Brigham Vaughn's Blog, page 9

WIP WEDNESDAY - THE HOME GAME

Eee! I am just about finished writing Matty & Antoni's book, which means it's time for me to start sharing teasers with you!

This is from their first meeting, when Matty finds Antoni having a breakdown in his driveway, stressed about raising four kids, following the tragic car crash where he lost his best friends.

“So, is a tight budget why you were you crying in my driveway?” Matty asked.

“God.” Antoni covered his face with his hands again, his voice so muffled. “This is so embarrassing.”

“Okay, you talk, I’ll chop things. I won’t even look at you.”

Antoni laughed, looking up, his smile real this time as he brushed his hair off his forehead. “I do look pretty bad, huh?”

“Well, I didn’t say that,” Matty blurted out. He turned away, his ears hot and blindly rummaged around in the refrigerator.

God, he wasn’t flirting with Antoni.

He wasn’t … he never responded to people like that. He didn’t get horny for strangers the way his teammates did. He’d seen Nico Arents go from flirting to sticking his tongue down some random person’s throat in about five seconds flat and it absolutely baffled Matty.

He didn’t do that—couldn’t do that. He just wasn’t wired that way at all.

And it wasn’t like Antoni’s smile made Matty want to bend him over the counter or anything close to it. He wasn’t horny for him.

But the whole situation did make Matty want to wrap the guy up in a big hug and tell him everything was going to be okay.

RECIPE - CHARLIE'S CASHEW RICE SALAD

First of all, I can't take credit for this recipe. It came from a friend I met online nearly twenty years ago and it was so good I never felt the need to tweak it much.

But when I wrote The Husband Game, I needed something delicious and nourishing that Charlie would cook that Dustin might be a little skeptical about.

“What’s this?” Dustin asked, pointing to the covered bowl.

“Take a look.”

Dustin peeled off the lid. “Is that rice and … are those cashews in there?”

“Yes.” Charlie smiled at him. “It’s cashew rice salad.”

“Cold rice?” Dustin asked dubiously. “I don’t know how I feel about that.”

Charlie let out a small chuckle. “I was skeptical the first time I tried it too but brown rice, red bell pepper, green onions, dried currants, and roasted cashews and sunflower seeds are a surprisingly good combo.”

“Hmm.” Dustin still eyed it dubiously. “What’s it flavored with?”

“Another homemade dressing. There’s olive oil, low sodium tamari—which is kinda like soy sauce but without the soy—lemon juice, garlic …”

“Huh. Sounds good. I’ve never had anything like it but I’m willing to try,” Dustin said.

It's a fabulous warm weather recipe and since several of you have asked for it recently, I thought I'd share it here!

Cashew Rice Salad

1 cup brown rice

1 tsp. salt

6 spring onions, finely chopped

1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, diced

1/3 cup currants

½ cup roasted cashew nuts

2 Tbsp. roasted sunflower seeds

6 Tbsp. Soy Sauce Dressing

3 Tbsp. chopped parsley

Cook rice; rinse and drain well. Transfer rice to a bowl while still warm. Add remaining ingredients.

Note: I've always made this without the red bell pepper only because I think I didn't have any on hand the first time I made this and then I kept forgetting to put it in. lol. But I am sure it is good with it as well. 

Soy Sauce Dressing

1/2 cup sunflower oil or other neutral oil

6 Tbsp. soy sauce or tamari

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 clove garlic, crushed or finely minced

Salt/pepper

Put all the ingredients in a screw-top jar, shake well to blend, add salt and pepper to taste.

What's your favorite yummy salad? (Green/veggie salad, pasta salad, rice salad, whatever!)

THE WAIT IS OVER!! - READ FELIX & JONAH'S BOOK NOW!

The wait is over! Jonah & Felix's book is here and I know you're going to love it!

Childhood Best Friends to Lovers Teammates Marriage Pact Bi-Awakening Fake Engagement Only One Bed

“We made a promise that day,” Felix said. “That we’d always be together. That we’d get married so we’d never have to be apart. We pinkie swore and everything.”

“But you’re straight,” Jonah protested.

Felix looked away. “Maybe not like … 100%.”

“What?” Jonah rasped. He had to be hallucinating that.

Felix shrugged. “I mean … I think there’s a little wiggle room somewhere in there.”

“Uhh. Who?”

“What do you mean, who?”

“Who have you … uh, who’s the guy?”

“Who’s what guy?” Felix looked confused.

“If there’s some wiggle room, there must be someone, right?” Jonah asked. “Some guy who, uhm, caught your eye, or whatever.”

“Kind of. I mean, I haven’t done anything. But you know, I’ve had the stray thought, I guess.”

“I think that’s normal,” Jonah said. “I mean, it doesn’t make you not-straight if you look at a guy and go ‘oh, he’s good-looking.’”

“No, I know,” Felix said. “But um, maybe more than that. Like … you know, some curiosity, maybe.”

He still wasn’t answering who.

He was clearly determined to drive Jonah completely insane. Jonah was just going to have to tuck that one away to deal with another day.

“Right, so, you’re saying we’re gonna pretend to be engaged and when they ask how this happened, you’ll say what?”

“Just that you’ve always been here for me. That you’ve been my rock through this whole thing and that we’ve been close since we were kids and that I couldn’t have gotten through this without you.”

Now available in ebook, paperback, and kindle unlimited!

WIP WEDNESDAY - THE WAITING GAME

When the bed came into view Felix stopped in his tracks, his suit jacket half off his shoulders.

Jonah lay stretched out on the bed, naked, his hand wrapped around his hard cock.

His eyes were closed, his head thrown back, and Felix stared, transfixed. Blood rushed to his ears as he took in every detail.

Jonah’s body was firm and toned, washed a warm gold in the light of the lamp beside the bed. He had a black patch of hair at the base of his dick that made Felix’s fingers itch to know if it was as soft as it looked.

An open bottle of lube lay on its side on the table and Jonah’s dick was slick with it. Over the frantic beating of Felix’s heart, he could hear the soft squelching noise as Jonah stroked himself.

Feeling guilty for spying on his friend, Felix cleared his throat but Jonah didn’t respond.

Tomorrow's the big day!

If you want to have Felix & Jonah's book on your Kindle the moment it goes live ...

WIP WEDNESDAY - THE WAITING GAME

This had been like touching a live wire. Everything about it felt so intense.

It was every wet dream Jonah had ever had about his best friend. Every guilty, furtive jerk-off session but magnified by a thousand. In his wildest fantasies Jonah had never imagined it being like this.

When Jonah had agreed to this stupid fake engagement, he’d hoped their chemistry would fall flat instead of being electric the way it was in his head.

Well, that idea had officially been blown to smithereens. And they hadn’t even touched.

Just a little over a week to go! Do you have your copy yet?

WIP WEDNESDAY - THE WAITING GAME

Felix suddenly had the overwhelming urge to press his lips against Jonah’s to shut him up and he let out a strange, strangled sound, confused by the reaction.

“What?” Jonah said, studying his face. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

But Felix had no idea how to answer that.

He’d never looked at Jonah that way. He’d never thought about doing that before.

He’d always known, in an objective way, that Jonah was attractive.

But he’d never wanted to act on that.

WIP WEDNESDAY - THE WAITING GAME

Felix pulled in a deep breath. “We should do it. Let’s get engaged.”

“What?” Jonah lifted his head to look at Felix, blinking, certain he’d heard him wrong. “What are you talking about?”

Felix smiled at him, hair all rumpled and messy and Jonah fought the urge to smooth it down. What was even happening right now?

“We should get engaged.”

Jonah opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out.

Felix’s grin widened.

WIP WEDNESDAY - THE WAITING GAME

"I’m surprised you didn’t buy matching boxers too,” Felix said, clearly joking.

Jonah grinned. “Who says I didn’t?”

“What?” Felix laughed. “No way! Let me see.”

“You want to see me in my underwear?” Jonah teased; all thoughts of Henry Brown forgotten. “I mean, I think you should take me out on date first.”

“I see you in your underwear every fucking day for free,” Felix said with a laugh, hooking his finger in the waistband of Jonah’s trousers. “And I bought you lunch today so that should totally count.”

WIP WEDNESDAY - THE WAITING GAME

But Jonah was lying.

Or not lying, per se. But not exactly being honest. Because he wasn’t sure he’d ever experienced what Felix was talking about.

Yeah, he’d had great sex that left him in a contented afterglow that had his skin humming with pleasure. But experienced that with someone he truly loved?

No, he was pretty sure he’d never encountered that.

How could he?

Because the only person Jonah had ever loved, the only person he could have that with, was right beside him.

His straight best friend.

The man who would never, could never, love him back.

And wasn’t that just a kick in the dick?

WIP WEDNESDAY - THE WAITING GAME

Are you ready for a teaser from my upcoming release, The Waiting Game? Keep reading!

Felix didn’t know.

He didn’t know how long Jonah had wanted him.

How many years he’d been in love with him.

And it was fine. Despite their perpetual joking around, nothing was never going to happen between them.

Jonah knew that.

But Felix didn’t know that every whatshisname Jonah dated was held up against him and found wanting.

That he’d fallen into starry-eyed adoration for Felix Hale at the age of five, and two and a half decades later, nothing had changed.