Steven Conley loves the excitement of owning his own Hamburger Mary’s restaurant in Denver, Colorado, and his chosen family of coworkers makes life even better. Steven never regretted leaving the corporate grind behind until his father’s harsh deathbed words leaves him doubting himself.
Ryan Fuller abandoned a lucrative career to start his own party-planning business, but he keeps afloat by coordinating funerals for the local mortuary. When Ryan bumps into Steven—his best friend’s uncle and the man Ryan has secretly crushed on forever—the attraction explodes into a night of passionate abandon for both men.
Steven is blown away by the care and deep connection he feels for the hot young mortician—until Ryan admits who he really is. Reeling from the recent upheaval in his life, Steven must decide whether to give Ryan a chance. To find love, they must risk it all....
Brandon pulled out all the stops for this one! It was my favorite of the series.
I've been wanting Steven's story ever since I met him way back in Nachos & Hash. He always seemed so jovial and good natured with a snarky streak in him that ticked all my boxes. I could see a hint of something behind his eyes though. Something that hinted at a bit of sadness, which piqued my interest and I couldn't wait to delve into this book so I could find out what it was.
I connected to this book on a deeper, more emotional level than the previous books. There just seemed to be so much more to Steven than I ever imagined. He hides his hurt really well, always playing the happy guy who is secure in his place in life.
I think Ryan was the perfect match for Steven. Ryan knew this man so well. He should, since he'd been pining for Steven since he was a teenager. He may have been confused at first, seeing as how Steven wasn't acting the way Ryan remembered he was, but all it took was seeing Steven at Hamburger Mary's to understand that he was out of his element and thus uncomfortable in his own skin outside of the restaurant. At Mary's, Steven shone. There was the man Ryan remembered!
I was afraid the age gap would be too great for me (19-20 year difference), especially since they'd known each other since Ryan was essentially a child, but Ryan had an emotional maturity to him and seemed, at times, to be more stable in his life that Steven was. And Steven never acted upon any feelings way back when; it was only after he saw Ryan again once he was of age that, really, there even were any feelings. So, nothing squicky. ;)
I've enjoyed getting to know all the men in this series, especially these two. I'm a little sad that this is the final book as I'm going to miss these guys. And ManDonna. I'm going to miss her something fierce! And Pat, who was a fabulous character and the best big sister a guy could ever have.
Recommended for light, fun reading with a dash of angst. And drag queens.
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