Is
it wrong for me to want the world to know I’m in love with Patrick Griffin and
have been since we were eight years old?
PATRICK GRIFFIN
I hurt him. I didn’t mean to.
Now he’s gone, and I deserve it.
As a linebacker in the NFL, I've never found the right time to come out of the
closet. Not even when I promised Cole I would.
But now, with Cole's band, Fallen Angel, in the spotlight along with my team,
the pressure is mounting. Everyone thinks we're just best friends, but the
weight of my secret is tearing us apart.
And it just might be too late to save us when I can.
COLE BRADLEY
Is it wrong for me to want the world to know I’m in love with Patrick Griffin
and have been since we were eight years old?
He is the love of my life, but it’s been years of waiting and excuses.
All our friends, even his teammates, have a public life. So why can’t we?
He promised it would be different in Portland.
But then he tells yet another reporter he’s single. I need a break. It’s
perfect timing since our band is heading out on tour.
I don’t know if I can live without him. But I don’t think I can do forever in
the closet.
It’s always been Patrick for me, but is it too much to ask for the world to
know he’s mine too?
The Linebacker is a secret romance and childhood best friends-to-lovers
MM Romance. It is book two in the Portland Protectors – EHM Security series and
the eleventh book in the Package Deal World.
To maximize reader enjoyment, it is highly recommended to read the other books
in the Package Deal Series, as well as book one, The Rockstar. Series
reading order can be found at the beginning of each book.
Content Warning: Referenced off the page homophobic violence toward an
off the page character, and an automobile accident.
Don’t miss our reviews of the rest of the Portland Protectors – EHM Security
series!
For book one, The Rockstar, click HERE.
For our reviews of other books set in The Package Deal World, click HERE.
Book
2
Buy Links
Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Amazon Au ~ Amazon Ca
Paperback (US)
~ Also Available with KindleUnlimited ~
The luxury suite in our high-rise hotel was dark as I stood looking out the window. The only light that crept in was from the lights shining over San Francisco. It had a magnificent view of the water during the day that was dark and moody now. It was really kind of prophetic.
I heard the door lock disengage in the silence as Patrick entered the room. The air stirred around him and brought the smell of his cologne and body wash to my nose. My heart throbbed at the thought of leaving him tomorrow, but I knew in my gut that it was what we needed if we had a hope of surviving.
Strong, warm arms wrapped around me and pulled me back into his chest. “Babe, why are you standing here in the dark?”
There were so many things I wanted to say but chose not to. “Just looking at the city. It’s really beautiful from up here.”
I tilted my head to the side as Patrick placed kisses down the side of my neck and onto my shoulder. His familiar hardness pressed against my ass and made me long for him, even though I was standing right here, wrapped in his arms.
“I need you,” he murmured against my skin. There was an unmistakable edge to his voice. His big hand went to my middle and held me in place against him.
“Patrick, we need to talk.” I was fighting to keep my emotions down, but I knew I was going to lose.
He loosened his hold just enough to turn me around to face him. Warm caramel eyes met my blue ones as the smile slipped from his face.
“What’s wrong? You feeling okay?”
I slipped from his arms and went to sit on the sofa. Patrick followed me, his handsome face now missing the smile I loved.
“We need to talk about the tour.”
Patrick unfolded his six-foot-five body from the sofa and got on his knees in front of me. He wedged himself between my thighs and took my face in his hands. Looking into them, he pulled my face to his.
“I know things are strained between us, but can we please have tonight to celebrate and just be you and me? Forget the world and everyone in it. Just me and you, like we’ve always been.”
“Patrick,” I whispered, the emotion thick in my throat before he sealed his mouth over mine. His tongue slipped past my lips, and I sank into his warmth, wrapping my arms around him. I wanted to stay like this forever.
Shannan
– ☆☆☆☆☆
The Linebacker is the second book in the Portland Protectors – EHM
Security series and the 11th book in The Package Deal World. It's best read in
the order that the authors intended to get the full impact of these characters’
relationship. If not the ten before, at least read The Rockstar, the
first book in this series. Regardless, it cannot be read as a standalone.
Patrick and Cole have been best friends since they were seven years old.
They've been in a relationship that only a select few knew about since they
were fifteen. Twenty-five years later, not many more people know about them
being in a romantic relationship. Publicly, they are just best friends that
spend all their time together and live together. Patrick is a linebacker with
the Protectors, a very accepting football organization of loving who you want,
but something is still holding Patrick deep in the closet. Cole is out as a
bisexual man in the band Fallen Angel. So they are both in the spotlight and
have millions of people watching them.
Cole is ready, overly ready, to let the world know that Patrick is so much more
to him than just a friend but Patrick, thinking coming to Portland would help
his coming out, still isn't ready. Cole can't live like this anymore and
basically says that to Patrick. Cole is the love of Patrick's life, and he
hates to hurt him, but he isn't sure this is something he can do for him, or
them.
Their story to get to their happily ever after was such an emotional
rollercoaster. They fought so hard to be with each other. I can say there were
more than a few tears reading this one. What my favorite part about this world
is, is seeing all the characters that I have grown to love so much appear again
and again. It makes it like you are catching up with old friends, seeing their
lives progress book after book. I can't wait for Daredevil and Mr. Greer!
There's a combination I didn't see coming but now that I've read just a touch
of them, I am here for it!!
Ruthie
– ☆☆☆☆
This is the second book in the series – and if you have enjoyed Emerson
Beckett's earlier books, you will also find some delicious crossovers which
have you catching up with old friends.
This is a great mix of sports and rock star romance, between two childhood
friends who have never really been apart, but also never formally together –
for one it is getting old, and the excuses are getting thinner, for the other,
the scars from his past and fear of the attitude of his peers makes it the only
way forward... until there could be no forward.
I thought that the issues were dealt with really well, and made clear just how
much is inner monologue that makes one believe the worst... often after a life
of reinforcement from the world at large, or someone in particular. But when
life really is at risk, and one's whole identity, then things get clearer –
even if it is terribly painful along the way. I enjoy a good dose of angst, so
I really enjoyed it, but really only because I was confident that these two
people would find their way back together. Their connection, their banter,
their love, and their passion had to be enough!
One of those books it is difficult to put down, because it is impossible not to
be invested in the happily ever after that one believes has to be coming...
after just one more page turn!
EMERSON BECKETT is an avid sports
fan and lover of M/M romance books, Emerson loves her new career as an author.
It gets even better when she can combine the two. Emerson is the co-author of
The Package Deal Series and The Portland Protectors: EHM Security Series with Rheland
Richmond. The We Could Do This Duet is her first solo project.
Emerson lives in North Carolina and has been married to the same man for 34
years. She is the mother of three beautiful adults, one of whom is completely
responsible for her addiction to MM Romance.
Emerson is now mom to an Australian Shepherd, four cats, and a cute bunny
rabbit.
Connect with
Emerson Beckett!
Facebook ~ Instagram ~ Twitter ~ TikTok ~ Website ~ Goodreads
Facebook
Group: Beckett's Book Brigade
For
as long as she can remember Rheland's had her nose stuck in a book, getting
lost in the world of someone else's creation. (She still does.) Her love for
writing came from her love for reading. She could never have one without the
other.
Writing has always been a hobby and a cathartic experience for her. There are
many stories lost to the never to be completed or published pile but needed to
be written at the time.
She's just a girl that loved stories so much she wrote hers.
RHELAND RICHMOND would love to hear from her readers and learn more about
y'all. So if you get a chance... Get in touch.
Connect with
Rheland Richmond!
Facebook ~ Instagram ~ Twitter ~ TikTok ~ Website ~ Goodreads
Facebook
Group: Richmond’s Riders
Hosted by
Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided
a free copy of The Linebacker (Portland Protectors – EHM Security #2) by
Emerson Beckett & Rheland Richmond to read and review.
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