The
rookie superstar, the desperate cowboy, and a naughty proposition…
DENNY
The press calls me this year’s hot shot, the rookie who scores at will and
conjures plays out of thin air. Truth is… I’m a PR nightmare. Seriously. Ask my
agent.
My anxiety is off the charts. I can’t talk to the media without breaking into a
cold sweat, but once I get through the season, I can regroup at home. Life is
simpler in Vermont.
Well, not anymore. There’s a new cowboy in town. Literally, a cowboy. At least,
Hank looks like one—he owns a horse, wears a hat, and did I mention he’s hot?
And get this… he has a proposition for me.
HANK
Proposition is a strong word. I prefer to call this a mutually beneficial
arrangement. See, I could use Denny’s help with a family business venture, and
though I was planning to offer cash, the jock has a sexier idea.
Not gonna lie, I’m interested.
This could be a fun distraction while I’m stuck in Elmwood. Nice enough place,
however, the locals are wary of an outsider taking over the neighboring mill.
Long story short… they don’t trust me. But they love their hometown hockey
hero.
I get it.
I’ve never met anyone like Denny—skittish in street clothes and a feral beast
with cunning instincts on the ice. He’s fascinating, sexy, smart, and—
Whoa! I’m not falling for the hotshot rookie. No way, no how, no chance…
Too late.
Hotshot is an M/M bisexual, age-gap, small town romance featuring a
hotshot rookie, a sexy cowboy, and a proposition that changes everything.
Don’t miss our reviews of the rest of The Elmwood Stories!
For book one, You, Again, click HERE.
For book two, Next Season, click HERE.
For book three, Holiday Crush, click HERE.
For book four, Thin Ice, click HERE.
Book
5
Buy Links
Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Amazon Au ~ Amazon Ca
Paperback (US)
~ Also Available
with KindleUnlimited ~
“Let’s get this over with. What did you want?”
“Ouch. I can’t remember the last time anyone was happy to see me,” he groused without heat. “Except Steve the contractor. He likes me okay, but he’s being paid well. Our employees do well too, but sadly, they don’t like me at all.”
“I can’t help you with that. Sorry.”
Hank sipped his beer and shrugged. “Yes, you can. I’m extorting you, remember?”
“Oh… yeah.” I chuckled.
And fuck, I didn’t want to be amused. I didn’t want to like Hank at all, but it was hard not to appreciate his self-deprecating honesty. He emanated “nice guy” vibes with the right amount of edge. No wonder drunk me had gotten flirty with him. Fortunately, sober me knew he was more than I could handle.
Which was fine since Hank wasn’t interested anyway. He wanted my alleged star power, not me.
So why was I grinning like an idiot?
Fuck, I had a bad feeling my eyes were twinkling too. I had to rein that shit in, stat.
“So… let’s make a deal,” he said, thankfully unaware of my inner detour. “I need an Elmwood buddy. My dad gave me the all-clear to make my offer sexy, so… what’ll it be?”
I bugged my eyes out. “Sexy?”
“Yeah, something interesting. If it’s money, name your price. Tell me what you want in exchange for your time.”
You.
The word tripped to the tip of my tongue. I bit it back and swallowed it, clearing my throat to be sure it was gone.
“I just… want to make sure that whatever I blabbed while I was wasted off my ass stays between us.”
“Yeah, but I’ll do that for free. You can trust me.”
“I don’t know you,” I retorted.
“True,” he conceded, sipping his beer. “But you don’t really have a choice. I can’t prove that I won’t sell you out. It’s a trust thing. Let’s talk about the sexy angle, ’cause I need an Elmwood buddy like yesterday.”
“I can’t believe I’m asking this, but… what does an Elmwood buddy do?”
“He shows the new guy the ropes.” Hank leaned in. “Introduce me, give me tips on who’s who and what to avoid. I suck in Elmwood and I need a champion, a liaison… a friend. That can be you.”
I huffed in amusement, feeling strangely at ease. He was charming as fuck and I was not immune. “How can you suck in Elmwood? Everyone is cool there.”
He slumped on his stool. “I don’t know, but I’m even worse in Wood Hollow. I don’t get it. People in Denver like me just fine. Even you like me.”
“No, I like your hat.” I reached for his water and winked.
I fucking winked.
Me.
That was me flirting. Ugh. Bad, Denny. Bad.
I felt surprisingly relaxed with him. Like I had last weekend when I’d spilled my guts and… other things. The point was, I could talk to him without feeling immediately depleted, and that alone was a minor miracle.
Hank kicked my shin playfully. “Nah, you like me. You did last weekend, anyway.”
“I was drunk, and I’m still mortified. Go easy on me.” I took a swig of water as if I were knocking back whisky.
“I’ll try, but… you shook your dick at me, then fell buck-ass naked in my bed, so c’mon.”
My eyes had to be saucer-sized. “I shook my dick at you?”
He inclined his chin and winked in a touché move that made my cock swell against my zipper.
“A week later, I’m still thinking about it,” Hank drawled.
Whoa. Was he serious?
Ruthie
– ☆☆☆☆
This is the fifth book in the series, and I would definitely recommend that you
read them in order, as it will make much more sense of the set up in Elmwood –
and why Hank is so unpopular, and why Denny is a local hero!
Hank is helping out his sick father by working at their newly purchased wood
mill in the next town over to Elmwood. He has a challenge to improve the
popularity of the Cunninghams and reassure the locals that they are not a huge
and impersonal corporation about to destroy their town. His secret weapon is a
friendship with Denny, local NHL rookie hero, assuming he can persuade Denny to
engage.
This plan turns out to be a good one, when the two of them find a strong
attraction and a hockey player who is interested in exploring his options as a
bisexual man, and Hank could definitely help!
I really enjoyed the growth of their friendship as well as their burgeoning
attraction and experimentation. It is fun watching what we can clearly see is
the start of a meaningful relationship, even if they are slower on the uptake.
Grams, of course, is seeing it all and there to support Denny when things get
complicated.
It was great fun to see the couples from previous installments and to enjoy
quite a lot of hockey action too!
Shannan
– ☆☆☆☆
Hotshot is the fifth book in The Elmwood Stories series. It can be read
as a standalone without issue.
Denny has a lot of baggage from his childhood. He suffers from anxiety and
can't talk to the press at all. He's the rookie hotshot who has a promising
career, but his anxiety may be his downfall. He's also very deep in the closet.
He comes back to Elmwood as often as he can. It’s where he can relax the most.
One night he drinks too much at the bar and accidentally ends up in the hotel
room of the sexy cowboy, who is new in town. Nothing happened but Denny really
wanted it to.
Hank is only in Elmwood for a short time. He has his own life and horse therapy
business to get back to. He'll stay in Elmwood long enough to get his father’s
mill up and running while his dad is recovering. The idea is to meet the town's
hockey hero and have him do a commercial for the mill, letting the town know if
their hero accepts them, they should too. But meeting a drunk Denny doesn't go
the way Hank thought it would. When he proposes the commercial to Denny, Denny
instantly says no, but after seeing sides of the man he doesn't think many
people have, he thinks maybe they can help each other. Hank brings his horses
to Elmwood to use as therapy to help Denny with his anxiety and to use as a
cover story why they are spending so much time together. Denny can help Hank be
better liked in the community and Hank can show Denny what being with a man is
like.
I loved watching Denny and Hank's relationship grow. Their chemistry was
explosive but the way they spent time together on the horses getting to really
know each other on a deeper level was so addictive about this couple. I hope
there is more to this series. I loved this little hockey town!
Angie
– ☆☆☆☆
This is the fifth book in the series. I have only read book four, which I
really liked. This book was just as good. You could read it as a standalone,
but we met Denny in book four when he was younger.
Denny is one of the many famous local hockey players. Hank's father bought the
mill a few towns over. Elmwood is this little town that just seems amazing, and
those townspeople will have your back and support you like crazy. Hank and
Denny meet when Denny is drunk as can be. Hank offers Denny a proposition he
hopefully won't refuse. Denny accepts and we get to see not only Denny testing
out his bi side, but we see a friendship between him and Hank.
Elmwood residents aren't fond of Hank, but Denny introduces him to people and
Hank charms them and they slowly begin to like him. We see characters from
previous books and, of course, Denny's grams is there as sassy as ever. Love
that woman.
Things, of course, get hot and heavy and go further than Denny and Hank
expected and probably wanted. Watching their love build and grow and all the
bumps along the was great. I cried when things looked bleak but soon my tears
dried up and everything fell into place and our men get their happily ever
after. Highly recommend this book.
LANE
HAYES lives in sunny Southern California with her amazing husband, who
thankfully doesn’t mind cooking, and their fabulous fox red Labrador, George,
who’s pure mischief. Both provide oodles of inspiration for the low-angst,
humorous books Lane loves to write.
She’s been telling stories about sexy, funny, sometimes geeky and quirky men
who find love for a dozen years now and loving every minute. In her previous
life, she sat at a desk and dealt with numbers, so yes… romance is much more
satisfying!
Lane loves tea, travel, and chocolate… in any order. Add a book and she’s set!
Connect with Lane
Hayes!
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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided
a free copy of Hotshot (The Elmwood Stories #5) by Lane Hayes to read and
review.
