Recent graduate Dr. Fenton Miller takes December off to decide which job offer to accept. Then he meets his landlord, sous chef John Barton. Suddenly, thinking about his career becomes his last priority. A better option might be a month-long roll between the sheets with John. While John is attracted to Fen and might even agree to his plan, John has got more pressing matters to worry about. His past has arrived in tiny Stone Acres from San Francisco and is intent on sucking him back into a life he hated. Promising to help John and shelter him if necessary, Fen finds he's also being threatened by a homophobic father who doesn't find Fen as entertaining as his kids do. As they wade through their problems during the happiest time of the year, Fen and John rely more and more on each other for happiness.

Short Order

“Over a year ago, Adam asked me if I wanted to take charge of the kitchen sometimes so that he and David could go on trips. I said yes.” His frown told me this wasn’t going to be a happy story. “I was excited, you know? I’d get a chance to try out some of the plates I thought customers would like. I was prepared for the fact that I wouldn’t pull in the numbers Adam did, but that was fine with me. I mean, I thought maybe word of mouth would help me build a following.” He laughed humorlessly. “I even thought some of the customers might think my cooking was better than Adam’s, especially considering how many nights he’s just dialing it in when he’d rather be with David doing something else.”


“So how many times have you subbed for him?”


He wiped his lips on the paper napkin and threw it on his plate.


“That’s just it. Never. Not once.”


Chapter 27