Student of letters, Micah Yardley wants one thing: to meet the poet Jefferson Dering. After hearing his idol speak at Harvard, Micah travels to Jefferson’s home in nearby Wroxham, entertaining visions of discussing poetry over dinner and drinks. What he experiences exceeds anything he ever anticipated.<br><br>Jefferson finds Micah mesmerizing and passionate, everything he has ever wanted. But after getting caught in a compromising position with another young man a decade earlier, he exiled himself from Boston and from affairs of the heart. Jefferson represses his longing for Micah, but his tumultuous emotions cannot be contained.<br><br>Micah denies the truth of his desire for Jefferson. Jefferson refuses to act on his passion for Micah. But all it takes is a single kiss in Wroxham's haunted church to change the course of their lives ... and ignite the flame that could fulfill a generations-old promise.

A Hidden Beauty

“I don’t want you to be angry with me,” he finally managed. “But I don’t understand what it is I’ve done.”


“You come here without warning and you flatter me. You look at me like I am literally the answer to all your questions. You touch me…” He reached up with his free hand and brushed his knuckles across Micah’s face. “You might not understand what drives you to me again and again, but I do. You show me everything I could possibly desire and remind me I could never have it in this lifetime.”


He couldn’t look away. When it came to the force of Jefferson’s gaze, he could never look away.


“I can’t believe there is nothing you can’t have if you truly desire it.”


“Do you want me to show you what I truly desire, Micah?”


“I want you to be honest with me. I loathe seeing you in this distress.”


Chapter 26