Hey book lover!

How has your week been? Mine has been ... Interesting.

They've announced another lockdown where I live so restaurants and fun places are closed, right in time for my birthday next week. We had planned on going to do an escape room with friends and having dinner, but I guess it'll look a lot like last year's birthday: take-out and a homemade cake.

As long as my family is there, it'll be nice but I will miss out on seeing my best friend whose birthday is the same day. We normally have a big celebration since we have the same birthday and the Sheriff's birthday is the day before, plus our friend's fiance's birthday is tomorrow. So, lots of Capricorns in our friend group. Hence a big event.

But, onward and upward!

With the start of 2022, I have been going strong with my goals and I've already written the next book hitting your shelves soon.

But first, my release of the day!

Meet the Fire Chief of the Sage River firefighters, Gavin Lewis!

Here's a sneak peek into the firefighter's problems:

This one didn’t fit either. Straining the sides of the shirt, I yanked it toward the middle, hoping I’d reach the buttons. I couldn’t remember the last time I tried on one of my dress shirts. It must’ve been a while since none of them fit. Then again, the only dress shirt I wore nowadays was my chief’s uniform. 

“Alright, well, fuck you too,” I muttered in annoyance as I yanked the shirt off and tossed it onto the ground before staring at my closet in desperation. Sure, I’d put on a few pounds in the last couple of years, but to the point where nothing nice fit? 

I turned to the mirror, running my hand over my belly. Where it once had lain flat, now it curved out like my dad’s—when had that happened?

Turning back to the closet, I stared down my options before deciding that since it was a charity auction for the fire department, it wasn’t weird if I dressed in my chief uniform. Satisfaction drifted through me as I pulled the shirt together and slid a button into the hole without resistance. 

My eyes drifted to the bedside clock as I finished doing up the shirt and frowned when I saw the time. I was supposed to head over to city hall for the auction in less than an hour. Sarah should’ve been here by now. We agreed to drive together, after all.

Tucking my shirt into my open pants, my hand smoothed over my belly once more, and a pang of regret went through me. I’d have to lay off all those daily stops at Elsie’s bakery. As good as her scones were, they weren’t doing my middle-aged body any favors. I looked like my dad and didn’t even have kids yet. 

Or—I could continue to eat the scones to get my daily dose of Elsie, and maybe take up running again.

Hah. Who was I kidding? Not a chance in hell that was happening. Although, as an older guy who was taken, I probably needed to stop pining for her.

Grabbing my phone off the charging pad, I flicked it open to the contacts and found Sarah’s name at the top. Pressing the call button, I tucked the phone between my ear and shoulder as I finished doing up my pants and moved to the closet again to grab a pair of dress shoes. 

“Gavin.” She answered the phone breathlessly, an unfamiliar cadence to her tone. 

“Hey, babe. Just wondering if you’re on your way yet. You didn’t hit traffic on your way in from Pleasant Lake, did you?”

“Gavin.” There was that tone again, but this time it made my stomach curl into a tight knot. My eyes flicked to the clock again. If she were only just leaving, she wouldn’t make it to Sage River before the auction began. “I’m not coming.” 

“What?” I stopped moving as my brain took a moment to process what she’d said. “If you’re going to be late, that’s fine. I’ll head out now and make your excuses.”

“No, Gavin, listen to me, please. I’m not coming. I’m not going to pay for a date with you when I don’t want to date you anymore. You’re not the same guy I started dating. You’re cantankerous—”

“That’s a bit harsh.”

“You’re never happy with anything—”

“I’m happy with you,” I immediately defended but then paused. Was I? Or was I just content and confusing that for being happy? 

“And, frankly, you’ve let yourself go. In the last year alone, you’ve gained a hell of a lot of weight, and it’s really embarrassing for me. People are always looking whenever we go out, probably wondering what someone like me is doing with a fat guy. I started dating you because you were one of those hot firefighters, and now you’re just a lazy desk jockey.”

Each word grew steadily worse. Had she always been this shallow? We’d been together five years, maybe six, and sure, she’d made a few comments here and there, but it always felt like a joke. And well, okay, I couldn’t remember the last time we had sex which probably should’ve been my first hint something was wrong. But she lived in Pleasant Lake and couldn’t always make it out here … and … 

“Have you been seeing someone else, Sarah?” 

“What?” She sounded alarmed and offended. “This isn’t about me, Gavin. This is about you. You’ve become a shell of the man you were, and I’m not in love with you anymore. I don’t even think I ever was.” 

Brutal. Want more? Download SWEET FOR THE DAD BOD NOW!

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That's it from me this week.

Happy reading and much love!

Kylie xoxo