An accidental meeting and a misunderstanding lead to a life-altering connection.
A new job, a new city, and hopefully a new life. When chubby gamer Oliver Barnaby receives a job offer from the best boutique game developer in the country, he leaves his family and his less than spectacular existence in Oklahoma without a second’s hesitation. Determined to change more than his career and his geography, Oliver implements a plan to finally land a boyfriend. Step one is improving his skills in the bedroom.
A life that looks perfect on paper, but feels empty in reality. Attractive, successful, charismatic Jaime Snow has a life other people envy. His already booming business is growing. He isn’t lacking in friends. And he has no trouble finding a date. But there’s an emptiness in Jaime’s heart and a hole in his life that only the right man can fill.
An accidental meeting, a misunderstanding, and falling in love. When Oliver and Jaime end up at the same bar at the same time, they each see something they want in the other. Going to bed together that first night is easy. Building the lifetime relationship they both desperately crave will require trust, time, and a little misunderstanding.
Word count: 55,872
Chapter 1
He had chosen the bar because of its name: The Bookstore. It was clever and unusual and he had laughed internally at how happy his mother would be if he told her he was spending time at the Bookstore instead of in front of his computer. Oliver’s entire life, she had mourned the fact he wasn’t a reader, and even though he had now moved two thousand miles away from their home in Oklahoma City, she still sent him books she was sure he’d love. Maybe someday he’d open one of them.
For now, he glanced down at the only book he had read countless times and adjusted it at the edge of his table to make the spine as visible as possible. The title—Coding—wasn’t as clever as the bar name, but the information and the way it was phrased had clicked perfectly in Oliver’s…
I had so much fun reading this almost zero-angst, fluff-filled, fairy tale-like story that I am still smiling when I think of it....The HEA was glorious, and left me smiling wide.
I fell in love with both of these men. Jaime never once made Oliver feel inferior. He was an amazing man and brought Oliver out of his shell. Jaime was tender and passionate. He gave Oliver everything he craved. Watching then fall in love made my heart melt.
Jaymie: From the stories of friendships that develop into love to enemies who find they fit perfectly with one another, destined mates and second chance love, I always feel good after reading one of Cardeno C's books....f you want to read a story with just a tad bit of angst and a whole lot of sweet, great down to earth characters, romance and fun, Not A Game is a great choice. Heather: I seriously loved this book, I would bet I had a smile through most of this book. ...his is a book that I will reread. It's sweet, loving, funny and made my heart sigh.
For me, the characters-especially the main characters-are the driving factor in determining if I like a story or not. That's one of the reasons I keep coming back to Cardeno C.'s books...I know I'm going to get wonderful characters who are complex and deep, and with distinct personalities. I'm also going to get characters that are easy to relate to, and that is clearly illustrated here in Not A Game.