NEW RELEASE: “Save the Date” by Sophie Soames
NEW RELEASE
Book Title: Save The Date
Author/Publisher/Cover Artist: Sophia Soames
Release Date: May 1 2026
Tense/POV: first person/alternating POV
Genres: Contemporary MM Romance
Tropes: Bi awakening, age gap, forced proximity, only one bed, hurt-comfort, single Dad
Themes: TV Married at first sight style show
Heat Rating: 4 flames
Length: 100k words/350 pages
It is a standalone story and does not end on a cliffhanger.
Buy Links – Available in Kindle Unlimited
Blurb
Peter Felton
If there was a meme for being a total cliché?
That would be me.
It wouldn’t even need a description, just a pathetic snapshot of me in my threadbare pyjamas standing at my filthy kitchen table staring into the wall like a loser.
Because that is exactly who I am. The middle-aged widower caught up in his very own hell of a midlife crisis. The guy who isn’t over his dead wife. The single dad. Pathetic, Peter. Utterly pathetic.
The guy who thought… I don’t know what I’d been thinking. Because if someone had told me that at forty-five, I’d willingly go on a reality TV dating show?
Yeah. You get the picture. The memes were brutal. Every single one of them was bouncing around the internet like a contagious super-virus. The internet was forever. And so was love.
It’s not who I am, this… this joke of a man I’ve become. It never was, and now? Now I’m standing here wondering how I will ever leave the house again.
Oliver Jacobs
When I was a kid, I thought I was invincible. Turns out… sometimes I was. Sometimes my confidence took me places, and anyway. When you fall? You get up. Make a plan, organize your options and run with the obvious solution. I was good like that.
But I hadn’t counted on… this one plan going so very very wrong. So terribly awfully wrong.
Because my requests had been simple and easy. Youngish, around my age. No facial hair. Nice. No kids, no baggage.
Also gay.
And then? They’d gifted me… Peter Fenton. Everything I hadn’t asked for. And now he is all I want.
So… should I… Save the date? Or just swallow down the fact that Oliver Jacobs… is about to make the biggest mistake of his life.
Save the Date is a standalone novel set in the Square Mile Rogues universe.
Content warnings for having lost your partner, violent grief and finding out that love… really matters.
Excerpt
“Oh god,” he groaned, rolling over on the bed where he’d simply thrown himself down on top of the covers. To be honest? I wanted to do the same, tea and all. But thankfully he sat himself back up and received the teacup from my outstretched hands.
“The cups are from Darcie Blush. Gorgeous design.”
“You have to stop with the product promotions. You’re making me look bad!”
“I’m saving your arse here, Peter. Now, Anne. What do we think?”
“She’s with Jorge, and he says she’s pleasant enough, but she’s a good two feet taller than him and he’s as intimidated as anything. His words.”
“Oh. Good gossip. I didn’t think you had it in you.”
“It’s all gossip.” The groans coming from him, as sipped the tea, were almost hilarious. But I got it. We were both wrung out and I did… surprisingly… make a good cup of tea.
“And it will all be public gossip. ”I agreed. “Did you read the call sheet? The first episode will air in two weeks. Two! They don’t hang around here, the editing team is working 24/7, so no wonder they’re all shouting at us to say the right things.”
“Instead we’re all gossiping and name-dropping.” He rolled his shoulders, again loudly sipping his tea. “And drinking tea like two little grannies.”
“Granddads.” I laughed. “Well, you’re the Granddad.”
“Which makes you what? What was it you called yourself? A hot twink?”
I liked that he was so easy to get on with. Just simple conversation and ready smiles. He had no idea how much I had needed just this. Something un-complicated. Straightforward.
“I thought you were straight, Peter.”
“Labels are for jam, at least that’s what Wren was saying. But I am starting to question everything. Is every single couple on this show awfully mismatched or what?”
“I think that’s the whole point of the show. One of the production team was talking to someone else, Gina was talking to Jorge I think, I was waiting to film with her so I kind of eavesdropped, that when the first episode goes live, the voting will start. The viewing public will matchmake and then on the Friday, we will all get recoupled. I am assuming that’s why. Someone in here is the perfect match for us, but we don’t know who yet. And I suppose…”
“So… I will be moving in with someone else?”
“What do I know?”
“Oh.” He looked genuinely shocked. “It’s only been a day, but I like being… with you.” He suddenly looked embarrassed, his cheeks blushing under an awkward smile. “I don’t mean like that. You know. I was just settling into that fact, and now…this?”
“I’m trying to figure out who was meant for who. I mean, you have options. We have Diane, who fancies you, and Anne who kept trying to talk to you. Then there was Xanthe.”
“Xanthe is trans. And only interested in men her age. I’m too old.”
“Well, who’s prejudiced now?”
“I’m not, I had a quick chat with her, her teeth are fantastic. Done locally, and I know her dentist. I’m just being sensible here. I can’t see anyone else being an option for me, but Xanthe? No. She’s as confused as we are as to why she’s with… Gerald.”
“Chloe-Catherine doesn’t seem confused?” I was just kidding, and his eyeroll made me laugh.
“Thank you, but no. I have no intention of becoming Chloe-Catherine’s sugar-daddy.” He said quietly, staring me down. I’d noticed that earlier, he could be a little intense at times. I didn’t think I minded.
“What even is that?” Tea. I rarely drank tea, but I think I liked it. Calming. I needed to be calm. Don’t panic. “The double-barrelled thing. She’s obsessed.”
“A brand…” he rolled his eyes. I think I liked him. Funny. Normal.
“No I meant, thank you. To you.”
“I’ve done nothing. Just tea.”
“For doing this with me. You could have walked out.”
Strangely, I smiled. A warmth filling in my chest. I was rarely… appreciated. And this somehow felt just like that.
“Not giving up yet.” I gulped out, trying to swallow another mouthful of hot liquid. ”But, at least you have options. There’s only Bi-sexual-Ben left for me, and he scares me. And to be honest? I don’t think I’m his type at all.”
“What makes you say that?”
“He gave off those vibes. I mean, you meet people, and you kind of know. Straight away, virtual thorns out, all prickly.”
“Like me.”
“Just like you”. I smiled. I wasn’t being rude, but he got that. Got me. The relief was like another welcome balm to my soul.
“Tell me about that.” He continued, getting comfortable on the bed. “These sheets are from Donna Truham’s private luxury range. Did you know that, Oliver?”
“I did not know that, Peter. And are they available to purchase from her website?”
He was holding that laughter in, as I smiled at the camera attached to the wall.
“They are indeed, Oliver. Donna Truham dot com. Use the code Save the date for your exclusive ten percent off!”
“That is such a good deal!” I squealed. Then I rolled my eyes. “That’s enough of that stuff. Tell me about your work.”
“Nahahahah… I asked first. Tell me about this instant vibe. In my days, we used to go out and meet girls. You had to compliment them on their hair, their dress, and how nice they smelled. Then you had to ask them to dance. It was really simple because they could just say no and then you knew and moved on. Dignity intact. These days?”
“It’s not that complicated. You meet someone. Stare at them. They stare back. If they hold eye contact, you might, you know? Clink glasses. Have a little snog.”
“I wouldn’t dare.”
“Well, you have to kind of… be in a gay club if you wanna kiss boys. So I have no idea how it works for women…”
“You’ve never been with a woman I assume?”
“Absolutely not. I’m a gold star gay me.”
“Fair enough. Wait… Gold star?”
“A gay guy who’s never been with a woman. Never been inside a vagina.”
“Okay?”
“Not a Platinum star gay though sadly. That’s a…“ I leaned over and whispered into his ear. “A platinum star gay is a gay guy who’s never been inside a vagina at all. C-section baby.”
I pulled back slowly for effect, laughing out loud as his face bloomed red.
“I’ve never met someone who blushes as much as you.”
“I’m a sheltered middle aged dentist, mate!” He shrieked, but he was laughing. Good for him.
“I think you just made yourself another meme there.” I declared, boldly throwing my arms out.
“Well. I’m ticking them off one by one. Here’s the next one. What if you’re just an ordinary bloke who suddenly has a male partner? What are you then? A brick gay or something?”
“I don’t think that’s a thing.” I smiled.
“It’s just human, isn’t it. We like who we like.” Peter was a nice guy. I had to admit it.
“It’s just who we are, isn’t it? I just always knew. Never hid it. Life can be stupid that way, I mean, what’s the point of hiding what you are? What you’re into?”
“Very true. And I mean, my darling wife was a staunch defender of everyone’s right to love whomever they wanted to love. She… sorry. I shouldn’t talk about my wife.”
“You should. Because she is still important to you?”
“She is. Her name was Mary.”
“Mary. And how did you meet Mary?”
I had no idea where the questions were coming from, but now I was lying down on the bed next to him, still fiddling with my empty cup, listening to stories from his university days, and laughing at his… plain naivety with all of this.
“I like that you don’t care.” Came out of my mouth in the middle of some rant about the pitfalls of fame. Because apparently he’d been… some kind of celebrity. And he was honestly as far away from what I assumed a celebrity would be. He was… ”You’re like the most normal person I’ve ever met.”
“Careful, you’ll end up a meme on the interweb too.” he grinned.
“Nah, no more space on that internet, you’ve already taken them all. I mean, I want to meet someone, but they have to accept that I’m still a married man.”
“Yeah. Probably not the greatest catchphrase.” He admitted.
About the Author
Sophia Soames should be old enough to know better but has barely grown up. She has been known to fangirl over TV shows, has fallen in and out of love with more popstars than she dares to remember, and has a ridiculously high-flying (un-) glamourous real-life job.
Her long-suffering husband just laughs at her antics. Their children are feral. The dogs are too.
She lives in a creaky old house in rural London, although her heart is still in her native Scandinavia.
Discovering that the stories in her head make sense when written down has been part of the most hilarious midlife crisis ever, and she hopes it may long continue.
Author Links
https://linktr.ee/sophiasoames
