Salt & Pepper by Garett Groves

You can call it a mid-life crisis if you want… I call it a second chance.

At age 39, professor Tim Moore has everything he thought he should have at this stage in his life: a successful career, a beautiful home, and a loving partner—until Eric, his long-term boyfriend, dumps him and moves out. Now with his 40th birthday quickly approaching, Tim feels time and a true chance at happiness slipping away.

Hoping to help Tim come to grips with his new life and get his head clear, his best friend Sarah books a summer sojourn for Tim at The Country Cottage, a remote bed and breakfast. There he meets Ryan Jenkins, the beautiful, out-and-proud owner of the BnB, and his youthful energy gives Tim the tinge of something he hasn’t felt in a very long time: real love.

“What could a cute young guy like him ever want with a washed up old man like me?”

Ryan’s own life hasn’t exactly gone according to plan since graduating from college. At 26, he didn’t anticipate losing his mother, the only person who’d ever supported and believed in him, and had no idea that she’d left her bed and breakfast to him to manage in her absence. Giving up his fledgling photography business in the city was difficult, but the thought of throwing away his mother’s passion felt impossible—despite the fact it’s treading water.

So when Tim arrives for a month-long stay at the BnB, bringing a healthy paycheck along with him, Ryan can’t afford to say no, even though he knows he should. Tim sets off all of Ryan’s alarms: older, well-dressed, and ruggedly handsome. Ryan’s had his heart broken one too many times by getting attached to men who only seem to be interested in him long enough to appreciate his good looks, but something about Tim feels different—Tim sees through the wall Ryan puts up with his camera and into his heart.

“Everywhere I look in this cottage there’s a reminder of my Mom, but having you here makes it easier to bear.”

As Tim’s getaway passes by, The Country Cottage starts to feel less like a vacation destination and more like a home. The only thing keeping Tim and Ryan separated is the square footage between them. Though there’s every reason to doubt that things could ever work, neither Tim nor Ryan can resist the desire they feel for each other. In Ryan, Tim sees a once-in-a-lifetime second chance. In Tim, Ryan sees his first shot at real love.

It’s said that good things come to those who wait—have Tim and Ryan waited long enough?

Salt & Pepper is a stand-alone 60,000-word M/M contemporary romance novel with a May-December theme. No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed HEA.