Welcome to the Orderly Affair blog tour with author DJ Jamison! Orderly Affair is the sixth book in the Hearts & Health series, and DJ’s dropped by today to chat about the series’ couples and share an excerpt too, so enjoy and be sure to check out the giveaway details at the end!

The Couples of Hearts and Health

I’m excited to be here celebrating the release of ORDERLY AFFAIR, my sixth and most likely final book in the Hearts and Health series. (Never say never, but I have no plans to continue the series at this point.)

Readers are often curious to know how much crossover exists in a series, how important it is to be read in order, or whether the books work as standalones. (Mostly, they do. More on that later.) So, here’s a look at the couples of Hearts and Health, how they know each other, and how much crossover exists between them.

HEART TROUBLE: Ben and Gage. This first book is a spin-off from the Ashe Sentinel Connections series, where Ben appears as a secondary character (a jilted fuck buddy). Ben needed to restore his trust in men and love — and that’s largely what Heart Trouble touches on when Ben meets his perfect match in Gage, a man tenacious enough to prove to Ben that he’s loveable over the long-term. There’s not much crossover from Ashe Sentinel Connections, so this book stands well on its own.

BEDSIDE MANNER: Paul and Zane. These two first show up in Heart Trouble. Readers get a bit of the story of Zane’s difficult coming out and the trauma that sends him to the ER. Dr. Paul Johnston, an ER physician, also appears in Book 1, coming off poorly in his attempt to hit on Ben. In Bedside Manner, he gets his redemption story. One look at Zane’s dark, somber eyes, and he can’t walk away despite it being the wrong time to fall in love. It’s really best to have read Heart Trouble before this book, though I think there’s enough context to follow along.

URGENT CARE: Trent and Xavier. Xavier is a roommate to Zane in Bedside Manner, so you get some background on him there, but his story stands alone fairly well. In Urgent Care, Dr. Trent Cavendish returns to his hometown to make amends with the love of his life and build a life outside the OR. But instead of finding his tame ex-boyfriend, he stumbles upon a sexy man in bits of silk and lace at a gay club — and his need for forgiveness quickly shifts to lust and then love. Xavier is wary of the new Trent Cavendish, so it’ll take some work for these two to get their HEA!

ROOM FOR RECOVERY: Wade and Beau. The story from these two was the result of readers planting a plot bunny. Beau is Xavier’s nephew, and Wade is the son of Trent’s family friend. These two quasi-cousins don’t hit it off initially. Wade is keeping a secret that’s poisoning him inside, and until he can face it, he can’t accept himself or his love for anyone else. When Beau is threatened by bullies, though, Wade can’t keep his distance. The two forge a friendship, and soon enough, Beau is finding a way past Wade’s walls to the heart he keeps so well-hidden. This is a YA/NA book, with younger characters (eighteen and nineteen). This works on its own, but Urgent Care will give you more background on the characters.

SURPRISE DELIVERY: Eric and Casper. Medical director Eric Holtz appears in Bedside Manner and Urgent Care as a work colleague. In Surprise Delivery, the divorced workaholic gets his own romance. When Eric’s niece shows up, pregnant and ready to raise her baby without her parents’ help, Eric has family again. Her ob-gyn, Dr. Casper Rollins, is ready to help Eric break those nasty work habits as he prepares for this massive life change. But Eric discovers that Casper isn’t the light-hearted adrenaline junkie he appears to be. Reluctant to give his heart after the death of his past love, Casper needs his own lesson in living life to the fullest, and Eric is there to provide it. This one stands very well on its own.

ORDERLY AFFAIR: Ian and Callum. This is the book out now! Ian, a hospital orderly, appears briefly in Bedside Manner, but it’s his appearance in Surprise Delivery — when he inadvertently walks in on some hot man-on-man action — that serves as the catalyst for his sexual journey. Ian, divorced and the father of a teen, has long suppressed his bisexual side, but his curiosity drives him to install an app and hook up with a nearby user. Geeky lab tech Callum Price happens to be in the building and is all too happy to help Ian explore his sexuality. This is a hookups to lovers story, layered with the obstacles that come with family obligations and expectations. But rest assured, these two men will get their HEA!

The Excerpt

“Should I walk away from this?” Callum asked, his voice shaking. “Maybe it would be easier for you to go back to dating women. Someone you could introduce to your family—”

Ian kissed him gently, silencing his words.

“I don’t want anyone else,” Ian whispered against Callum’s lips before kissing him again. “I want you, Calico. Just you.”

Callum was powerless to withstand Ian’s kisses. He wound his arms around Ian’s neck and pressed himself against him, his softer body molding to the mountains of muscle under Ian’s clothes. Their kisses grew heated, desperate. Callum felt like everything they’d built up between them was on the brink of collapse. He’d pushed too hard too fast, giving Ian only weeks to come to terms with his sexuality, but he was so damned scared this man was going to break his heart.

Ian broke away to peel off his T-shirt, then pushed up Callum’s shirt, too, guiding it over his head.

“We should talk,” Callum said nervously. Talking might very well be the end of everything he wanted, but he couldn’t live in a state of denial anymore.

Ian nuzzled Callum’s neck while circling a fingertip around one nipple. “Okay, we can talk.”

Callum tried to focus his mind, even as his skin cried out for more touching. His cock throbbed in his pants, stealing most of the blood needed for higher brain function.

“If you’re never going to be serious about me …”

He trailed off, unable to utter the words that needed to be said. We should walk away now.

Ian lowered himself to his knees and circled his tongue around Callum’s belly button, making him quiver. It tickled but was highly erotic too. When Ian dipped his tongue into his navel, Callum groaned as if he was licking a far more intimate place.

“Ian, stop,” he protested.

Ian lifted his head, eyes blazing up at Callum. “I am serious about you.”

Callum’s lips parted. He was speechless, though lots of thoughts floated through his mind. He had protests and arguments, but the words wouldn’t come under the intensity of Ian’s gaze. He licked his lips, searched for the question that needed to be asked.

“Will you ever come out?”

“Yes,” Ian said emphatically.

“When?”

Ian faltered and looked down, dark lashes brushing strong cheekbones. He bowed his head, resting his forehead against Callum’s abdomen. “Soon,” he said hoarsely.

Callum combed his fingers through Ian’s hair, taking comfort. He knew he couldn’t rely on soon. Soon might never happen. Soon, in Ian’s mind, might be a year or five years from now, while Callum ached for it to be next week.

Soon was no kind of assurance, but it was what he had. He wasn’t ready to let Ian go.

“Okay.”

Ian looked up, his eyes shimmering with emotion. “Okay?”

“Soon,” Callum said with a nod.

Ian surged to his feet and kissed Callum hard. “Do you know how much I love you?”

Callum stared at him, wide-eyed. He didn’t know that Ian loved him at all. He’d never said it before. He wasn’t sure how much he should believe him now. It was one thing to say it in the heat of the moment, but when his family was around, he showed where his allegiance laid.

“Do you love me, Calico?” he prodded when Callum didn’t speak. “Because I love you.”

“I can’t,” Callum whispered. “Not like this.”

Ian seemed to know what he meant. His eyes turned sad. “I need you. Do you need me too? Can you tell me that much?”

“Ye—” Callum’s voice broke, and he had to try again. “Yeah, Ian. I need you.”

About the Book

Universal Buy Link

Length: 75,000 words approx.

Hearts & Health Series: Volume 1 (incorporating books 1-3) || Room For Recovery (Book #4) || Surprise Delivery (Book #5)

Blurb: A hospital orderly explores his bisexuality with an adorably geeky lab tech, but can their sparks lead to love outside the closet?

When Ian Connolly installs a hookup app to explore his long-suppressed attraction to men, he doesn’t expect to connect with anyone he knows, especially not lab tech Callum Price. But from their first scorching encounter, he’s hooked.

Callum hasn’t had the best luck with love, and he’s suffocating under a pile of responsibilities. But when he sees an opportunity to blow off steam with Ian, he takes it. The man is smoking hot, big all over, and sweet as pie.

Their chemistry is off the charts, but a relationship is more challenging. Callum remains stubbornly self-reliant, while Ian tries too hard to be his rock. But if Ian can be honest with his family about loving a man, maybe Callum can admit his own truth: He wants a man he can count on, a man just like Ian.

About the Author

DJ Jamison is a contemporary M/M romance author with more than a dozen titles to her name. She writes a variety of queer characters, from gay to bisexual to asexual, with a focus on telling love stories that are more about common ground than lust at first sight. She grew up the literal embodiment of a red-headed stepchild in a working-class family in Kansas. Determined to build a successful career, she earned a degree in journalism and worked in newsrooms for more than ten years before pursuing her dream to write fiction. DJ is married with two sons, two glow-in-the-dark fish, and regrettably, one snake.