case out through the front door to the curb, leaving C.K. to empty his bladder of the three bottles of pop he'd sucked down during the flight. Another black Town Car waited outside. The driver saw him coming and took a step his direction.
"Mr. Atkins?"
"Yeah."
"Let me get that." The driver met him half way up the sidewalk and took the case.
"Thanks. There are two more bags inside."
The man opened the rear door for him and popped the trunk. Blue stood near the car waiting for C.K. to appear.
READ MORE"Large silver ones, by the reception desk," Blue told the driver who walked empty-handed toward the building.
He emerged a moment later, a suitcase trailing from each hand, C.K. a few steps behind.
Blue had expected several things of a kid groomed to be the next big thing in music. So far, what he'd seen didn't match the picture of a spoiled prima donna. Hyper was the overriding description. He couldn't tell if it was too much caffeine, the excitement of the trip, or both that inspired the non-stop chatter through the entire flight. He'd heard about C.K.'s friends, family, dog, and favorite television shows, broken up between repeated trips to the mini bar for snacks and pop. The ego of a typical teenager bobbed along through the stories, but not the overinflated nonsense of an entitled future superstar.
Blue began to wonder if he'd lost sleep imagining diva tantrums for nothing.
Blue climbed in the backseat. C.K. walked around the car to get in on the other side, a wide armrest between them. C.K. picked up the complimentary miniature bottle of water in one of the cup holders and asked the driver if he had anything less dull to drink.
"Sorry. Water is all I have. We can stop somewhere to pick something up if you'd like," the driver offered.
"No, that's okay. Any more caffeine and he could power the car himself," Blue said.
"That was only Diet Coke," C.K. said. "I usually drink Red Bull."
"If this is the under-caffeinated version of you, we're in trouble." Blue snorted.
"It clears my head." C.K. patted the rhythm of an unknown song on his thigh. "Put me on water for an afternoon, and everything gets tangled up inside. I can't think."
"I guess I need to stock up on Red Bull then."
C.K. gave the driver the address for the condo owned by Banish Records, and they drove through the suburbs of Vancouver, sections of the metropolis flowing past the windows. Houses turned to high rises when they neared downtown. C.K.'s condo was in a new building, wedged between corporate towers and hotels.
The driver parked at the curb and the three of them climbed from the car.
"Give me a call when you get settled, and I'll introduce you to some of the guys," Blue told C.K, the driver pulling luggage from the trunk.
"Thanks. Unpacking shouldn't take long," C.K. said. "Assuming Freeman had someone stock the kitchen."
"If you need help, let me know,” Blue said. “Got any plans for dinner tonight?"
"No."
"Why don't you come over? You can eat with us."
"Thanks. That'd be cool," C.K. said.
With the trunk unpacked, Blue offered his fist for a quick bump. C.K. reached past it and wrapped an arm around Blue’s shoulder, pulling him into a one-armed hug. Startled, Blue rested a hand against C.K.'s ribs, ready to push him off.
"That scent’s fire. Fits the man." C.K. thumped his back before letting him go. "See you tonight. I'll text you." C.K. grabbed the guitar case and walked into the high rise.
Blue stared after him, wondering about a kid who hugged strangers for no reason.
COLLAPSESouthern Babes Book Blog on Amazon wrote:Please read the first three books of this series first so you can have the full effect of what this book does to you.
Blue is still a successful songwriter, but now he's trying to further his music career by trying his hand at producing. Scoob has taught him a lot and had confidence he can make it. Blue's first client is a flirtatious brat and perfectionist, to put it in polite terms.
Brady seems to be having some sort of midlife crisis with everything that had gone down with his brother and starts letting his imagination run away with him.
Blue is offered a great opportunity and things kind of spiral from there.
I was heartbroken, frustrated, and wanting to cry like a baby. I have grown attached to these guys and when they have problems, it feels like I'm stuck in the middle. I love the way the writing allowed you to become the characters.
I wasn't sure where things were headed with the whole triangle thing, but I know how I wanted it to turn out. I don't know if I could have given this book five stars if the story didn't end the way I thought it should.
Become part of the story yourself by letting Blue and Brady into your heart then rip it to shreds as they continue to search for their Happily Ever After.
Let me start by saying that for you to understand everything between Blue and Brady, I recommend that you read the first book in the series. You won't be sorry I promise.
A love triangle that will pull at every emotion you have.
This is the forth book and I loved it just like the rest. Blue has overcome so much in his life to be where he is today. He has a job that he loves. A man he loves and gets to come home to every night. His friends help him in ways they may never know. Blue has everything he has ever needed but life has a way of turning upside down and Blue isn't sure how to handle it. Things between Brady and Blue get so intense, so raw that it flows off the pages. Every heart string I have was pulled in every direction , I didn't know which way was up. The things these two had to go through seriously broke my head and heart. The bouncing back and forth. The hurt the had to go through. Be prepared your going to need tissues. Your going to want to pull your hair out at some parts, but it's so worth it in the end. I couldn't stop reading. I mean this was a love that should have never been tested, yet it was. Sometimes I wanted to punch both of them and yell "What the hell are you doing?" It was intense and angst at its best and so worth it to the end. You will not be disappointed.
