Falling Together by A.T. Brennan

I’ve been in a fog for the past year. Haven’t really felt like myself in the last six. ~ Tristan

Losing my best friend in a war I hadn’t understood, fighting for a military that had cast me out when I’d outlived my usefulness, had sent me on a path of self-destruction. Now, four years later, I had my life back on track. Or so it would seem. I had a job I liked at a bar where my coworkers had become my family, but there was always something missing that kept me from ever feeling true happiness. A trip back to my hometown to try and find closure was supposed to have been a promise I kept to a friend, but it turned into so much more the moment I met my best friend’s brother.
Max is the opposite of what I’d pictured and exactly what I’ve always wanted. I know I needed to keep my distance to keep him safe, but when he offers me a job at his family’s inn, I’m powerless to do anything other than agree.
It didn’t matter how hard I worked or how much I tried, I was always second best. ~ Max
After spending the last eighteen years living and working as a chef in New York City, I was back in my tiny hometown trying to restore and reopen my family’s inn. It was supposed to be a new chapter for me, a way to finally realize my dream of having my own kitchen, but coming back to the place I’d fled at seventeen wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. Especially after I ran into my little brother’s best friend and impulsively asked him to help me with the renovations while he was still in town.
It’s obvious Tristan is grappling with demons few people could understand, but there’s something about the handsome and enigmatic man that makes me want to know what those demons are, and to help him chase them away