One thing Derek has always searched for is perfection. And in Nick's love, he thought he'd found it. But marriage is rarely perfect and Nick Lund isn't a myth, but a human being, faulted as anyone. With their relationship on the rocks, Derek faces loneliness and doubt, estranged from the man he's adored for most of his life. When he learns that he has a cousin living in the city, a young man named Myles he never knew existed, Derek seeks him out. The two men begin a beautiful friendship that provides Derek with some solace and perspective. But in spite of the affection he feels for Myles, Derek's heart belongs to Nick, who's willing to do anything to get them back on track. Nick is ready to forsake his restaurant Split, the city life he adores and all of his ambitions to win Derek's trust again. Derek is convinced that a quiet existence in the burbs is the solution to all of their problems. Or will it be the biggest mistake of their lives?

Red Dreams

Ethan is a shadow of the man Nick is. I don’t believe he could ever really understand Myles’s heart. Myles’s heart is like those beautifully crafted incense boxes we saw today. At first, you may not understand it, you may even disregard the box as something of no great value. But those incense boxes are part of a thousand-year tradition. They’ve held the most exquisite raw materials found in nature. They’ve been at the center of games and have perfumed the private rooms of the aristocracy and warrior samurais.


I know Myles’s heart yearns for his own raw material to burn and then his true potential could be revealed. Until then, he remains a mystery, even to himself.  20


At last, Nick and I have reconnected. It feels amazing to know we’re still in love.


Chapter 38