Title: The Hideaway Inn
Author: Philip William Stover
Series:
Seasons of New Hope, #1
Length: approx. 64,000 words / 288 pages
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Imprint: Carina Press (Carina Adores)
On-Sale: May 26, 2020
Format: Trade Paperback
Price: $14.99 U.S.
ISBN: 9781335146939
Book Description:High school wasn’t
the right time or place for their relationship to grow, but now, fifteen years
later, a chance encounter changes both of their lives forever.
No one in the charming river town of
New Hope, Pennsylvania, needs to know that Vince Amato plans on flipping The
Hideaway Inn to the highest bidder and returning to his luxury lifestyle in New
York City. He needs to make his last remaining investment turn a profit…even if
that means temporarily relocating to the quirky small town where he endured
growing up. He’s spent years reinventing himself and won’t let his past dictate
his future.
But on his way to New Hope, Vince gets
stuck in the middle of nowhere and his past might be the only thing that can
get him to his future. Specifically Tack O’Leary, the gorgeous, easygoing farm
boy who broke his heart and who picks Vince up in his dilapidated truck.
Tack comes to the rescue not only with
a ride but also by signing on to be the chef at The Hideaway for the summer. As
Vince and Tack open their hearts to each other again, Vince learns that being
true to himself doesn’t mean shutting down a second chance with Tack—it means
starting over and letting love in.
Excerpt
That summer Vinny
would come by and see me almost every day, usually with a new book. I loved
hearing him talk. He described the spiritual journey of Siddhartha, the
complicated plot of King Lear and even read some of James Baldwin’s poems to me
that were so riveting I almost hammered my finger to a post. At school I was
in a class called “Reading Foundations” and even I was smart enough to know it
was for kids who were barely passing. I never felt dumb around Vinny. He
treated me like I was just as smart as he was and after hanging out with him
for a few weeks, I started to believe it.
Being alone with Vinny was easy. We
were so different but also had so much in common. My mom died when I was a kid
and he never knew his father. I never talked to anyone about not really having
many memories of her and wanting more. He only had a single picture of his dad
and never wanted to know more. We fit like opposite pieces of a puzzle that
click when joined. Being alone together at the edge of the farm felt like
freedom. But when the fence was done and school started, the world shifted back
to where it was and whatever we had evaporated.
A small-town high
school is a network of territories with strict borders. Vinny didn’t belong
anywhere and it made his life miserable but it made me admire him more because
he didn’t need to. He did what he wanted, how he wanted to do it.
My life felt like
an endless list of obligations. I followed some script then and I don’t even
know why or where it came from. I had to place at the meets, have the hottest
girlfriend, drink like an animal at parties on the weekends. These things were
expected of me or I expected them of myself. At the time I couldn’t tell the
difference. I couldn’t imagine a life being anything other than the one that
was already attached to me, but meeting Vinny put a crack in that heavy iron
chain.
Once school started, Evie came back
from her summer job down the shore, football practice began and chores on the
farm took over my life. At least, that’s what I told myself. I couldn’t find a
way to make Vinny part of my life beyond that summer without making my entire
world explode. I ignored him at school, pretty much, even though alone in bed
at night I couldn’t stop thinking about him. I kept those worlds separate
because they seemed to be in completely different orbits. It was a shitty thing
to do. I know it now and I even knew it then.
I left The Hideaway mad as hell at
Vinny—or rather Vince—for the way he treated me in the kitchen, but the
truth is I deserve everything he said to me and more. How could I ever get him
to understand the choices I made back then and why I made them? How could I
explain to him how hard I have worked to undo everything I did back then? Then
I remember how I already started on the wrong foot. He asked about Evie and I
went all mysterious and vague. I should have told him we got divorced. I should
have told him that we still co-parent a wonderful, funny six-year-old. I should
definitely have told him that I finally came out as bi. But picking him up on
the side of the road was such a confusing surprise that my brain wasn’t functioning
at full capacity.
Copyright © 2020 by Iron Bridge Creative
One-click
with confidence. This title is part of the Carina Press Romance Promise: all
the romance you’re looking for with an HEA/HFN. It’s a promise!
A new
Carina Adores title is available each month:
·
Just Like That by Cole McCade (available June
30, 2020)
·
Hairpin Curves by Elia Winters (available July
28, 2020
·
Better Than People by Roan Parrish (available
August 25, 2020)
·
Full Moon in Leo by Brooklyn Ray (available
September 29, 2020)
·
If You Can’t Stand the Heat by KD Fisher
(available October 27, 2020)
·
Just Like Us by Cole McCade (available
November 24, 2020)
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Links
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About Philip
William Stover
Philip William Stover splits his time between Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and New York
City. He has an MFA in writing and is a clinical professor at New York
University where he is the former chair of the writing curriculum. As a
freelance journalist, his essays and reviews have appeared in Newsday, The
Forward, The Tony Awards, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The
Houston Chronicle, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and other
national publications.
Philip grew up
tearing the covers off the romance novels he devoured so he wouldn’t get teased
at school. Now he enjoys traveling the world with his husband of over twenty
years and sitting in front of the woodstove with their half-Bassett,
half-Sharpei rescue pup and he would never consider defacing any of the books
he loves.
He is thrilled to
be returning to romance and loves to write cozy, warm-hearted stories served by
hairy forearms with a side of fries. He can be found on social media as Philip
William Stover.
Connect with
Philip William Stover
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