Page 78 of Men in Shorts

And then…

I hope you enjoyed “Ducks!” You’ll be thrilled to know that Robert and Liam’s novel,Playing With Fire, is the next book in the series. Here’s a brief, non-spoilery description:

Playing With Fire (Glasgow Lads Book 3)

Robert McKenzie has a secret. As the only straight player on an all-LGBTQ soccer team, he’s known to fans as “McWhatAWaste.” No one would guess Robert’s actually bisexual. At twenty-one, on the verge of a brilliant career in video games, he’s finally ready to be his true self. The only thing keeping him in the closet is…his gay best friend?

Liam Carroll has a problem. His gorgeous best mate wants to kiss him and touch him and…everything with him. But for how long? With Robert embarking on a bright future—far from their rough-and-tumble East End streets—Liam may soon be left behind. He can’t risk falling in love with a man he can’t live without. His solution? Keep things casual, see what happens.

Aye, right.After a single camping trip, the bridge back to mere friendship has been well and truly burned. Now Robert wants more than sex, but diehard cynic Liam won’t drop the barriers around his heart. These two tough center-backs must find a way forward as lovers, or their lifelong bond—the heart of the Warriors team—will rupture for good.

OrderPlaying With Fire

Or order the box setGlasgow Lads: Books 1-3for 30% less than buying each one separately

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The next story in this collection, “Auld Lang Syne,” takes place the same night asPlaying With Fire’s final chapter. It stars Fergus and John’s wedding planner Ben Reid—who first appears inPlaying With Fire—and Evan Hollister, who has been the series villain up to this point but of course has many hidden layers and secrets that make him an actual hero.

Auld Lang Syne

A GLASGOW LADS HOLIDAY SHORT

31 December 2014

About This Book

Auld Lang Syne: A Glasgow Lads Holiday Short

Wedding planner Ben and secret agent Evan meet for the first time on New Year’s Eve, at the wedding of Evan’s ex-boyfriend. Can Ben melt this jaded spy’s frozen heart and make him believe in love again?

“Auld Lang Syne” contains kilts, castles, and not-so-random acts of kindness.As a prequel toPlaying in the Dark(Glasgow Lads Book 4), it ends in a Hopeful Ever After rather than a Happy Ever After.

Chapter1

Evan Hollister wasn’t meantto be here.

Or so everyone in this chapel must have been thinking.What sort of daftie would attend his ex-boyfriend’s wedding after such a toxic breakup?At least he was sitting alone in the back row, so the other guests would have to stop staring at him once the ceremony started.

Despite the awkwardness, Evan didn’t regret being here. This was one of seventeen same-sex weddings taking place in Scotland just after midnight on the thirty-first of December, marking the official advent of marriage equality. It was an honor to have been invited to such an historic occasion.

Besides, it wasn’t every day he got to eat, drink, and dance in a 589-year-old castle.

The Auld Keep’s Great Hall was still laden with red ribbons and white faerie lights for Christmas, though in a few minutes it would be Hogmanay, the true center of the Scottish holiday season. The string trio in the corner was playing a cheery version of Pachelbel’s Canon. Through the nearest narrow window cut into the ancient stone wall, Evan saw the first sweep of snowflakes. Fergus and John had a perfect night for a perfect wedding.

Evan would do everything in his power to keep it safe.

Officially he was off duty, but psychologically…not so much. As an MI5 counterterrorism officer, he could never truly relax—especially not now, when his current operation was investigating threats to same-sex weddings. He’d seen no intelligence indicating tonight’s nuptials were in danger, but it never hurt to stay vigilant.

Bang on the stroke of midnight, the music changed. The celebrant, a forty-ish woman wearing a white robe draped with a rainbow stole, approached the altar from a chamber to the left, followed by John’s maid of honor and best man. To the celebrant’s right, a curtain opened on a small side-altar space. Out stepped Fergus’s brother and best mate.

Evan was flooded with memories of drinking and laughing in the company of these two lads. This side of the chapel was filled with Fergus’s family and close friends, plus teammates from their LGBTQ football club, the Woodstoun Warriors. Many had once loved Evan; now they either hated him with the venom of a thousand vipers or tolerated him because he scored goals.

After a dramatic pause, the music swelled. Evan rose to his feet with the rest of the guests, his stomach rippling with dread. He checked the chapel’s rear door, glad it was situated at his seven o’clock rather than directly behind him.

At the front of the chapel, the happy couple appeared. Fergus approached from the left, a tall, lean ginger in a mostly green kilt, the same age as Evan at twenty-five; and John from the right, a short, burly man of only twenty-two, with dark hair and a red tartan kilt. Opposites in none of the ways that mattered, they met before the altar, ready to join their lives forever.

From the corner of his eye, Evan saw someone enter through the rear chapel door. He jerked his head round to see Fergus’s cousin Maggie, a harried-looking blonde of about thirty. She slunk into the back of the room, cringing at her own tardiness. When she spied Evan, her face brightened, then scrunched up in confusion.

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