MFRW Book Hooks: Business Or Pleasure by Ashley Ladd

This is a book hook (just a fancy name for an excerpt) for my just released male-male contemporary romance novel BUSINESS OR PLEASURE.


 


For now, it’s available only at: https://www.totallybound.com/business-or-pleasure


 


As of August 22, 2014 it will be available at Amazon and ARe as well. J


 


Enjoy!

 


BOOK HOOK:


His dad, Dale, hefted his leg over the wooden bench beside Tommy then plopped down, straddling the seat. His blue jean overalls covered his bulk loosely but were a bright dark blue as if brand new. The glint in his mossy colored eyes wasn’t at all new, however, and didn’t bode well for Tommy. “Son, we need to have a heart-to-heart.”


Wondering which lecture he was about to get, the one about being gay, or the one about working in the family business, Tommy [J1] bit back a sigh and tried to gird himself.


Before his father could open his mouth, his mother plunked a big plate of barbecue and coleslaw in front of him with a fistful of napkins. “I’ll be right back with some fresh-brewed sun tea.”


Tom tossed her a smile he didn’t fully feel. What he really needed was a large beer if he had to sit through another lecture. Peeking at his watch, he decided it was time to return his messages. “I can’t right now. I need to return some calls.”


Dale whipped off his glasses and pinched his nose with his fingers. “You can spare your old man a few moments first. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again. We didn’t put you through business school to sell houses. We put you through college so that one day you’d run the family business. Well, that day has come.”


Tom’s heart tightened and chills chased down his spine to continue on to his toes. Was something wrong with his parents? They were only in their midfifties and as far as he knew, in good health. They were too young to retire. Maybe too many barbeque sandwiches and French fries had blocked their arteries. But both of them?


“What’s wrong?”


Dale snorted a laugh and slapped his thigh. “Nothing’s wrong except your refusal to support the family. Business is booming, that’s what I’m talking about. So much so, we’re ready to open a new restaurant and we want you to run it.”


Tommy’s forehead creased and he curled his fingers around his mason jar of tea. He used some of the reasoning he’d learned in the precious business school. “What’s wrong with Jolene? She went to university too. She’d be a great general manager. In fact, I bet she’d be madder than a hornet’s nest that you want to give me the business instead of her, seeing she’s your first born.”


Donna joined them and sat across from Tommy. Her expression wavered between giddiness and chagrin. She rubbed Tommy’s shoulder as if to ease his tension. “Your sister’s expecting. She won’t be able to give her complete attention to being a momma and running a new business for quite a while.”


Emotions warred within as a grin split his face. He was going to be an uncle. He’d like kids of his own. However, being gay, he wasn’t sure if it would happen, so being an uncle might be the closest he’d come to being a parent. Alternately, upset that his parents thought his career something to be dropped without a moment’s mourning, he considered getting up and stomping away. But he swallowed his pride, swallowed his grin and stood his ground. “That’s great about Jolene. I’m really happy for her. But what about my career? I work a lot more than forty hours a week. I can’t squeeze in working at the restaurant much less managing a new one.”


Dale pounded his fist on the table, making Tommy’s plate jump and a few pieces of coleslaw plop onto the table. “I’m not talking about squeezing in our business or yours. I’m talking about you giving up your real estate hobby and running the new location fulltime.”


Hobby?


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I hope you enjoyed my book hook this week.

Now that you’ve tasted a sample of Business or Pleasure, please visit my fellow MFRW authors to enjoy their book hooks.