A Way with Words is Coming Out June 22! Here’s an Excerpt…

This week is shaping up to be one of the more stressful ones of my year, but thankfully all because of exciting things. My daughter is graduating from high school, which means there are parties and family arriving to celebrate over a four day period, including my oldest son. He’s coming home from San Fran for a long weekend and I can’t tell y’all (I’ve been in Savannah for the last few days 😉 ) how excited I am to have my whole crew in one place. But I also have 2 releases coming out. Not one but TWO. A Way with Words and A Kind of Home. Holy moly!

I want to tell you a little about the first one, A Way with Words. This is a short story (30k words) set in Felice Steven’s Memories/Breakfast Club world and is part of the Kindle World launch happening Thursday, June 22. Just 3 more days!!  A Way with Words is Tony and Remy’s story. Like my A Kind of Stories series, it’s set in NYC. However, Tony isn’t a rock star. He’s a quiet construction worker who has a crush on the man he sees playing guitar in the part everyday on his lunch hour. It’s a major thrill for Tony to catch a glimpse of the handsome man swaying to flamenco music, but he has no plans to introduce himself. Especially not when he works with family. No one knows Tony’s secret and he’s not about to share now. A Way with Words is a simple love story about finding one’s voice and mustering the courage needed to live an authentic life…with an HEA. <3

I love these guys. It was truly a pleasure to write for this “world”. I’m looking forward to introducing readers to Tony and Remy on the 22nd. Until then, here’s a snippet from A Way with Words. I will post links for purchase as soon as they’re available. Enjoy!

Lane xo

A Way with Words by Lane Hayes:

I handed him a plastic container and a fork then grabbed the second one and sat back before braving a glance at my companion.

“How’s your day going, sweet-cheeks?”

“Sweet-cheeks?” I repeated in a deadpan tone.

Remy chuckled. “Sorry. You seem a little tense. I was just trying to get you to smile. Thank you for the—what is this? It looks delicious.”

“Cold pasta. It’s okay.”

“Ahh. ‘Okay cold pasta.’ My favorite! I brought dessert.” He reached for the paper bag next to his feet. “These are called ‘better than extraordinary’ chocolate cupcakes. I brought you two. One for yesterday and one for today.”

“You didn’t have to do that.”

Remy narrowed his eyes and cocked his head. “And you didn’t have to bring lunch. I did it because I wanted to. I hope you didn’t feel like you had to bring—”

“No. That’s not it.”

“What’s wrong, then?”

“Nothing. I’m just…I shouldn’t be here, Rem.”

“Why not?”

“I like you, that’s why,” I snapped. I unfastened the top on my container and stabbed at the fusilli noodles.

“Oh. That makes sense,” he teased. “For the record, I like you too. I think I even told you so.”

I looked at him then, loving the warmth in his pretty eyes. “Why do you like me?”

“Because you bring me food,” he said with a laugh. When I didn’t join in, he kicked my boot until I met his gaze again. “Hey. Come on. Get it off your chest. What’s eating you?”

I didn’t respond immediately because the answer overwhelmed me. I took another bite and stared unseeing at the greenery over his shoulder.

“I shouldn’t be here, but I’m happy I am. Does that make sense?”

“Sure. You feel guilty. You like me, but you wish you didn’t. Is that right?”

“Maybe. I had dinner with my family last night and…” My nostrils flared and to my absolute mortification, my voice cracked when I continued. “God, I wish I wasn’t me sometimes.”

I was on the verge of losing it, and fuck, it was embarrassing. I was grateful he let silence take over before addressing my outburst.

“Tony, look at me.” He waited until I complied before continuing in a fierce tone. “You’re the you that you’re supposed to be. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”