Jason Townsend has issues with the older men in his life. His current boyfriend Jared is also his boss and, while the two get along wonderfully in the bedroom, their relationship at the office is tense and uncomfortable. Jason’s relationship with his father is also strained -- they grew apart when Jason came out shortly after his parents divorced. The only person Jason has ever been able to rely on is his mother. So when she announces she’s met Mr. Right, Jason is skeptical. When he meets her new boyfriend, handsome professor Paul Everett, he quickly realizes he and Paul have more in common than their connection to his mother. The two men had slept together the previous summer. Paul refuses to break things off with Jill, claiming he enjoys being with women and telling Jason their hook-up was a one-time thing that didn’t mean much to him. Unwilling to tell his mother about his past with Paul, Jason stews in silence as he watches his mother and Paul grow closer. At the same time, he finds himself becoming more and more attracted to Paul. When he can’t stand it any longer, Jason makes a pass at his mother’s boyfriend and is surprised his affections aren’t spurned. Even though Jason finds himself falling in love with Paul, he knows he’s betraying his mother and he hates himself for it. She’s always been his staunchest ally, and sleeping with her boyfriend abuses the trust between them. Can Jason love a man who’s also deceiving his mother? When he’s forced to choose between Paul and his mother, the decision isn’t as easy as it seems.

Daddy Issues

“Of course I knew,” she said. “A blind man could see you two were involved.”


Her answer surprised me although, I guess, it shouldn’t have. “How did you know?” I asked her. “We tried really hard to keep everything under wraps.”


“There was just something about the way you two looked at each other. I can’t explain it.”


So, in spite of Jared’s and my efforts to keep our personal relationship out of the office, our eyes had given us away in the end. Interesting. Thank God my mother hadn’t been as perceptive when she watched me and Paul together.


“Is Jared joining the family for dinner on Christmas?” Carmen asked as we made our way to Nordstrom.


“Yes. I’m spending Christmas Eve with him and his family in Delaware, and he’s coming with me to dinner at Grandma and Grandpa’s house on Christmas Day.”


Chapter 51