Title: You Are Cordially Invited
Series: Auckland Med #5
Author: Jay Hogan
Genre: MM Romance
Tropes: Opposites attract | Gay wedding | Hurt/comfort | Found family | Fem/makeup | Humour | Sports | Medical
Release date: June 17th, 2021
Amazon Universal: https://amzn.to/3wKhchi
Synopsis
There’s a wedding in the air at Auckland Med, but Reuben wonders if they’ll survive the stress long enough to say, ‘I do’. Cam is directing the entire operation with his combat eyeliner in place, whilst the wedding party is doing its best to ignore him. The pressure is mounting and the cracks are beginning to show.
There’s a bachelor party to survive.
The paparazzi to outrun.
A wedding outfit to confirm.
A rugby game to win.
A jerk of a father to cope with.
A stunning opportunity to consider.
A relationship to untangle.
And a shocking event that could derail everything.
With the universe conspiring against them, Reuben and Cam will have to summon every scrap of belief they have in each other to make it to their vows.
Excerpt
“Kinky tricks, sixty-six.” Carmen Bendover’s sultry voice filled the crowded function room of Downtown G to a cacophony of hoots and hollers. Carmen’s gay bingo events were legendary.
Dressed in a red sequinned evening gown that was pretty much painted on her curvaceous figure; fuck-me black stiletto heels; an impressive cleavage that defied explanation; and a tiara that sparkled almost as much as the mischief in her eyes, the notorious drag queen had captivated the room from the minute she’d sashayed in and wafted her black feather boa seductively under the current, and very straight, All Blacks’ captain’s nose. To his credit, Andrew Simons had run with the challenge and got to his feet to waltz the notoriously sassy drag queen up to the front stage, and Carmen had appeared . . . charmed.
“Come on, you sexy young things.” She arched a brow at the crowd sipping on cocktails with enough alcohol to fuel the next landing probe to Mars. “Someone must at least have a line. If I have to come down there and check people’s cards, I’ll be paddling a bottom or two and leaving a mark. And don’t think I didn’t see the excitement in your eyes at the prospect, Roland James.”
The handsome Blues’ halfback blushed a deep red and everyone laughed. The room was loaded with enough glitter and rugby muscle to make any young gay boy weep, and quite a few of the older ones as well.
“Hey, Carmen.” I got to my feet a little unsteadily and waved my bingo, or rather my bingay card. “I haven’t won anything, and it’s my damn bachelor—”
“Our damn bachelor party.” Reuben’s hand glided over my arse.
“Our bachelor party,” I corrected with a bow to my fiancé, which was greeted with much banging on tables since everyone knew I was a bossy bitch, and yet somehow, Reuben had my sappy heart wrapped up in enough knots to make a Shibari convention ecstatic.
“Mm-hmm.” Carmen eyeballed me without an ounce of sympathy. “And exactly how many calls have you missed already?”
Most of them. My chin jutted. “Pfft. One or two at the most.”
A blatant lie, which earned me another round of mocking applause. Reuben and I were, in fact, sharing a bingay card—mostly because I’d given up being able to identify any individual numbers a few cocktails back or even hear the calls, apparently.
We were also sharing some increasingly indiscreet gropes, well, at least on my part. Reuben slapping my hand away probably didn’t count.
Carmen smiled like the shark she was. “I rest my case, sugar. Besides, I think you’ve hooked a big enough prize already.” She waggled her impeccably coiffed brows and nodded Reuben’s way, and yeah, it was hard to argue with that. “So sit that pert arse of yours back down on those impressive All Black thighs and let the rest of us drool in peace.”
I did as I was told, which, to be honest, was the least painful way to deal with Carmen. She returned to calling the numbers, and I turned and cuddled up to my fiancé and—fuck, I missed the next number as well.
I grabbed my card and eyeballed Sandy across the table. “Come on, Sandy, you have to be nice to me. It’s my party—”
“Our party.” Reuben bit my ear.
“Our party. Exactly what I was going to say, baby.” I turned and kissed him soundly on the forehead.
“I’m not telling you a thing.” Sandy side-eyed me and laughed. “If it’s another manicure coupon, I need that prize. Have you forgotten I work in a damn morgue?”
“A pitiful excuse.” I glared at him, which only made his eyes roll. I was clearly losing my edge. “And here I thought you were a friend.”
“Hey, you.” Reuben pulled me back against him in a transparent attempt to sabotage my epic board game skills. “How’s it hanging?” His hot breath brushed my ear, and my dick pinged to attention as best it could in its slightly inebriated state. Having said that, the persistent appendage was nothing if not determined, and Carmen and her bingay went up in a puff of inconsequential smoke.
His arm tightened around my waist, and I turned to place a reasonably well-aimed but sloppy kiss on his lips this time. Yeah, I might have had one or six more than I should have, but it was our damn bachelor party and Rube had my back.
With the rugby season still in process, albeit winding down to the end of year All Blacks’ tour to Europe, Reuben was nauseatingly sober, whereas I . . . wasn’t. And I also wasn’t about to miss any opportunity to get handsy with my own personal All Black booty, especially since all that glorious six foot three inches of rippling power was currently stuffed into a size-too-small—so sue me—black Henley and a pair of silk mix black slacks that fitted those drool-worthy thighs like a fucking glove.
Ninety kilos of eager-to-please hard muscle, and all mine for the taking.
4 of 5 Stars
Probably needless to say…this cannot be read as a standalone! All the characters from the previous books in this series make at least a minor appearance, some are major side characters. Plus, you need to know Cam and Rueben’s story to understand the meaning of a lot of what’s happening.
It seems like we’ve been waiting for this for a minute or two…and Cam would probably agree. There are several ups and downs, as well as more growth by both Cam and Rueben. I’m not giving ANYTHING away but the wedding scene is awesome, as is the opening scene with the ‘bachelor party’. You cannot go wrong with Carmen’s bingay!
For those of you rugby-loving folks, there is a very detailed game scene…which may not be understood by us rugby idiots but the outcome is all that is needed.
We find out this might not be the end of the series…and I am oh so curious.
This is definitely a must-read for those of you who love the series! If you haven’t at least read Cam and Rueben’s book…start there (or the beginning of the series if you haven’t read any)!
Read the Series
About Jay
I am a New Zealand author writing in m/m romance, and romantic suspense. I have traveled extensively and lived in the US, Canada, France, Australia and South Korea. In a past life I have been an Intensive Care Nurse, Counselor, and a Nursing Lecturer.
I’m a cat aficionado especially of Maine Coons, and an avid dog lover (but don’t tell the cat). I love to cook, pretty damn good, love to sing, pretty damn average, and as for loving full-time writing, absolutely… depending of course on the day, the word count, the deadline, how obliging my characters are, the ambient temperature in the Western Sahara, whether Jupiter is rising, the size of the ozone hole over New Zealand and how much coffee I’ve had.
Welcome to my world.
Find Jay in all the places: https://jayhoganauthor.contactin.bio/