JJQuinn

I'm so glad that you're enjoying the story so far. You really ripping through it LOL . That's a good sign. I always attempt to write characters that are as human as possible, so I try to flush them out. Sometimes it's good sometimes it's bad and sometimes it's downright ugly . Real life is messy and that always pretty , but I like to think that I write realistic characters regardless of the fact that they're technically romance novels. I don't like limiting myself so I want readers to really get to know the characters, to feel for them when they're sad or happy, and get annoyed with them when they're dummies lOL. It's going to ebb and flow. Do pay attention to the disclaimers at the top of later chapters. I can't remember off the top of my head which one it is but some of them start to have disclaimers of more difficult topics like the PTSD nightmares and what happens when Sam has one and then just happens to be in the way. The past that it's just going to be up and down through the slow building of their romance as well as Sam coming to terms with the rest of his family. Can't wait to see what you think of as you go along. Take care!

. First because I am a foodie, that pizza sounds delicious and yeah I guess it is weird LOL the pineapple with the ham but it's actually really good. I don't mind the red sauce is the acidity added something to cut the sweetness of the pineapple and even the ham. But I love buffalo chicken pizza well I love all pizza but I can't eat it anymore. But buffalo chicken pizza was awesome and that didn't have red sauce neither the taco pizza or the white pizza that I liked. It just depends on the ingredients Moving on from that though I agree with you. I know that the parents situations and sometimes just the family dynamics that I write can be very triggering for some people. I write what I know and unfortunately a lot of the family Dynamics come straight from my own family . My dad was great for the most part but he tended to cater to my mother and she could be very very difficult. She's still very challenging but I have long since decided that all the things that she has done will be between her and our maker she will have to explain it to god, and all I can do is forgive because as a Christian , yes I know I'm a Christian who writes gay romance novels in addition to Federal romance novels LOL that aside knowing that God expects us to forgive because Jesus gave everything to us and God forgives us for everything that is what I have tried to do with my mother since I lost my dad this January. But her family is horrendous and I have no contact with them so again a lot of what I write in general comes from personal experience or experience with friends and just through life Etc but the family Dynamics are almost always modeled off of either my own family the primary members or the extended, or family members of friends who also have difficult dynamics. And it doesn't always make sense. It's usually ugly not pretty, but you learn to deal with it. And my dad was in a bad dad for wanting to be a good husband and put his wife first , but we suffered because of medicationally . Didn't make my bad person. So as far as Max's mother is concerned she kind of falls into that old world I have to stand by my spouse mentality which is very common among older people honestly. And you'll see next chapter why Max's father is such a prick for lack of a better word. The stoicism is part of it but he also had certain expectations even before Max was born and it just didn't turn out that way so there's a lot of contacts. Not good contacts because he still a creep as far as Max had nothing to do what happened and the reason that the general l resents him in some way. But it's still context. Also from the General's perspective which we won't get tons from but we can kind of see it through salmon away, he's a three-star general. He's seen some stuff he's had to do some stuff to get up that far. You can't get up to those levels without sacrificing a lot. Doesn't make his behavior acceptable. However everybody's just doing the best that they can. And it's just not pretty. But unfortunately I try to as you know, make my characters and situations as realistic as possible and sometimes it's ugly. And I don't like it LOL but I write where it takes me. Also it's should be pointed out from a psychological perspective (Because yes that's what I had studied for and then switched to teaching but I had always wanted to get back into it before i got MS nd now can't but it comes out lol) that a lot of times learn from their parents. Both good and bad. We are not really getting into Max's grandparents . The only one that was mentioned was his Nan and she loved him. But we don't know whose mother she is cuz I haven't stated it and how that influenced whoever was her child. Or how her husband's behavior influenced. My grandmother was very loving towards me. She was my favorite person in the world and I was spoiled and she loved me more than anyone else. But according to my mother she was pretty tough on them. She never raised a hand to me but she smacked them around more than once. So did she soften with age? Regret? I don't know . No one talked about it but we don't always know what happens to make people how they are. It's not justifying their behavior at all. But context does matter. If we know that someone became a serial killer because they had awful parents who were abusive and there was just all sorts of hanky stuff happening in the household come up will that make sense. It does not absolve the person of their crimes or make them a good person in any respect. However you can say that because of the abuse that they suffered they became damaged and then became destructive and hurt other people. It's not always about liking something as much as it is understanding. And like I said sometimes understanding human behavior is ugly and it's not usually something that you see in a romance novel, but even though I have a lot of raunchy scenes LOL I like to think that I write family dramas or comedies or whatever that are not just strict Romance. As far as the good stuff, Roman is going to slowly become the keeper. That's what the whole song was about. It was simply that like harkening back to Tara's chapter and just found heaven Max needs someone who's going to challenge him, love him but also keep him in line so that he doesn't screw himself out of happiness . He has tendency to take everything on and even though outwardly he presents kind of Devil May care that's not always what's going on in his head. Which in the next chapter especially you're going to see a lot of what's going on in his head and why he and Sam didn't work out will make more sense. Of course he in a way strong Sam along and he couldn't commit. That's all been said and it's a reality, but there's always a question why people do things that they do. There's a psychology to humanity and always kind of a why. And you're going to start seeing some of the why. Again it's not that it's Justified but there's contextual reasons. Thanks for still following along. I always appreciate you!

Completely on track. As usual. Because two chapters from Romans perspective in just found heaven this did move along faster than I thought. They already had that connection. Roman saw Max at his most vulnerable and then of course when he walked out on him Max lost his s*** a little bit LOL and flipped on him at the hospital. So there is already that building block and they have mutual friends in common so it's not just two strangers the way Sam and Ben were so this does seem to be moving a little faster. And Roman are very similar in ways that he and Sam differed. And they are both laying claims to each other in subtle ways. Roman is a lot less subtle about it especially in the next chapter LOL he is not playing any kind of games. But you'll see that Max's just hesitant. He loves Sam but it's beginning to become the tea still find himself in love with Sam or does he still love Sam and the idea of what Sam could have been compounded by the guilt that he feels of how he treated Sam and their relationship. There's a lot of nuance here.

🤣😂🤣😂😂 You know if Tara gets involved it's never going to be sweetness and light. She loves Max and you see that he's softens towards him but she needed to put Roman through his Paces before she approved

Muddled how Just because of the weird flavors? Those are actually all pizzas that I have actually had LOL I used to love pizza before I couldn't have it anymore because of my MS dietary restrictions. But I was a pizza connoisseur. I love all pizza and my husband and I used to order specialty pies whenever you want to like really good places and that caramelized pear pie we had in Maine and it was out of this world. Weird but out of this world chicken Basil Pizza was a regular Staple in our house I like Hawaiian pizza and this one place put that hot honey drizzle so that was delicious so yeah they're all like weird pieces that I have actually eaten LOL

Ooooo OK lol

Yes he will,closet to the middle towards the end. He, Sam and Ben will fix it. (shortest response ever I think to you lol but short reply. Let's see what happens next chapter.

I forgot to address this specifically . So this is actually from a song. I did mention it in the chapter but it's a song by Destiny's child. It's really old. Beyonce was featured in it but this was before she started her solo career. The song was titled Soldier. It's a little rough to be honest. Not really my style of music. However there's a sort of play on words because of course Sam was a soldier. He was actually Black Ops in the second half of his career which meant that he did some terrible things things that the military doesn't talk about. Stuff that needs to be done, but haunts The Operators. So he knows how to do difficult things, but his PTSD is a clear sign he doesn't want to anymore. In the song they're using the term Soldier as kind of a tough guy. Idon't want to say criminal but... It's pretty much true. They aren't talking about the good guy, All American soldier types. They mean a semi gangster/somebody who's just rough and tough gets into trouble etc. Roman falls more into that category. Even though he tries to stay out of trouble because of his record, he has less scruples than Sam does when it comes to protecting his people. Because he went to prison, because he lost everything and now has his Misfits to protect, he won't bat an eyelash if he has to hide a body LOL Max is somewhere in between. He doesn't want to hurt people . He is bothered by the fact that he had to kill the would-be bomber in Afghanistan. However, he also has less scruples when it comes to his small circle of friends and family. Like Roman, he would take a bullet for them, or go to prison without hesitation. He would hide the bodies if he had to. So o that's the point of the song as far as how Tara is using it . She's saying that Macneeds someone who is a different kind of tough than Sam was and is. Someone who is more like him (scrappy) who will fight for him, and whom he can fight for.

LOL I would have the same issues with Tara and food lol but Max isn't bothered. Keeping her mouth full keeps her from shrinking him and he's all good with that. The next chapter is a lot more into why Max's so conflicted of his father. They just don't get along but there is a semi reason but not really a good enough reason. He's just a very strict military man. And as a result he doesn't know how to deal well with his only son. His mother loves him and he makes a point of saying that so she tempers most of it but she's also old-fashioned and that she has to kind of Stand by her man. But he's never hurt Max physically . She wouldn't allow that. But the emotional stuff is just as damaging. Max just hides it well to most people. Roman is seeing right through it and next chapter it gets into Roman's past and more of Max's. But Romans made it very obvious what he wants so they're going to go from there. Maybe not love yet, but monogamy is a step in the right direction. Roman and Max had that one night at the hotel which shouldn't have been a big deal, but because max was so drunk and Roman was already intrigued it's sort of escalated things faster so at this point they're picking up on each other's behaviors . They're both very observant, Max because he's a doctor and Roman because he grew up on the streets and then went to prison. Part of the reason that he has cameras everywhere. He knows that there is monsters out there in the night and he tries to stay ahead of it. They are very different than Sam and Ben because they're more realist in some senses. Even though Sam saw horrible things , he pushes it down. Max deals with it head-on 90% of the time. So does Roman. Stay tuned!

Well I would not have known that. You write extremely well so good for you. I'm happy that you can follow along, and now I know that if I need some help should I ever decide to travel down the Italian route for the story, I have someone to ask to make sure I'm accurate😊

It definitely can be in a town where everyone knows your name. Living in a relatively small town means that even when you don't run into everyone in it, gossip does spread and you get Snippets of it here and there. Noah is definitely in love with Luke and although he's strong and tough both mentally and physically, he hasn't quite grown that extra level of Teflon in his spine that he needs to tell Luke how he feels. He will eventually. Mostly because of a kick in his butt from a very exuberant bride to be lol. I hope to be done with this by the end of the year. Let's cross fingers and toes. I was doing well for a while so I started all of these things and now they've had to be put on hold . But I will get there. Thanks so much for following along. I'm happy that you are a new reader and hope that you'll stick with me. 😊

Thank you I'm glad that you enjoyed it!

“A healthy relationship is built on a lot of smiles, and an insane number of orgasms…” -Anonymous ROMAN had ended up ordering two medium pies, and one large. The latter had been for Tara. Both it and the other two, had all been selected from the restaurant’s specialty menu. My admitted lack of culinary variety was due in equal parts to both habit and time constraints, but I was willing to eat most things. I also always tried new foods at least twice to make sure I didn’t like th

LOL Inever thought about their names together . That's hilarious. Of course Max might choke if somebody brings up the idea of a wedding invitation. I do have an idea of how that's going to go. Neither he nor Roman or big wedding people but there will be an end to it at the culmination of the story. Very different from Sam and Ben. But Rings will end up on hands.

Correct, and correct again. There is a background story as you said and we are all shaped by our experiences especially by our family Dynamics. And Max does have his own protective Warrior tendencies in the sense that he has always had Sam's back. Mostly because he had to defend him against whatever trouble Connor got him into. He can throw down with the best of them LOL he just doesn't want to. And just to remind everyone of halos and heroes , and why Max chose to retire.. The fact that he had to shoot a young teenager because he was strapped with a bomb vest and wanted to set it off in the hospital in afghanistan. Max was forced to shoot to kill to diffuse the situation, but it bothers him. He says that he does not have PTSD like Sam and that's true. He isn't haunted the way that Sam is because Sam had to do things that nobody should have to do over and over and over again until he broke. That was on top of an already damaged psyche because of the abuse from his father and watching his mother be beaten and then slowly fade away from the cancer. But Max is very much a family man which readers will see when he interacts with Adeline and Sophia and even aj. He doesn't have siblings and his family is away so he adopts people or rather they adopt him, like Janet at the hospital. Those are all people within his small circle who he would kill for. But he prefers to heal than to hurt. Sam was just better at structure and following orders and disconnecting. It was more of hey okay that's a bad guy then I can do this and shouldn't feel guilt , rather than all the other complications that he had going on in his life emotionally. Max is a little bit better well-rounded because his mother loves him without any hesitation. The colonel just is who he is and so is max. For Better Or worse. The Dynamics will play out.

You're so funny LOL that would be appropriate. I mean he would be the secret love child and he immensely together and that's kind of why the colonel didn't want them together but then it would have to turn out that he's not actually his father but the colonel didn't know that lOL that's how telenovellas go lol but nope it's not that. It's something weird and you'll see. It's real but it's weird and sort of explanation why max wanted to be a doctor but also what he's a little messed up in the head with all this nonsense trauma . I'm trying to edit it now. It's just longer than I thought so I'm trying to get it done . I would have loved to have it up by today but I don't think that's going to happen

Oh my gosh LOL LOL LOL no that is so far off the mark lOL lol. No that would go into some days of our lives, other crazy soap opera things. Ben would probably find a fascinating but no no no no no no no no no no no no no no lOL that is completely off the mark. It's still a Twist but it's not that bad LOL . You know me better than that sir!! LOL

. Again, very perceptive. We'll see more of the Misfits later. They will pop up because Max spends so much time at the club. That's where Roman is, so that's where he will be. And there will be a character introduction later on. Oh ruin it because it doesn't really matter it's not going to be a big secret but Roman's mother got remarried and Roman has a sister. And of course she's much younger, probably a little older than Adeline so that will tie in and she wants to know who her brother is. Roman of course has absolutely no idea about this girl. But club, pretty girl, and Max , and we will see what happens. But Max is in a cheater so at least you don't have to worry about that . But it will be the beginning of an introduction. And the Misfits will of course look after her just what they do with roman. He takes care of his people , but they take care of him too. And we already see that Max does as well.

Mmm you and @Cane23lol... There was a mention of it in the last chapter 7. I don't think it's in chapter 8. It was a brief casual mention in Max's thoughts. I wasn't sure anyone would catch it. He is recalling Sam's decades worth of devotion and he says "closeted devotion ' It's a hint then not everything is always as it seems. To this point we've gotten Sam's perspective, and of course we do know because Sam and Max admit to it that Max pushed so many people between them because he felt he couldn't be what Sam needed. And he and Tara talk about it on the roof. So we all know that. But the fact remains, that Sam never wanted anyone to know he was gay especially in the military. And it's not until later, after he's almost killed that he tells Max that he would be willing to come out for him. And then when Connor goes to visit Max after that, he tells Max the same thing. So of course the theory to everyone including Max is that he's the soul screw up here as to why he and Sam are together. But the fact is that Sam was closeted even in high school and then he entered the military . Max wasn't. Perhaps he would have been willing to try something more permanent with Sam if Sam hadn't been so insistent on hiding their relationship even back then. They are both young and it took them growing up especially Sam almost being killed in that whole scene in the hospital which was in just found heaven for them both to shift their mentality to the more adult, i almost lost something important to me mentality for things to really shift. Of course it didn't work out because Max was afraid, and felt he wasn't good enough for sam, but there's definitely an argument to be made that sam didn't think Max was worth the risk , at least not back then when they were just friends and much younger. Just food for thought. So...... By now you although that I try and write very complicated characters and all humans are complicated. So I try to do that to my characters as pertinent per the character and the situation . Max messed up, but it does take you to tango. Roman on the other hand is not one to hide and definitely not one who is submissive enough to share and he'll make that very clear next chapter LOL

You are very VERY close!!! It's weirder than that and rare but a direct parallel I think ties into the complicated relationship he has with his father and the Trammell boys..... 😸

You are completely right yet again. And Ben may not see eye to eye though they will fix that in this novel and the relationship with Sam will also be fixed, but is the kind of person that then you would keep max out of trouble and out of his hair LOL but there was attraction like you said because tell Sophia and Sam in Halos and heroes that Roman never gets on the dance floor and he did with Max. That's what started them off. Poor Tara LOL she's very Saucy in this one. Next chapter oh boy. She's just Saucy in general which you saw when she first confronted Roman when she brought Max downstairs. She is not a sweet magnolia flower. Very short tongue but all love all the time and she and Max are very protective one another. I didn't think that I could put her story here but I've gotten so many comments asking me to continue it that she will get her own story for sure it'll just be a little shorter maybe I don't know. But that's already being set up with being mentioned.

I completely agree he always does a good job he worries because of the language barrier that he's not on Target but I tell him all the time he's always on target picking up these little things in contacts I'm very appreciative of him and of you.

Oh my goodness I left you a very long response and somehow it disappeared. Lol. Anyway, let's try this again. Thank you so much for your commentary. I always look forward to what you and @Cane23 have to say. You're both very insightful and often your comments feed me percolating thoughts. And sometimes those thoughts end up in other stories or the same story with a shift in thought. So I am very grateful for you taking the time to say your piece. I am feeling okay. I am actually having a lot of issues. You feel free to message me if you want more of it but suffice it to say it's not great but at least I'm moving forward. Yes, the Colonel. Max's father is very tough on him. In the next chapter actually readers will find out why. It is a justification, but not the best justification. And it actually puts a lot of guilt on max. I don't think it's something readers will see coming, but it also explains in a way why his father has a preference for Sam . It has something to do with the dynamic of the family. It was still brutal to do to a child and he's just a very Stern person in general. Career military man so very stoic. And Max grew up with that. However, that does not justify the way that Max treated sam, or the endless sexcapades. There's reason behind it, but the reason doesn't mean that it's right. You'll see that next chapter. LOL it is most certainly not a one night stand lol and Roman will make that very very clear in the next chapter. And Tara will help. There's a lot of snark in the beginning , because Tara is involved but then it will get more serious. There will not be sex for probably the next three chapters at least . Clothes will remain on . They may come off again in chapter 10 or 11 but for the most part we're going to start seeing more of a shift of a romantic dynamic or at least heading towards romance. I am so glad that you and Cane both feel that the relationship is coming along realistically. I always worry about going off into melodramatic places, but I write family dramas for the most part if I'm not writing comedies and family Dynamics can get very complicated and very dramatic so it's appropriate at times. You're very perceptive with misfits. They're going to come off of course later because that's Romans adopted family in a sense. I'm Max only has his mother and his father. That's why Janet at the hospital has adopted him and of course Sam and Sophia and he has a very limited Circle so allowing Roman and means expanding that circle with the Misfits and he's a misfit in and of himself. It's going to take quite the twist next chapter so definitely stay tuned. Thank you so much for following along! 🧡

Oh the snark is like the song that never ends. LOL it will be unending and in the beginning of the next chapter it's all snark because Tara is involved so of course it's going to be all snark but then it will get serious a little angsty because Max is who Max is and nothing terrible. Clothes on!

You are absolutely correct. He is a manhole with a mission LOL there is a subtle shift in the next chapter. On Roman side not Max's as much. He's getting there used to be idea, dipping a toe in. Readers are ready no we're Roman stands as far as being a little software Max is concerns because of his chapter and just found heaven. It was the last two chapters for anyone who hasn't read it. That was from Roman's perspective. So he's also in a spot where he's more prepared for a romantic relationship if it goes that way. Max is still on the fence. The attraction is there and there are enough parallels be between Roman and Sam that it's a draw, but the difference is which also what attract him to Roman are the scary part. It's like when you have your first crush and you really really like someone and you don't want to go out with them because you like them so much LOL and you're afraid to mess it up. But he'll get there. As I said there's going to be a shift in the next one readers will see more of how Roman is unflappable in many ways at least in regards to romance and business and his people. However.. He has a weak spot as well. That will happen a lot later as far as completely forming in the story he mentioned it before that his mother cut him out of her life completely. So he doesn't know anything about her now or if she's married, has a family or single etc. So that's his Achilles heel and max, well bad at romance, is very good at protective family instincts. That will show up in a couple of chapters. It was supposed to happen later but the way the chapters are kind of being reconfigured as I edit in some get longer some get shorter, it's going to happen a little bit sooner so readers will see how Max is when it comes to dealing with anyone who hurts the people he considers his family. Thanks for reading. Hope you continue to enjoy it . Next few chapters though their clothes will be on everybody LOL so we get a reprieve for a while