Cold Press (A Palouse County Romance #1)

By Lia Cooper

Despite what anyone says, Jordan Kane is not lonely. He’s not. Being alone is not the same as being lonely. At least, that’s what he tells himself. But it’s hard to hold onto his more hermit-like habits when Avery O’Sullivan blows back into town. The sweet--if hapless--writer is hardly prepared for Belleville’s harsh winters, and Jordan can’t help inviting the other man into his home for the holidays.

Two strangers find happiness between a dozen cups of coffee and writer’s block in this sweet M/M short romance. A Palouse County Romance #1 featuring stories big and small from Eastern Washington.

This is a novelette. It contains minor language, some adult themes and a romantic relationship between two men.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lia Cooper
• Release date: Nov 22, 2020
• ISBN: 9781005293994

Lia Cooper

Lia Cooper is a twentysomething native of the Pacific Northwest, a voracious reader and an enthusiastic writer. She wrote her first short story when she was seven. THE DUALITY PARADIGM is her first published full length novel.She enjoys binge watching shows on Netflix, all-but-living in her local coffee shop, and drinking americanos. Lia cheers for the Chicago Blackhawks, rereads Pride & Prejudice every year, and is still bitterly disappointed over the cancellation of Stargate Atlantis (shhh).The complete BLOOD & BONE Trilogy now available!

Book preview

COLD PRESS

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DISCLAIMER Contains some language and minor adult themes. Contains a relationship between two men.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

COLD PRESS. Copyright © 2014 by K C Rumsey. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission.

Cooper, Lia (2014-12-09). Cold Press. The Spec Press. First Edition.

All rights reserved.

Other Works by Lia Cooper

Blood & Bone Trilogy

The Duality Paradigm (Book One)

The Convergence Theory (Book Two)

The Symbiotic Law (Book Three)

A Sanguine Solution (Book Four)

The Profane Series

Medium Rare (Book One)

Vapor Trail (Book Two)

Bad Blood (Coming Soon)

The Kingdom of Pacchia Series

The Omega Prince (Book One)

All the King's Men (Book Two)

The Honorable Beta (Book Three)

The Line of Allora (Book Four)

Titles Available From NineStar Press

Essex Colony (f/f scifi novella)

Stand Alone Titles

Hotspot (M/M Soulbonding Contemporary Magical Realism)

Cold Press (Palouse County #1 M/M Contemporary Holiday Novella)

Coy Trick (Palouse County #2 M/M Contemporary Holiday Novella)

Dead End (Palouse County #3 F/F Contemporary Holiday Novel coming soon!)

Http://liacooper.com/books-2/

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To Pullman, buried under three feet of snow from Halloween till May.

It began with a rumor, as these things tend to. One morning in early December, Elle tumbled into the shop at a quarter to seven, covered in quickly melting snow and her mouth open. It took a few minutes for her boss, Jordan Kane, to actually tune into to what she was saying and once he had, he almost wished he hadn’t bothered.

Is it true? Did you see it? Old Man O’Sullivan’s son is really in town. I practically ran over him on my way in this morning. I can say with absolute authority that Double-Split-Shot-Soy-Latte was right, he is hot. She stamped her boots on the employee mat and shrugged out of her heavy winter coat, knocking snow all over the floor. In twenty minutes there would be nothing but a puddle of water on the painted cement and someone would inevitably slide through it, resulting in at least one pratfall.

Jordan pulled down a stack of pastry trays and brought them over to the counter, humming noncommittally. Elle kept talking while she helped him open up the delivery box of fresh goodies—baked each morning two blocks up the street in Mrs. T’s kitchen—and arranged them for display.

I mean, admittedly there’s only so much you can tell about a person when they’re wearing a parka and a beanie, but he had nice thighs. Like Daniel Craig nice thighs.

How could you tell what kind of thighs the guy has? Jordan caught himself asking before he thought better of it.

Jeans, Elle said, like it was one of the great truths in the universe. "Dark wash, expensive jeans. And I mean, he’s Old Man O’Sullivan’s son, he looks exactly like--"

Old Man O’Sullivan? he cut in sarcastically.

Elle rolled her eyes and replied, equally snotty, What, like you didn’t think he was a total silver fox.

Jordan grabbed the bagel slicer in lieu of a reply.

Same dark eyes, same cheekbones, bit of scruff. I’m telling you, 12°F or no, I would have gladly taken him right there in the snow.

No you wouldn’t, he said, laughing.

You’re right, I would have dragged him inside and then taken him hard and fast next to the complementary fireplace.

Thank you for that lovely mental image.

Elle smirked, showing off all of her teeth, and finished putting the pastries into their glass display.

The bell above the door chimed, announcing the arrival of an actual paying customer and a short reprieve from Elle’s running description of the latest Mr. O’Sullivan. Jordan sighed quietly in relief and focused on his bagels while Elle slid around to the register. She greeted the regular by his first name, chirping Lou! in her raspy morning voice and bagged his raspberry croissant without having to ask. It was a comfortable and familiar routine.

Morning, Mr. Kane, Lou tapped on the glass case and grinned at