Hi there! Wow, long time no see! Busy busy back to school, even when I had a break… Still, I really excited to share a review and giveaway for a new contemporary military M/M romance from Annabeth Albert. AT ATTENTION is the second book in her Out of Uniform series, and really enjoyed OFF BASE, so I couldn’t wait to read this one. It’s a new romance that pairs a younger man with the heartbroken widower he’d fallen for years before–when he comes to help out with childcare over the summer.

Catch an excerpt below, and be sure to enter the $20 Amazon GC giveaway, too!
About the book:
Lieutenant Apollo Floros can ace tactical training missions, but being a single dad to his twin daughters is more than he can handle. He needs live-in help, and he’s lucky a friend’s younger brother needs a place to stay. He’s surprised to see Dylan all grown up with a college degree…and a college athlete’s body. Apollo’s widowed heart may still be broken, but Dylan has his blood heating up.

It’s been eight years since the teenage Dylan followed Apollo around like a lovesick puppy, and it’s time he showed Lieutenant Hard-to-Please that he’s all man now—an adult who’s fully capable of choosing responsibility over lust. He can handle Apollo’s muscular sex appeal, but Apollo the caring father? Dylan can’t afford to fall for that guy. He’s determined to hold out for someone who’s able to love him back, not someone who only sees him as a kid brother.

Apollo is shocked by the intensity of his attraction to Dylan. Maybe some no-strings summer fun will bring this former SEAL back to life. But the combination of scorching desire and warm affection is more than he’d expected, and the emotion between them scares him senseless. No fling lasts forever, and Apollo will need to decide what’s more important—his past or his future—if he wants to keep Dylan in his life.

How about a little taste?

Hamburger. Onions. Pickles. Ketchup. Buns. Buns.

Well, hello, there. Possibly the most perfect specimen Apollo had ever seen was bent over in the bakery aisle at Sprouts, looking at a rack of organic cookies. High. Tight. Round. Attached to muscular legs poking out of board shorts, the kind of legs that suggested a serious investment in a sport or fitness. He wasn’t going to do more than look, but even when he’d been with Neal, he hadn’t been blind, and it was nice to know perfection like this guy existed in the world.

It was like swimming by a perfect coral reef on a dive or the blue of a cloudless sky right before a jump—

Wink. Fuck. The guy straightened before Apollo could look away and caught Apollo staring, and instead of blushing or serving him with the angry glare he deserved, he gave Apollo a saucy wink. It was the sort of wink that a decade ago would have had Apollo crossing the shiny linoleum and getting the guy’s number, but those days were long gone.

Instead he grabbed the closest twelve pack of hamburger buns and one of hot dog buns and headed to the next aisle. Those were the only kind of buns he had any business letting himself be distracted by. He was a father for crying out loud, not some single guy out treating the natural grocery store like his own personal pickup joint. Reflexively, he rubbed his ring with the side of his pinky, making it spin on his ring finger. Yeah. No more looking.

“Apollo! How are you?” Bridget from down the street almost ran her cart into his as he navigated the aisles. Her red-haired toddler waved at him from the basket.

Hell. He knew he should have brought at least one of the girls shopping. Then Bridget could have focused on the kids, and not his least favorite question in the universe.

“Hanging in there.” Apollo gave her a practiced a smile. “Good” would be a lie and no one wanted to hear “same as yesterday,” which was closer to the truth. But what the Bridgets of the world all wanted to hear was that Apollo was moving on—like time was the magic cure for the hole in his heart. “Having some people over for a barbecue later. Apologies if anyone parks in front of your place.”

“Oh, no worries.” Bridget patted his arm. “Having friends is so important.”

“Yeah, it is,” Apollo agreed because Bridget was a nice person, but inwardly his teeth gnashed together. He was so tired of well-meaning people telling him what was good for him when not a damn one of their suggestions would bring Neal back. “I better get on with my list.”

“You do that. And be sure and let us know if you need anything.”

Apollo nodded. Two years. It had been two years of neighbors and friends stopping him like this, making kind offers, but none of them able to do the one thing he wanted more than anything.

Fuck. Snap out of it, Lieutenant. No one wants your mopey ass around on this sunny May weekend. And it was an absolutely gorgeous day, perfect for playing with the girls outside and kicking back a few beers with his friends. He wasn’t on duty and had three consecutive days off for the first time in a long time. No sense dwelling on sad shit. Time to get stuff done.

Find something else to focus on.

Like that perfect ass?

No. Absolutely not that. Like…pickles. Lots and lots of pickles.

He saw Mr. Perfect Butt again in the juice aisle, and it was damn hard to keep his resolution to stick to shopping. The guy was model cute—curly hair falling just so over his forehead, sparkling eyes, chiseled jaw, and a tight T-shirt advertising a British soccer team showing off a defined chest and tight stomach. The guy smiled at him again and looked like he might want to speak, so Apollo grabbed the juice boxes for the girls and got out of there like he’d just launched a flash bang in the guy’s direction.

At the checkout, Mr. Perfect Butt was ahead of him in the only line that seemed to be moving. Apollo very carefully did not look at his butt again and busied himself grabbing some gum and trying to give off “don’t talk to me” vibes.

But those vibes seemed to be an utter failure as the guy turned, offering another movie-star-worthy grin. “You want to go first?” His voice was husky, like every word was a secret.

“I’m good,” Apollo said.

The man nodded, shy smile teasing the edges of his mouth, making his blue eyes dance. “You know—”

“ID please.” The cashier interrupted whatever flirtation the guy had planned as his six pack of beer went across the scanner.

“Oh, yeah.” A faint red flush spread up the guy’s neck. Oh hell. He wasn’t just younger than Apollo. He was a kid. A kid who still got carded, and rightfully so with that baby face. What the hell had Apollo been thinking, admiring his body?

Apollo focused on unloading his own groceries, making neat rows for the cashier, and making sure the buns wouldn’t get squished.

Buns. Nope. Not going there. The kid hung around after paying for his groceries, mouth moving as if he were debating speaking, but Apollo kept his attention squarely on the cashier.

No more looking. Remember who—what—you are now. When he finally looked up, perfect butt guy was gone, and if Apollo felt a twinge of regret for being a bit on the rude side, he squashed it quickly. Wasn’t like he’d ever see the guy again anyway.

My Review:
Lt Apollo Floros lost his beloved husband Neal two years ago. He’s grieved terribly, while putting up a strong front for his young twin daughters, Chloe and Sophia. His mother lives in his home, and helps with the childcare, but she’s leaving for a two month trip to Greece with her sisters–a lifelong dream she’s saved for years to experience–and Apollo needs help.

His best friend, Dustin, has arranged to get a suitable person to care for Apollo’s girls: his younger brother, Dylan. Dylan’s just graduated college with a degree in childhood education, and wants to manage recreation classes for kids. He’s got a gig teaching at the summer camp Apollo’s girls are attending, and will be an excellent caregiver, if only he can remember not to fall for Apollo. Again. See, Dylan met Apollo years and years ago, when he came to visit Dustin during a leave, and Apollo was the center of all Dylan’s teenaged (and not so teenaged) sexual fantasies. He’s attracted to Apollo the SEAL, but Apollo the Broken-Hearted? Apollo the Loving Father? #GoneBabyGone

Apollo wallows in his burgeoning attraction to Dylan, quelling his lust by reminding himself that Dylan is Dustin’s baby brother–and twelve years younger than himself. Thing is, Dylan is a strong, assertive man who appreciates Apollo’s micromanaging schedules, and does his darnedest to make Apollo’s life easier. Plus he’s fabulous with Chloe and Sophia. Living in Apollo’s home puts Dylan right in the eye of the storm–he hadn’t realized Apollo spent his nights in the guest room where Dylan sleeps–until Apollo confesses how he’s hardly slept in his own bed in the two years since Neal died. It’s a heart wrenching experience, watching Apollo deal–poorly–with his grief, and deny himself any thoughts of finding love again, out of loyalty to the memory of Neal.

Dylan is a great young man. He’s a partner, and a lover, when Apollo needs one desperately. Still, he’s not getting his needs met, not while Apollo insists on keeping Dylan firmly in the role of ‘babysitter’, and Dylan’s smart enough to stand up for himself, especially when Apollo is way out of line.

I loved how tender this was, and how authentically the love story developed. This isn’t an easy love, but it has the possibility of being a great one. Knowing people who never remarried after losing a spouse, I really connected with Apollo’s grief, and I was relieved when he finally connected to it, as well. There’s a lot of healing in the book–some of it sexual healing–and there’s going to be a break up to make up, but it’s really well handled and felt true. Raising twin girls can’t be easy, but they didn’t take over the story.

I loved these guys, and I loved how they found love together.

Interested? You can find AT ATTENTION on Goodreads, Carina Press, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and iTunes.

****GIVEAWAY****

Click on this Rafflecopter giveaway link for your chance to win a $20 GC to Amazon.
Good luck and keep reading my friends!

About the Author:
Annabeth Albert grew up sneaking romance novels under the bed covers. Now, she devours all subgenres of romance out in the open—no flashlights required! When she’s not adding to her keeper shelf, she’s a multi-published Pacific Northwest romance writer.

Emotionally complex, sexy, and funny stories are her favorites both to read and to write. Annabeth loves finding happy endings for a variety of pairings and is a passionate gay rights supporter. In between searching out dark heroes to redeem, she works a rewarding day job and wrangles two children. Represented by Saritza Hernandez of the Corvisiero Literary Agency.

Find Annabeth online on her website, Goodreads, twitter and Facebook.