Mirrigold: Mutterings & Musings

Ruler of the Waves | Aiden Ainslie

Love at Lake Clyde Series #3

Release Date: May 11th, 2023

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Blurb

A cute doctor in a small town

Tyler: All I ever wanted was to be a good doctor and serve the community I had grown up in. And I wanted a loving husband to share my dream of a house with a picket fence, two children and a dog.

Was that so much to ask of life? Why was it so difficult to find that man?

A moody bad boy with an insatiable wanderlust

Rickie: All I ever wanted was the freedom to sail the oceans, taste salt on my lips and feel sea spray on my face. So when Tyler Matthews offers me the chance of a week’s sailing at Nantucket, I agree to go with him. The only snag – we have to convince his snooty friends that we are boyfriends. How difficult can that be? Tyler is a good friend, I know him. Surely we can pull this off.

The only danger I did not foresee was that all my dreams could be derailed if my heart became entangled with the cute doctor who is rooted to the soil like a giant sequoia.

Can love find a way to bridge the ocean-sized chasm between two men who do not appear to be destined for each other? Read the latest book in the Love at Lake Clyde series.

A delicious fake boyfriend romance with many unexpected twists and turns.

Excerpt

Rickie

I gently teased him. “What? I’m not supposed to tell anyone that Dr. Tyler Matthews is human after all and had a little boating accident?”

His eyes, framed by those beautiful long eyelashes, filled with moisture and two big tears slid down his cheeks.

Oh, fuck!

I passed him a piece of kitchen roll and said, “Of course I won’t tell if you don’t want me to, Tyler. You can trust me.”

His tears, accompanied by silent sobs, just kept coming. What the hell was going on?

I waited until he calmed a little. Finally, he blew his nose and said, “I’m sorry. You must think me utterly pathetic.”

“Hey,” I said, “lucky for you, you’ve come to a very special place. This might look like a camper van to you, but it isn’t.”

There was a flicker of interest in his eyes, and he looked around, “It isn’t?”

I shook my head gravely. “Hell, no. I worked my ass off to create this space. It’s fortified by special alloy walls…” I banged against the flimsy paneling, “…witchcraft, and magic. This,” I proclaimed, “is the only judgment-free space in all of Clydesdale. I had to build it for my own survival. Here you can say and do whatever you want without worrying what anyone in town might say.”

Tyler gave the tiniest smile, “You’re nuts.”

“You have no idea how nuts.” I leaned forward and whispered, “Did you know that I regularly have wild parties and swing from the chandelier?”

His eyes widened, “But there is no…”

I got up, placed my hands around the simple light fitting above me, and started to sway back and forth. I closed my eyes and hummed Ed Sheeran’s “I Don’t Care” – one of my favorite songs. I continued to gyrate with my arms above my head.

Tyler emitted a small laugh. I stopped and grinned at him, “Now, if you don’t tell anyone that I’m certifiably nuts, I won’t tell anyone that your Hobie cat tipped over.”

His face fell back into its serious pose and the dullness reappeared in his eyes. No, dammit. No. I have to keep him engaged. Something is wrong.

“We’re going to play a little game,” I said. With a practiced touch, I lowered the table and rearranged the cushions to create a broad sleeper couch. “You’re going to lie here on the couch and talk to my good friend, the eminent psychiatrist, Dr. Reilly-O.”

“But, but…” Tyler tried to protest as I bundled him from the chair onto the couch.

I gathered my hair into a man-bun, grabbed a notepad, and sat back in the captain’s chair with my legs crossed. In my best Irish accent, I said, “Now sonny, take yer time. Tell Dr. Reilly-O what’s a’troubling you?”

Tyler looked at me with a mixture of confusion and anxiety. Then the tiniest of smiles curled around the corners of his mouth and he said, “Do you always consult in your underwear, Dr. Reilly-O?”

“Judgement-free zone,” I reminded him as my heart did a fist pump. Yes! I shot a prayer of thanks to a former girlfriend – a drama student – who had insisted that the only way to communicate honestly was through role-play and improv.

About the Author

Aiden Ainslie lives in the Diablo foothills, east of San Francisco. He grew up in various small towns and loves to draw on that small-town feel for his romances: the sense of community but also the petty grievances, intrigue and rivalries. “An author has to draw on personal experience to create authentic stories.

According to Aiden, setting and mood are critical parts of a romantic story, hence he is always taking pictures of romantic settings to be used in future novels.

When Aiden is not writing or listening to audiobooks, he likes to cycle and hike. During those solitary pursuits, he dreams up the characters and plots for his MM Romance novels. He also enjoys zipping around town on his motor scooter, drinking coffee at the local coffee shops, and watching people to get inspiration for his writing.

Social Media

https://aidenainslie.com/

https://www.facebook.com/aiden.ainslie

Giveaway

To celebrate the release of Ruler of the Waves, Aiden is giving away a $25 Amazon Voucher

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