Delayed for the Holidays

Off the Bench Duet

by Kimberly Knight, Rachel Lyn Adams

During a snowy holiday season, Baylor, the goalie for the New York Rangers, and Micah, a Wall Street day trader, cross paths at LaGuardia. As they chat and connect, their flights end up getting canceled. They decide to brave the storm and sparks fly as they share an unforgettable night. Even though they part ways the following day, they stay in contact through text messages and phone calls, but the big question is: Will they reunite to welcome in the new year, or was Mother Nature just helping for one night?

Genres: Contemporary, Hockey, M M Romance, Sports, Romance, Ebooks, Novella

53 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 2023

About the author

Kimberly Knight is a USA Today Bestselling author who lives in the Central Valley of California with her loving husband, who is a great research assistant, and young daughter, who keeps Kimberly on her toes. Kimberly writes in a variety of genres, including romantic suspense, contemporary romance, erotic romance, and paranormal romance. Her books will make you laugh, cry, swoon, and fall in love before she throws you curve balls you never see coming.

When Kimberly isn’t writing, you can find her watching her favorite reality TV shows, including cooking competitions, binge-watching true crime documentaries, and going to San Francisco Giants games. She’s also a two-time desmoid tumor/cancer fighter, which has made her stronger and an inspiration to her fans.

Reviews

[✨Lucy IntheSky☄️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short novella is actually pretty good. 3.5⭐

Comparing this to the Off The Bench duet and the Forbidden series, this novella is definitely better than all of them, so it looks like these authors do better with short stories.

🔵 Story is connected to #Off The Bench duet, read that first
🟣 Nice cover, although Baylor was blonde, but at least this guy's good looking
🟢 Baylor was Coop's teammate and ex
🟡 Sort of insta-love, sweet, funny, sexy, good chemistry
🟠 Likeable main characters
🌶️ Smut is pretty much the same as in all the other books I've mentioned, but with Baylor and Micah there's a bit more chemistry involved, so it's quite good; oral, penetrative; both vers

When I was reading Coop's story, I was thinking to myself Coop had more chemistry with Baylor than Ford, they had little time on-page, but they were good together. Went to the Bahamas. I think they had potential, two hockey players together with a relaxed, cool vibe and hot sex, I mean, yeah, definitely better than Coop and Ford.

Baylor then got traded and now he's in New York and meets Micah in the airport while going back home for Christmas.

They have immediate chemistry and they hook-up, then text and meet up again at a game, where they decide to pursue something more.

It was a too short story, but it somehow worked.
I liked them together.

[Paige · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

Read in Pucking Around holiday anthology

[Allyson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great short story after Hooking the Captin!!! Loved both of these guys and the chemistry was off the charts!!

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
Cute short story!

[Meagan (FranticVampireReads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so much fun! I loved that Micah and Baylor were so smitten with each other from the moment they met. It gave this whole short story a hallmark movie vibe and it was fantastic! This one is getting five stars!

[Brat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute story

[Kindle Addict · Rating 2 out of 5]

It looks like I’m a minority but this was not great. Outside of a supernatural setting (with fated mates where it makes sense) it was the fastest I’ve seen 2 guys go from meeting to kissing (5 minutes) And I need to clarify that they didn’t meet in a club or a place where they were obviously trying to get lucky.
I didn’t feel the connection between them TBH and I don’t think there was enough chemistry for them to go so fast. Everything they do is over the top fast: they meet & kiss immediately, have sex an hour later (very underwhelming sex scenes) then they’re immediately talking about meeting up again once they’re both back in NYC after the holidays,…
We never see their life after new year so no idea how they manage to balance their crazy busy lives…And the few sex scenes we had were just boring.

Not for me 🤷🏼‍♀️

[Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked Baylor and Micah. I read this one after Hooking the Captain, so I wasn't sure what I'd think of Baylor after him being with Coop, but he and Micah were great together! Micah and Baylor had tons of chemistry and I could tell the relationship they were building was a good one. I do wish this one had been a bit longer though. Hopefully Kimberly and Rachel extend this story at some point as I'd love to see more of what happens after dinner!

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delayed for the Holidays is the perfect little snippet to hold us up until Retaking the Shot is released. This short story is a swoony romance between two of the cutest men. Their meeting in an airport over the Christmas break made me sigh and melt with its sweet heat.

I loved both of the main characters and their families. The powerplay that these two characters made for each other's hearts while navigating the holiday season with it family gatherings is one that will live in my memory forever. This story made me smile and giggle.

[Sandra Shipman ~ Two Book Pushers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delayed for the Holidays is a FREE novella you can grab at the end of Hooking the Captain. This is Baylor’s story! It’s a quick, fun, and sexy book about finding your person in an unexpected way. At the airport. Their connection is instant and so much fun! I hope to see them again!

[Candice · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Dani · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was cute. Just a whirlwind love story of a couple of fellas stuck in airport together and then deciding to make it work after.

I liked how low stakes this was.

[Amber Pickerill · Rating 5 out of 5]

The perfect MM hockey holiday romance. I mean who wouldn't want to have a steamy layover with the hockey goalie, Baylor Kingston?
This is a quick novella that is perfect for your own layover.

[Kalexreads · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a sweet and spicy Christmas MM novella. Micah and Baylor had such an adorable meet cute and instant connection. Loved it!

[Shanika Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and sweet!!! Precious pumpkin pie!!! Love, love, loved it!!!!

[readwithMMe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, but sweet.

[Michelle Strachan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute hallmark like story about Baylor and how he met his person. I’m glad Kimberly and Rachel chose to tell his story. I really liked him in the off the bench duet.