GUEST POST with EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT and GIVEAWAY: Cristina Bruni of 'Seven Days'
Title: Seven Days
Author: Cristina Bruni
Published: January 28, 2017
Publisher: JMS Books LLC
Genre: Contemporary Romance; Erotic Romance
Length: 181 Pages
Tags: Gay; M/M; Age Difference; Athlete/Sport: Golf; Coming Out
About Seven Days
During a golf tournament in Virginia, American golfer Reggie Weston meets Russell Lee, the British former world champion in the sport. The two men hit it off when Russell takes Reggie under his wing, teaching him the tricks of the game. As their friendship deepens, Reggie finds himself falling in love with the Englishman, though he knows Russell doesn’t feel the same. He’s painfully aware of the fact that Russell isn’t gay. But there’s more to Russell than meets the eye. He’s a troubled soul, plagued by monsters in his head telling him who he should be. He’s spent most of his life hiding his sexuality from the world so he won’t disappoint his homophobic mother. Is seven days enough time for Russell to break through the years of hurt and accept the new direction fate has in store for him and Reggie?
Hi everybody!
First of all, I’d like to say a big “thank you” to Kimmers for hosting a totally, unknown Italian writer on her blog! <3
I’ve been writing M/M romance novels for five years, but all my works were previously only available in Italian, in Italy. This is my first release abroad, and… well, I must confess I’m scared to death!
I chose this particular book to begin my adventure abroad because it is the novel I love the most among my books. I wrote Reggie and Russell’s story ‘cause I’m deeply in love with golf. This is not among the favorite sports in Italy, so I wanted people to know how beautiful it is, how much I enjoy (yes, I’m a player, too) challenging myself and nature on the course. It is a very relaxing, but also a very challenging sport. Give it a try, if you haven’t yet.
Reggie and Russell’s story is a sweet, fresh one. Reggie’s a rookie, Russell (his idol) is a British former champion, nine years older. One is gay, the other is apparently hetero. Their first meeting is.. well, hell for Reggie. But the two of them are in the field of the same tournament, so they bump into each other again, with Russell apologizing for having been such an asshole the first time. The two men hit it off when Russell takes Reggie under his wing, teaching him the tricks of the game.
Soon, Reggie can’t help himself from falling in love with the British man, believing he has no chance.
But he doesn’t know that Russell is actually gay, and has spent most of his life hiding his sexuality from the world so he won’t disappoint his homophobic mother.
This story is set between the US and London, two of my favorite places on the planet.
Well, that’s all for now. Hope you’ll enjoy the exclusive excerpt I left of my two golf boys!
Hugs & kisses,
Cristina
They took Russell’s rental car. As they entered the bar, an inviting smell wafted from the kitchen. The TVs were tuned to a baseball match this time.
As they took a seat at one of the tables, Reggie saw the place through different eyes. Earlier he had done all he could to remove the place from his brain, but now it seemed fascinating, like the sumptuous estate of a rich noble.
“I treat you tonight,” Reggie decided, looking at the menu and finding it hard to decide what to order. Each dish sounded tasty and inviting.
“Don’t even think about it. I invited you,” the Englishman replied, without looking at him. “And I told you: it’s my sponsor paying.”
“I have sponsors too, if that’s the point,” Reggie murmured, feeling a little hurt. He had very few sponsors, to tell the truth and, more importantly, they didn’t offer much money, but he kept that bit to himself.
“But mine are bigger,” Russell said, ending the argument.Then he noisily closed the menu and looked at Reggie, licking his lips.
God.
Reggie didn’t struggle much to find innuendo in Russell’s words and he looked away, already blushing.
“Alright. I give up.”
Over dinner, they talked about any and everything. Politics, music, games they liked when they were kids…even the best cartoon music and how to cook a good eggs Benedict.
Russell spoke of how he missed playing rummy with his father, or how their Austrian handyman butler had taught him to love food. Reggie shared his brief experience with football, as well as the little treehouse he’d helped his father build when he was a kid.
They completely avoided talking about golf and, the more they talked, the more Reggie found himself in sync with Russell. Not that they agreed on everything, but their different opinions always seemed good to him. Even desirable.
Reggie loved Russell’s good qualities as well as what he lacked. But the most important thing was that, being with him, Reggie finally felt beautiful, skilled, and interesting. Russell convinced him that he had worth in a way nobody had ever been able to do before.
“So…” the Englishman started, after finishing his second glass of beer.
An errant drop slipped from his full lips, dying on the light veil of beard covering his chin. From a nearby TV, the hoarse and sensual voice of Findlay filled the air with his Off & On. A shiver of desire ran down Reggie’s back.
God, how beautiful he is…
“What about a game of pool?” Russell proposed with a smile.
“I’m…not that good,” Reggie admitted, gaze still fixed on the point where the drop of beer had dissolved into Russell’s beard.
“Oh, you just take a stick in your hands and send balls into the holes. You should know all about that,” the Englishman teased.
Reggie’s cheeks flamed. He had to stop getting embarrassed every two minutes.
“Well, yes. Then…I’ll try my best…”
But before he could finish the sentence, Russell had taken him by the hand and dragged him to the billiard table.
Again, hand in hand.
Russell’s skin was soft against his, so perfect. Everything, every shadow, danced in front of Reggie in splendor. The way Russell reminded him of the game’s rules, or how Russell used blue chalk to smooth the cue. The words of praise Russell said to him every time he made a good shot, an innocent touch against Reggie’s elbow, the strong English accent with which Russell pronounced his consonants…it drove Reggie crazy.
Everything finally seemed right, as if the pieces of his life were coming together in the right place.
Around the halfway point of the second match, Reggie’s T-shirt lifted as he leaned over the table to set up his shot.
“Mmm…is that a little tattoo I see?” Russell asked, taking a couple steps back to get a better look at Reggie’s exposed back.
Immediately Reggie panicked and messed up his shot: Russell was admiring his body, just above his butt…
Jesus.
“Hem, yes…” he admitted, moving aside.
“And what does it say?”
The Englishman’s gaze still stared at Reggie’s back, even though Reggie had already smoothed down his shirt. That was gratifying, embarrassing, and altogether exciting.
“The name of my first.”
Russell was about to take his stick, but stopped. “The first guy you fucked?”
Reggie’s face flushed deeply. “No, the first tournament I attended.”
Russell smiled at him. “So you’ll have to tattoo the name of the first one you win, when that happens.”
“If it happens,” Reggie corrected him.
The Englishman measured his shot a couple times, then looked up at Reggie and winked.
“When it happens,” he corrected. Then he shot. “One day there will be the name of another tournament next to it. And also, the name of your man…”
The ball hit the cushion and then struck two other balls, sending them into the pocket. Reggie followed them with his eyes, while Reggie leaned on his cue stick.
“…maybe tattooed on a buttock.”
His arm twitched and his cue stick fell onto the floor.
Russell Lee would be the death of him, sooner or later.
About the Author
Cristina Bruni lives in northern Italy with her husband and their child.
She’s already published many M/M novels in Italy with Triskell Rainbow publisher. Since she was a young girl, her biggest wishes were being a mother and an author and now, after fighting for it for years, she finally succeeded in both.
She loves traveling abroad, going to the cinema, reading Sherlock Holmes, luxury bags and playing tennis and golf. She’s madly USA-sick and UK-sick.
She made her debut writing fan-fictions and, now, her new wish would be writing love Male-to-Male stories for the rest of her life and living on a beach in Hawaii.
Maybe dreams will come true again, sooner or later...
For more works from Cristina visit her webpage.
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