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Length: 16,981
Publisher: JMS Books
Flamboyant book café owner Luca Moretti and geeky doctor Gus Hansen have been together for six years when the Supreme Court ruling makes same-sex marriage legal in all states. On June 26, 2015, Gus gets down on one knee and Luca screams yes.
On their wedding day, shortly before the ceremony, Luca’s mother explodes in anger, calling him a freak. The reason? He’s wearing a white veil, sprinkled with crystals.
Their relationship has been strained for a long time, and her words trigger traumatic memories. Instead of walking down the aisle, Luca runs.
Away from his mother. Away from Gus.
Gus counts down the minutes when Luca’s mother comes knocking. He realizes something’s wrong, but when he goes to talk to Luca, his husband-to-be is nowhere to be found.
Can Gus find Luca in time and manage to convince him to come back and get married?
Excerpt
Gus opened the office door, and his breath hitched when he saw Luca. Luca sat on the fake office lawn with his back to the door, a glittering white veil spilling from his head, covering his naked body. He was curled in on himself as if he was trying to make himself smaller. Goosebumps covered every inch of his naked skin, and as Gus stood there watching, Luca shivered.
Gus had only seen him like that once before, after a visit with his mother when Gus couldn’t go with him because of a shift change at the hospital. When he’d gotten home late that night, he’d found Luca lying on the floor, naked and curled into a ball. Not crying, not raging, just exuding quiet despair. Gus would prefer a tantrum, a dramatic screaming match, or even throwing things. This scared the crap out of him.
Without thinking, Gus kicked off his dress shoes and crossed the floor in a couple quick steps. He sank down behind his fiancé and lifted the sparkly hem of the veil with careful fingers. He ducked under it, scooted close, and let it fall over his own head, too.
He snaked his arms around Luca’s waist and pulled him into the V of his legs. A weight he hadn’t been aware of lifted from his shoulders when Luca relaxed and leaned back into Gus’s embrace.
Luca rested his head on Gus’s shoulder, and Gus tightened his grip. He caressed the smooth skin on Luca’s belly with his thumbs and burrowed his nose in his fiancé’s hair, inhaling the familiar scent, letting it calm his worried heart.
“I’m sorry.” Luca’s words were little more than a whisper.
“I love you.”
Gus’s voice cracked on the last word. He hadn’t realized how much the last minutes had affected him. He didn’t want to admit to the little nagging voice in his mind that had whispered, What if? All he knew in this moment was that he was never letting Luca out of his sight again. Or at least not letting him see his mother without Gus being with him.
“Oh, honey, I didn’t mean to worry you.” Luca fidgeted and wiggled in Gus’s arms until he managed to turn around. He wrapped his long legs around Gus and threw his arms around Gus’s neck. The veil got caught between them and Luca moved to take it off, but Gus stopped him.
“No.” He freed the exquisite fabric from its trap, taking great care not to pull off any of the crystals. When the veil covered them both, he put his arms around his fiancé and spread his fingers wide on the small of Luca’s back. He rested his cheek against Luca’s and whispered, “I have no idea what happened, but I’m always on your side. Always.”
“I know,” Luca whispered back.
They didn’t move for several minutes. Gus’s hands wandered up and down Luca’s back, gentle fingers running over the spine. Gus’s heartbeat returned to normal, and they just sat there, breathing together. Inhaling and exhaling as one. In this moment, Gus didn’t care about a worried mother or the waiting guests. He just needed to be close to his fiancé.
Review
Author Bio
Nell Iris is a romantic at heart who believes everyone deserves a happy ending. She’s a bona fide bookworm (learned to read long before she started school), wouldn’t dream of going anywhere without something to read (not even the ladies room), loves music (and singing along but let’s face it, she’s not Celine Dion), and is a real Star Trek nerd (Make it so). She loves words, poetry, wine, and Sudoku, and absolutely adores elephants!
Nell believes passionately in equality for all regardless of race, gender or sexuality, and wants to make the world a better, less hateful, place.
Nell is a 40-something bisexual Swedish woman, married to the love of her life, and a proud mama of a grown daughter. She left the Scandinavian cold and darkness for warmer and sunnier Malaysia a few years ago, where she spends her days writing, surfing the Internet, enjoying the heat, and eating good food. One day she decided to chase her life long dream of being a writer, sat down in front of her laptop, and wrote a story about two men falling in love.
Nell Iris writes gay romance, prefers sweet over angsty, and wants to write diverse and different characters.
Gus had only seen him like that once before, after a visit with his mother when Gus couldn’t go with him because of a shift change at the hospital. When he’d gotten home late that night, he’d found Luca lying on the floor, naked and curled into a ball. Not crying, not raging, just exuding quiet despair. Gus would prefer a tantrum, a dramatic screaming match, or even throwing things. This scared the crap out of him.
Without thinking, Gus kicked off his dress shoes and crossed the floor in a couple quick steps. He sank down behind his fiancé and lifted the sparkly hem of the veil with careful fingers. He ducked under it, scooted close, and let it fall over his own head, too.
He snaked his arms around Luca’s waist and pulled him into the V of his legs. A weight he hadn’t been aware of lifted from his shoulders when Luca relaxed and leaned back into Gus’s embrace.
Luca rested his head on Gus’s shoulder, and Gus tightened his grip. He caressed the smooth skin on Luca’s belly with his thumbs and burrowed his nose in his fiancé’s hair, inhaling the familiar scent, letting it calm his worried heart.
“I’m sorry.” Luca’s words were little more than a whisper.
“I love you.”
Gus’s voice cracked on the last word. He hadn’t realized how much the last minutes had affected him. He didn’t want to admit to the little nagging voice in his mind that had whispered, What if? All he knew in this moment was that he was never letting Luca out of his sight again. Or at least not letting him see his mother without Gus being with him.
“Oh, honey, I didn’t mean to worry you.” Luca fidgeted and wiggled in Gus’s arms until he managed to turn around. He wrapped his long legs around Gus and threw his arms around Gus’s neck. The veil got caught between them and Luca moved to take it off, but Gus stopped him.
“No.” He freed the exquisite fabric from its trap, taking great care not to pull off any of the crystals. When the veil covered them both, he put his arms around his fiancé and spread his fingers wide on the small of Luca’s back. He rested his cheek against Luca’s and whispered, “I have no idea what happened, but I’m always on your side. Always.”
“I know,” Luca whispered back.
They didn’t move for several minutes. Gus’s hands wandered up and down Luca’s back, gentle fingers running over the spine. Gus’s heartbeat returned to normal, and they just sat there, breathing together. Inhaling and exhaling as one. In this moment, Gus didn’t care about a worried mother or the waiting guests. He just needed to be close to his fiancé.
Review
This
book took me by surprise in the most pleasant way. I thought I had the story
pretty much figured out after I’d read the blurb and was delighted to discover
I was wrong. Yes, the synopsis certainly covers the main event in the story,
but there’s more to it than first meets the eye.
The
first chapter, about Guy and Luka meeting, is so very sweet. It’s hard not to
fall for both men there and then, although I have to admit I fell hardest for
Luka when he spoke the prophetic words:
“Oh,
honey. You’re going to be mine!
As
I said, the blurb tells you everything you need to know about Gus and Luka’s
big day. The rest of the story gives us glimpses of what came before and what
comes after. The manner in which the past is woven into this story is smooth
and doesn’t feel forced and we only see and learn what we need to be aware of
to get to know who these two men are and what they mean to each other.
In
fact, I was really impressed with how real Luka and Gus became for me despite
this being a short read. I’m even more in awe of the way Luka’s mother is
portrayed in this book. Yes, she most certainly is the evil witch of the story,
but I love that Iris Nell managed to avoid making her all bad without smoothing
over her nastiness.
This
story is nowhere near as angsty as you might expect. In fact, for me it had an
almost perfect balance of sweet, angsty, sexy, and fascinating. Combined with a
smooth writing style and wonderful voice, Unconditionally was a delightful
read.
Nell Iris is a romantic at heart who believes everyone deserves a happy ending. She’s a bona fide bookworm (learned to read long before she started school), wouldn’t dream of going anywhere without something to read (not even the ladies room), loves music (and singing along but let’s face it, she’s not Celine Dion), and is a real Star Trek nerd (Make it so). She loves words, poetry, wine, and Sudoku, and absolutely adores elephants!
Nell believes passionately in equality for all regardless of race, gender or sexuality, and wants to make the world a better, less hateful, place.
Nell is a 40-something bisexual Swedish woman, married to the love of her life, and a proud mama of a grown daughter. She left the Scandinavian cold and darkness for warmer and sunnier Malaysia a few years ago, where she spends her days writing, surfing the Internet, enjoying the heat, and eating good food. One day she decided to chase her life long dream of being a writer, sat down in front of her laptop, and wrote a story about two men falling in love.
Nell Iris writes gay romance, prefers sweet over angsty, and wants to write diverse and different characters.
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Thank you for featuring me on your blog and for your wonderful review <3
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