It's been eleven years since Nick ran off with David for the West Coast. And though his life resembles a blue dream, after more than a decade of bar tending in resorts and cruise ships, Nick is finally thinking of heading home. First, he needs to go see about David in Vancouver ...<br><br>When he arrives, Nick finds a community of young men devastated by AIDS. Part of him wants to flee back to Montreal, but David is dying and Nick knows his place is by his best friend's side. In those four days and nights in David's apartment by the English Bay, Nick learns more about himself than he ever did before. When it's all over, he packs his bag and locks up his grief, determine to honor the promise he made to David of opening up his own restaurant.<br><br>Five years later, Nick is gaining a reputation in the industry as a chef, but has yet to have any meaningful relationships. Until Derek O'Reilly, that redheaded kid with the avocado-green eyes he used to know, walks into his dining room and ignites Nick's passion once more.

Blue Awakenings

When everyone had left with a piece of cake, Andy pulled up a chair to Derek’s desk and so did I. We sat around in silence, exhausted but thrilled, eating the delicious cake against the sound of the hip hop music the staff had on full blast in the kitchen.


“Kids these days, huh?” Andy said with a smirk. He got up and shut the door, and then sat again and took out his phone. “You two ready for this?” He typed into his phone. “Remember Kathryn Lutz, the food critic who gave us a lukewarm review a while back?”


I remembered all right. She had a lot of clout in the industry and all chefs secretly hoped to be featured in her popular monthly column. The woman didn’t mince her words and though she’d written that she’d enjoyed my menu immensely, the dining experience had been chaotic for her and she’d not given me more than three stars.


“She was here last week,” Derek said, very softly, giving me an apologetic look. “And—and I didn’t wanna tell you, ‘cause I didn’t want you to be nervous.”


Chapter 44