Carlos Hazday

@chris191070 I may have had moist eyes myself a couple of times while writing and editing the scene. I rarely tear up during romantic moments, usually it's been during one of CJ's speeches, but after writing this every time I hear THEIR song I smile and the tears threaten to erupt.

I wonder what chapter this one replaced... CJ's a bit more impetuous than Owen, I agree the Aussie may have waited a bit longer. We'll hear why CJ chose this moment to do it. You're correct in thinking the recent visit to Australia and the conversation with Geoff and Pam Liston may have helped spark his decision. Think about it, they've known each other for over three years and been 'boyfriends for over two; it was time to poop or get of the hell off the toilet. From a writing point of view, the hints I've dropped have been subtle, I did want this to come as a surprise to the readers. And also in real life, I turned the speech off soon after it started but what I heard was enough for me to need fresh air that day too, I just didn't have the Cuban cigar to smoke on the patio.

Now that I think about it, I have Aussies as one of the main characters and one of the primary supporting cast members. I also used an Aussie (Nick Youngquest) as the initial basis for Brett's descriptions. OMG, I need to enter an Aussie Recovery Program!

Apologies for not answering sooner. I saw small print and had to wait until my attorney, Owen Liston, reviewed it to make sure everything was fine. LOL Sorry but this was an early release of this Friday's chapter, but we'll have a new one in just 10 days

Love the eloquence! I really do, it tells me you approve! Thank you!

@BlindAmbition Did you notice you got mentions in the last two chapters? JP keeps popping up. I think they're both looking out for each other. CJ was ready to rip into Ozzie's parents while in Australia and now Owen wants to ensure CJ has a proper college experience. They were meant for each other. Glad you liked it, m8.

@Sweetlion They may want to get in touch with you when they start interviewing wedding planners! I don't want to give away too much of what I'm thinking for the wedding, hell for all we know it may not happen! You'll have to stick around to find out if, when, where, and how it happens.

Just Say Yes... Damn! Now I'm gonna have to work really hard to top it. That may be difficult with this book but maybe the next one. Thanks, Wes.

LMAO! I've been playing the proposal song for the past few months (since I wrote the first draft of the chapter) and like it more every day. I thought CJ did a good job using it as the soundtrack. I think it affected DC even more than the rest of us. I remember standing on packed snow watching Jimmy Carter get sworn in and the crowd was gigantic. Trump's may have been smaller than most recent ones, but the city still comes to a standstill. His words were so different from anything we've heard before they shocked anyone who's ever watched an inauguration.

As I've already said, it's fun when I can surprise readers. We already know how loyal CJ is and Ozzie's parents found out in the previous chapter. I think CJ's been planning this for a couple of months.

Yep, we have a wedding to plan. You think either one of them will dare wear white? As for when and where and where to live we'll start finding out details next week.

LOL - Next up: The families react and a couple of frivolous events to keep everyone in a good mood.

Thanks, Dugh! That picture I ripped off the internet but I'm planning on either dinner or lunch at Martin's Tavern when I'm in DC in April, I'll take a few more pictures then and share them.

Thank you! I wanted to surprise readers and I think it worked. Some may have been expecting a proposal sooner or later but we know CJ does things on his own timetable. I'm sure you'll be getting a Save-the-Date announcement in the near future. You're one of those who's been with me from the start!

@spikey582 I suspect one the reasons CJ and Ozzie fit well together is the influence of their parents. Neither set's willing to ignore reality by sticking their heads in the sand and I can see how some of that has rubbed off on their kids. Yeah, I'd say Owen's going to be around for the foreseeable future.

I was watching Olympic Games coverage last night, men's half-pipe competition. I rooted for Shaun White and was happy to see him get gold but while Scotty James did his runs, Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi kept going through my mind. Glad he medaled too. Ozzie's definitely made me root for Australia. In the previous response, I reminded everyone I don't do romance. I don't EVER do cliffhangers either.

@Hellsheild Sorry about the tears. Need a tissue? I'm not sure if you've heard but I don't write romance so I was uncertain how readers would react. CJ sort of took over and wrote the section for me. You can blame him for the waterworks.

@tor200534 Glad you liked the chapter, bud. I hope I put a smile on your face this morning.

Yeah, but did you like it? LOL Glad I could surprise you. I knew CJ would bend a knee from the beginning and over time the way he did it came together. When I first mentioned The Proposal Booth a long time ago I thought someone would figure it out and ruin the surprise but I'm happy with how it all worked out.

CJ, Owen, and Ritchie returned to Washington on the first day of 2017 to an empty house. César and Brett had flown to England and spent New Year’s Eve in London with their old friend Rashid Khan and his partner. When planning the trips, the fathers insisted their sons arrive home in time for Ritchie to have a full day settling in before going back to school. The older couple flew home a day after the others did. CJ spent subsequent days relaxing, waiting for the new semester at Georgetown

I'm big on using real settings. But unless I create a location, I want it all to be as accurate as possible. I just took a day trip somewhere last week so I could better describe a placeI'd not visited in over 10 years. I'm doing the same next month and then again the following one. Miami has been featured in many a book. Not so much romance stories as crime and mystery ones. Elmore Leonard, Carl Hiassen, and Edna Buchanan may be the best-known ones. I love to read about the place I grew up in but as with most others commenting, I hate it when authors mess things up and it's clear they were not creating their own spaces. I've had a few Australian readers praise my descriptions of places my characters visit in Oz, but I've also been told my use of Oztrayan isn't always the best.

I'm willing to help you out. I've lived in DC, visited multiple times (will be there in April again) and my long-running series uses Washington as the characters' home base. A couple of readers have told me they've used my story as a guide when visiting the city.

Well written story that leaves the readers with enough questions to want more. Based on another author's work, you can tell there's much about the fictional world waiting to be explored. For some that's sufficient but a few readers like me may feel like something's missing.

I've always wondered why a relationship like the one you described is looked at as wrong. Two adults should be able to do as they wish. I can see the opposition when procreation is involved but in this case anyone opposed to it is just trying to force heterosexual modes onto people different from themselves. Well written. Dialogue sounded somewhat stilted but it could be attributed to the way people speak in your kingdom.