Keir Moreau, a middle school teacher living a solitary life, is excited to welcome a handsome new neighbor. But after their first meeting goes alarmingly wrong, Keir decides it's safer to keep his distance. Besides, he has to focus all his attention on finding help for a student who is being forced into conversion therapy.<br><br>Riley Quinn used to be an award-winning photojournalist, roaming the world and exposing corruption. An injury put an end to all that. Now he's frustrated with his new aimless life, wondering if he'll ever do anything again that really matters. When he first meets Keir, a case of mistaken identity leads him to mistreat his intriguing new neighbor. Riley tries again and again to redeem himself, but everything he does seems to push Keir farther away.<br><br>Keir, obsessing about his failure to help his student and fighting his stubborn attraction to Riley, takes a reckless gamble that goes dreadfully wrong. Or does it? Can an act of desperation open the door to romance?

The Chartreuse Door

He settled into the huge recliner and raised the footstool. Mentally crossing his fingers, he unzipped the cooler.


Oh, God! Tandoori chicken and saffron rice. Even cold, the aroma of ginger and garlic and char-grilled meat engulfed him. He dove into it. Moaning with delight, he scooped up the rice with his fingers, savoring each grain of the perfectly spiced dish. He finished minutes later with the dessert of escalloped Fuji apples rich with cloves and cinnamon. He sighed in satisfaction, belched, and relaxed in the chair. Best meal he’d had in years. Maybe ever. And it hadn’t come from any restaurant. It was home-cooked for sure. The new neighbor was a man Riley just had to get to know.


Chapter 7