Hey there!
If you haven’t had the chance to read my debut series Responsible Adult, consisting of Misdemeanor, Hard Time or Reformed, then now is your chance to get your hands on all THREE books at a discounted price by buying the entire box set. And might I say, this is a great idea as book one has the pretty dangerous cliffhanger so you’ll need the next book a mere scroll away!
Here’s the link to the box set that Pride have released from TODAY!
If you’re still unsure whether to take the leap and read these rather angsty, rather gritty and rather realistic portrayal of small-town Britain, then read on for some exclusive snippets from each book!
Responsible Adult Serial
The Responsible Adult series follows bad boy Micky O’Neill as he attempts to better his life to bring up his disabled little brother. A past full of juvenile delinquency and living in a small town rife with idle gossip means Micky struggles to be seen as anything other than a no-hoper from the wrong side of the tracks… until he takes a job at the local supermarket and meets his boss, Dan, a university graduate and self-proclaimed shy, awkward bookworm.
Dan, older and burned from a past relationship, is the one person who sees through Micky’s tough-guy façade to the true heart underneath. With fear and mistrust on both sides, the two must steer their way through a complicated relationship where outside forces are determined to break them up at every turn.
Responsible Adult is a series about growing up and learning that falling in love always brings responsibility.
Fifteen minutes later, Micky came looking for them. He rested against the door frame of Flynn’s room. The lights were off, but Flynn’s torch shone down on the book Dan was reading. Dan’s long legs almost came off the end of the bed and Flynn’s little head rested on Dan’s shoulder, listening intently to the passages from The Gruffalo. Dan did all the voices, which made Flynn giggle and demand more. Micky watched for a while, unnoticed, taking in the sight while trying to figure out what the feelings bubbling up inside his stomach were. After a while, he cleared his throat and pushed off the door frame.
“Sleep time, Flynn,” Micky said. He held out a syringe full of yellow liquid and walked into the room. “Meds.”
Dan sat up from the bed and scooted his legs off as Micky bent down and Flynn opened his mouth to take the medicine. Flynn never complained anymore. He was used to it.
“Night, night, Dan,” Flynn said and threw his arms around him.
Dan returned the hug and stood.
“Night, night, Micky.”
Micky leaned down to give his brother a kiss. Flynn pressed a finger onto his eye, then onto his chest, then pointed it at Micky and giggled, shuffling farther down under the duvet.
“Love you, too, kid.”
Micky turned off the torch, placed it on the bedside table and switched on the frog-shaped nightlight. He nodded, indicating for Dan to follow him out.
Downstairs, Micky handed Dan a glass of wine and they settled on opposite ends of the sofa.
“He’s cute, your brother,” Dan said, taking a sip of the wine.
“Yeah,” Micky agreed. “Livewire, too. Cheers for playing with him today. That’ll have him made up for weeks.”
“No problem. I enjoyed it.” Dan took another gulp of wine. He ran a finger around the rim of the glass, making it sing against the moisture. “I do have to admit something, though.”
“Yeah, what’s that?” Micky asked, taking a drink from his own glass. He hadn’t drunk any alcohol in a really long time. He couldn’t have it in the house and, as he never went out anymore, there was no real reason to drink it. Which meant the couple of mouthfuls he’d consumed went straight to his head. He felt the fuzzy cloud drifting over his mind and the warming sensation soothing his body. It was dangerous. But he kept drinking, anyway.
“I was only doing it to get closer to you,” Dan finally admitted.
Micky laughed. “No shit, Sherlock.” He drank another gulp of wine, the contents in his glass nearing the end.
Dan’s eyes glazed over as he rested his head back on the sofa and smiled over at Micky.
“What?”
“You are an enigma,” Dan said. He pointed a finger out from around his wineglass, then shook his head and chuckled, taking yet another sip.
“Not really,” Micky replied. “I’m an onion.”
“What?” Dan asked, narrowing his eyes in confusion.
“Not seen Shrek? Lots of layers,” Micky explained. “And if you start to peel mine off, you’ll probably end up in tears.”
Dan’s smile faded and he widened his eyes, not letting them falter from Micky’s gaze. Micky shrugged. He was intrigued as to where Dan might take all this. If he were brave enough. Dan shuffled up to sit straighter, the foam seat ruffling underneath him. Twisting his wineglass between his palms, Dan took a deep breath. He gazed down into the wine for a moment, watching the reflective swirl from the ceiling spotlight above.
“I really want to kiss you,” Dan finally breathed out.
Micky didn’t say anything. The tingling on his lips started again, so he rested the cool glass against them to tone it down a bit. He took a last swig of wine, throwing his head back to finish off the remnants. After placing his drink on the floor, he shuffled in the seat to face Dan.
Dan finally looked up, his face serious, dimples hidden behind a mask of fear and desire.
“What are you waiting for? A written invitation?” Micky taunted.
“I think you’re right,” Dan said.
Micky glanced up, finally looking Dan in the eye. Dan smiled and saw the ease of Micky’s shoulders. He nodded at Flynn.
“Wales would be good for him,” Dan explained.
Micky peered back to his brother and watched for a while. He breathed in deeply and scratched at the contents within his pockets. Dan could practically see the thinking process going on behind his eyes. He had to bite his tongue not to demand that Micky spill whatever was on his mind.
“We could go now,” Micky finally said, still looking out at his brother.
Dan glided the hand ruffling through Micky’s hair down to his back and let it drift away. He shuffled and searched his brain for a response. He seriously hoped Micky wasn’t suggesting what he thought he was. Running now could never be an option. He knew that. Micky would know that. The question was, he supposed, did Micky really care at this point?
“What?” Dan urged quietly.
“Fuck all this, Dan,” Micky said more forcefully and scraped his hands out of his trousers to slap down to his thighs. “Why wait around in fucking limbo, letting other people decide what happens to me? To him.” Micky waved a hand in Flynn’s general direction and turned to finally look Dan in the eye. “To us,” he stated poignantly.
“Micky—” Dan cautioned.
“What, Dan?” Micky scorned. “This place is toxic. For me. For Flynn. I’ve never really understood that until now. Until you.” Micky twisted to face Dan and glided a thumb across his cheek. “There’s a shit ton of bad memories on every street corner here. I need to start fresh. You said you’d always come find me. Or wait for me. But will you follow me?”
“I miss you, Dimples.”
Dan exhaled. Which probably sounded like a hurricane down the phone. At least Micky chuckled.
“I miss you, too, baby.” Dan curled his hand around the wooden pillar and squeezed, regardless of the splinters it could cause to his palm. “Real bad.”
“I’m going to get better, Dan. I promise.”
Dan blinked. Micky sounded like he was slurring, or that could have been the added distance and crackle of signal going in and out of range.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m a shit boyfriend. I know I am. When I get back, I’m going to be better. I swear to fucking God, when Flynn gets outta here, I’m gonna get my head screwed on.”
Dan stumbled forward down the front step, doing his utmost to get a better range of signal. Micky’s voice was garbled and not just because he was pouring his heart out.
“Micky, baby.” Dan sat on one of the wooden benches and rested his elbows on his knees. He was shaking. He didn’t like the way Micky was talking.
“And, y’know, screw you good and proper.”
Dan laughed, but it was drowned out by the raucous one that wafted from the open pub door when a man popped out to light up a cigarette. Dan stood and fumbled farther away from the entrance to the edge of the car park.
“Where are you?”
Dan scrunched up his face. He spun to look back at the Old Red Lion. He should tell the truth. But something in Micky’s voice made him twist and bundle farther into the darkened valley.
“At home. Just putting the rubbish out.”
Dan closed his eyes. There was a brief pause the other end of the line. Dan’s hand shook as he held the phone to his ear.
“I love you, Dan. I do. And I’m sorry.”
“Get home, Micky.” Dan trotted faster down the valley, heading toward home, not bothering to go back for the jacket he’d left on the pub chair. “Bring Flynn home. And we’ll talk it all out.” He practically ran the rest of the way. “I love you, too.”
I hope I’ve whet your appetite to try this series. As my debut, these books were and still are so important to me. If not solely for introducing the world to Flynn – a little boy with a rare disability called Williams Syndrome that makes him overly social, deliriously happy and a full of joy! In fact, I’ll let Micky explain him a little:
“He’s an eternal child, sees the world like a fairytale minus the evil characters. Everything is bright, everything is beautiful and everyone is his friend.” Micky paused. “It’s a real shame life isn’t like that. Because a world full of Flynn’s would be the onw I wanna live in.”
Until next time…
