Two gorgeous military men. One Lonely Diner, where people often search for romance. (The food is good there, too.)One man plays it straight. Another grieves over a lost lover.Though clearly meant for each other, Lance, an Air Force computer engineer, and Ryan, a former submariner in the Navy and now a military college professor, are conflicted gay men blinded by painful wounds of their past decisions.A younger Ryan Ball decides he can be happy only by conforming to social expectations. So what does he do? He decides he must have a wife and kids. Though he acknowledges to himself that he can never be straight, he is convinced that, with effort and determination, he can play the necessary roles.At thirty-one, Lance Dingle falls for his best friend and roommate, Randy, a stunt pilot who agrees to a friends-with-benefits arrangement. Then, tragedy strikes. Lance finds himself alone and lonely, living with memories of Randy and an ever-expanding list of “what-might-have-beens.”Callie Yenti, a transwoman and drag performer extraordinaire, enters the picture. She owns Lonely Diner and possesses an uncanny insight into the workings of the heart.Even the complicated hearts of her two stubborn friends, Lance and Ryan.An HEA gay romance.Though part of a series, LONELY DINER may easily be read as a standalone.
Trigger Warning: This novel includes scenes from a sexual assault and a PTSD episode.
Tropes: Military Romance, Coming Out, Overcoming Adversity, Second Chances.
CHAPTER TITLESChapter One: Here, From the Beginning
Chapter Two: The Winning Option
Chapter Three: Lonely, Party of One
Chapter Four: Ryan's Long, Winding Road
Chapter Five: Sebastian the Ibis
Chapter Six: Family on Fire
Chapter Seven: Alliance for Full Acceptance
Chapter Eight: Late-to-Party Gay Man Gets Involved
Chapter Nine: The Cocktail Club
Chapter Ten: A Gentle Kind of Loving
Chapter Eleven: The Baby Will Be Loved
Chapter Twelve: More Queers than a Man Can Count
Chapter Thirteen: Drag Me to Brunch at Dudley's
Chapter Fourteen: When the Guests Are No-Shows
Chapter Fifteen: The Impossible #Me-Too Decision
Chapter Sixteen: A Gay Man in the Woods
Chapter Seventeen: A Sordid Reputation
Chapter Eighteen: Even Lonelier at Lonely Diner
Chapter Nineteen: No Erection on Site
Chapter Twenty: A Human Resources Intervention
Chapter Twenty-One: Empathy Paves the Way to Attraction
Chapter Twenty-Two: Diamond Sparkles into Town
Chapter Twenty-Three: Trash at Colonial Lake
Chapter Twenty-Four
