Hayden Owens is just a typical graduate student working his way through school as a barista for the Owens Coffee Company -- no relation. But he keeps the "no relation" part to himself when he meets dashing, older Neal Kirchner, a successful architect from an old-money family. Hayden doesn't exactly lie, but he figures it can't hurt for Neal to believe he's a rich kid. After all, Hayden doesn't want Neal thinking he's a gold digger.<br><br>Neal Kirchner is Asian Indian and British decent. His parents became Christians, shoving their heritage to the side. Neal has returned to the customs and religion his grandmother cherished. On top of being a very successful architect he's heir to the Indian Rose Tea Company, a business that's been in his family for generations.<br><br>Neal's passion is high performance cars and he meets Hayden at a fundraiser for the automotive engineering department of Clemson University. They are immediately smitten with each other. The closer they become, the harder it gets for Hayden to come clean. Something always seems to get in the way. When a company bankruptcy and a jilted, vindictive woman threaten to expose his charade, Hayden thinks it's all gone down the drain. Luckily Neal is ready with some innocent trickery of his own, but will their relationship survive?

High Test

“The same theory as pulling a Band-Aid off fast so it won’t hurt?” Hayden chuckled. He was trying to stay cool on the outside, but on the inside he was alternating between panic and mentally jumping for joy.


“Is there more?” Hayden’s panic ramped higher. Maybe Maeve’s words had more of an impact than Hayden thought. If that was the case, though, why would Neal invite Hayden to meet all the people he considered important either professionally or personally? Hayden’s internal scared rabbit climbed back into its hidey-hole and stopped bothering him.


“Well, it’ll be a late night, and we might want to have a drink or two.”


“Agreed,” Hayden said. He grinned broadly and nodded, having an idea where Neal was going


“I took the liberty of reserving a room for you. I couldn’t get one adjoining my usual suite. I could always take the couch if you’d rather not have your own room. But if—”


Chapter 28