It only takes a few days for Ollie D'Angelo to lose his boyfriend, his job, and his home. Instead of mourning what he doesn't have, Ollie celebrates what he does: the freedom to pursue his real passion -- cooking. He begins Dinner at Home, a home-catering business, and it takes off.<br><br>Late one night, Ollie catches Hank Mellinger, a streetwise hood down on his luck, about to rob his car. Ollie soon discovers that appearances aren't necessarily what they seem. Hank isn't a criminal caught red-handed, but a hungry young man trying to make a life for himself and the four-year-old niece he's trying desperately to take care of.<br><br>Instead of calling the cops, Ollie offers Hank a job and a way to pull himself up by his bootstraps. Together, they discover they can really cook ... and that their shared passion for food just might lead to a passion for each other.

Dinner at Home

How did people do it? How did they get by, managing not anything fancy, but just keeping their heads above water and getting the basics? It was a mystery Hank didn’t know how to solve. The pressure of figuring it out was always with him, causing him to want to retreat back into the demons of drugs and sex-as-commerce that had almost ruined him. All it took, though, to banish those thoughts was one look at the innocent face of Addison, who relied on him and had no idea what her uncle’s history included. That trust and faith about broke his heart, but it also ensured he stay responsible.


Was what he was doing tonight responsible? Yeah, right. He laughed bitterly.


Chapter 28