The Beauty of the Beast
A Contemporary
Fairytale MM Romance
Synopsis
Dean
All my life, I dreamed about making the long trip from Australia to Canada to study forestry amid the old-growth stands of the Pacific Northwest. Now here I am, living the dream. Of course, nothing's perfect. The only housing I can find is renting a room from a grumpy, reclusive guy who doesn’t seem to want me around. I should keep out of his way and focus on my studies, but there’s something about him that keeps drawing me in. I feel less homesick when I’m with him, and maybe I can make a difference for more than just the trees.
Adam
Life as I knew it ended with my horrific accident ten years ago. There's no point to my existence now, but I can't seem to stop living, so I hide my battered carcass in my mountain home. There, I can wander from room to room and no one stares, no one laughs, no one even remembers I exist. Until I make the mistake of offering a stranded Aussie a room to rent. It should've been a simple favor—two men with our own spaces, ignoring each other. Instead, he's always close by, and he won't let me wallow, and what's worse, I think I'm starting to like that. But there's no way someone like me can have a future with someone like him. Right?
The Beauty of the Beast is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, set in the wilds of British Columbia, where an Aussie forester a long way from home falls for the untouchable man he shouldn’t want. The novel has moderate angst, a feisty foreigner, and what happens when someone trusts again.
Exclusive Excerpt
Dean
“I’ll be doing a couple of lectures at the University of British Columbia as well as a few out here at the University of the Fraser Valley. I’m working with a land-management group as part of a municipal project. Mission City has a working forest, and I’ll be part of that project. I want to replicate some of the husbandry practices back home.”
I chanced a glance at Ravi.
His eyes had gone a little glassy.
Maddox, though, seemed more engaged. At least, if his body language was any indication. “I used to do back-country rescues,” he offered. He pointed to his husband. “Pediatric nurse.”
“Both important jobs.” I eyed him. “Used to?” Damn, was that too nosy? I’m always stepping in it…
“Rescue gone wrong. Bum knee.” He gave me a small smile. “These days I do diaper duty and cybersecurity freelance work.”
I would’ve pegged him in his mid-forties. If these were his first kids, he’d gotten a bit of a later start. Ravi, though, was under thirty for sure.
“And dog watching.” Ravi raised an eyebrow.
“Isn’t that dog sitting?” I was curious. Perhaps they called it something different in Canada.
Ravi barked out a laugh. “Oh, if Princess Sofia didn’t belong to us, then yes, it would be dog sitting. But we are responsible for the irascible mutt…so it’s dog watching.”
Maddox glowered.
My phone vibrated. I yanked it out of my back pocket to send the call to voicemail. Oh, wait, the number was Canadian. I glanced at Maddox across the table from me.
He nodded that I should take the call.
“Hello?”
“Mr. Hargrave?”
“Yes, this is he. Or that’s me.” I barely knew what time it was, let alone, apparently, my own name.
“Oh, I’m so glad I caught you. My name is Ethel Thistle.”
Ethel…oh, my new landlady. “Nice to speak to you, Mrs. Thistle. I was just grabbing some dinner before—”
“Oh, then I’m so glad I caught you.”
My stomach sank. “Yes?”
She sighed. “My daughter has been living with this asshole.”
I glanced at the table, somewhat comforted to see no one could, apparently, hear her speaking. “Okay.”
“Anyway, she finally left the horrible man. Just this morning. And I was so glad the basement suite was empty so I could give it to her—”
“Would this be the basement suite you promised me?”
“Well.” She clucked her tongue. “You’re a young man with prospects. I’m sure you’ll find something. My daughter has two young children. Wouldn’t be right for them to be on the streets, now would it?”
“Could they not live with you? We have a contract. I signed a lease and sent you a deposit.”
“I’ve sent the money back.” She cleared her throat. “I guess you could sue me for breach of contract…”
But I wouldn’t.
And she knew it.
I blinked several times. Need to remove these contact lenses.
Right…like that was the problem.
“Do you…” I swallowed. “Do you know anywhere else that might—”
“In this rental market? Not a chance.” She paused. “Oh dear, that sounded callous.”
That was callous, but my mother taught me that if I couldn’t say something nice, that I was to hold my tongue. “Well, thank you for letting me know.”
“Best of luck, young man.” Then she cut the line.
I pulled the phone away from my ear and stared at it.
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Author Bio
USA Today Bestselling author Gabbi Grey lives in beautiful British Columbia where her fur baby chin-poo keeps her safe from the nasty neighborhood squirrels. Working for the government by day, she spends her early mornings writing contemporary, gay, sweet, and dark erotic BDSM romances. While she firmly believes in happy endings, she also believes in making her characters suffer before finding their true love. She also writes m/f romances as Gabbi Black and Gabbi Powell.
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