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

As she passes by, one tiny foot strikes my shoe but I pull my leg in quickly—I don’t want her mad at me. I glance at Dan, who’s watching Ray with guarded eyes, a closed expression on his face, and I wonder what’s on my lover’s mind. Does he feel sorry for my brother? Maybe he wishes we sat with my dad instead? Nudging him with my elbow, I whisper, “Dan?”


The response is instantaneous. His gaze shifts to me, a smile already pulling at his lips, his eyes lit up like a holiday. Leaning closer, he presses his knee into my hip and raises an eyebrow, and for a moment I think he’s going to say something low and sexy that my brother won’t hear, but instead his gaze flicks past me. “We didn’t sit here just to bother you, Ray,” he says.


Chapter 149