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

That evening the hotel was hosting a party for all the employees graduating from their respective schools. It was a simple affair and one Hayden was told had become a tradition among the hotel management. Hayden’s family would arrive and be settled in just in time for the buffet to begin.


Hayden paced back and forth by the hotel’s front door, waiting on the van transporting his family from the airport. Neal had taken up a position in one of the deep well-cushioned chairs in the lobby and was reading on his phone. Hayden had long since learned Neal would read the news on his phone any chance he got. Neal looked cool as a cucumber in the face of meeting the mob that was Hayden’s family. Hayden, in the meantime, felt as if he were the one meeting his boyfriend’s family for the first time. Then he was reminded how well his first encounter with Neal’s parents had gone, and his nerves skittered even higher.


Chapter 59