When Michael Knapp brings his lover Dan Biggs home to meet his parents, he doesn't expect things to go smoothly. His mother's been trying to marry him off for years, and sometimes he isn't even sure his father knows he exists. He has always felt like the shadow son, competing with his terminally stupid older brother and smart-mouthed little sister for his parents' attention. Coming out to them over dinner seemed like the perfect opportunity to finally get noticed.<br><br>But an unexpected phone call interrupts his announcement -- Aunt Evie, the family matriarch, is dead. With Dan in tow, Michael follows his family to Sugar Creek, where he spent his summers growing up, to prepare for the funeral.<br><br>Amid an overabundance of memories and relatives, Michael's world begins to slip. His dysfunctional family, Evie's death, and an old friend's confession all threaten to smother him. Worse, in his grief and confusion he seems determined to inadvertently push everyone away, including his lover. Can he and Dan move beyond his family and his past to a new life together, before Michael's insecurities tear them apart?

It's All Relative

I wake to a soft kiss. The car is parked and the radio off, and Dan brushes his fingers along my cheek as he kisses me again. “Michael,” he sighs. I try to crawl closer to his voice but I’m still strapped in my seat.


A third kiss, my name again, his hand smoothed across my brow, and I open my eyes. Taking a deep breath, I don’t bother to look around—this close, his eyes are amazing, dark as the ocean before a storm. I can see light hairs curve around his jaw, and the next time his heart-shaped lips touch mine, I don’t close my eyes. He doesn’t, either, and we part in breathy giggles. His hand is on the back of my neck now. “Where’s Cat?” I ask. If he’s kissing me so unabashedly, I know we have to be alone.


Chapter 31