Brian Thompson is living a lie. A successful businessman, Brian can't stay focused in a real relationship and cheats on Timothy, his longtime lover. A phone call from his younger brother Joey, whom Brian hasn't spoken to in years, makes him recognize the uncanny resemblance between the two men.<br><br>Joey is, in a word, perfect. In Brian's eyes, he always has been. When their mother is hospitalized, Joey asks his older brother to come home. He tells Brian he needs him, which is just what Brian wants to hear. But the long trip north gives Brian plenty of time to think about his brother, and he comes to realize an unsettling truth -- he is in love with Joey.<br><br>Suddenly Brian admits that he wants Joey in ways he knows he shouldn't. Can he come to terms with the way he feels before his unrequited love threatens to tear him -- and his relationships with Timothy and Joey -- apart?

Between Brothers

I slide behind the wheel and adjust the rear-view mirror so I can see the boardwalk in it. As Joey slams the door shut, I wave and start the car. I don&rsquo;t mention a summer vacation, not yet&mdash;my mother would die of rapture right here in the street. We&rsquo;ll see what the next few days bring, what Christmas brings, but if not Timothy, then someone. I want to be in love here, I decide. I want to share this place with someone not in my family, someone who&rsquo;s never seen it before. Someone who will believe I created this magical place just to share it with him, who thinks the stars above shine only for us.


Maybe it&rsquo;ll be Timothy. Maybe not. We&rsquo;ll see.


Chapter 54