Faith and Fidelity by Tere Michaels
This is M/M fiction for those of you into that sort of thing you know what I'm saying. This is not however erotic fic, though don't get me wrong there is sex, quite a bit. Just none of that almost hardcore porn that seems so rampant in M/M lit. No if I had to describe this I would call it a romance. Truthfully this is almost a typical romance novel, well, besides the people falling in love being men.
The story is about a thirty something police detective in New York named Evan, who loses his wife in a car accident. This devastates him, as he and his wife have practically been together since the womb. For a year he's practically a ghost until one night at a farewell party he crosses paths with a retired detective named Matt. Now Matt has problems too, he lost his whole world when he had to give up being a detective, and now as a forty something womanizer he's drinking himself to death, alone. Recognizing each others loneliness and just wanting someone to hang out with who doesn't know their pasts, they start meeting to chat and share a drink.
This is when things get complicated, Matt starts to become attracted to Evan, which freaks him out considering he's been chasing anything in a skirt. Evan is still mourning, but his friendship with Matt is helping pull him out of his hole. Matt doesn't confide his feelings to Evan but in true romance novel form, he's at Evan's house one night during a snowstorm and hears Evan having a nightmare, of course, he goes to investigate. Now don't get your hopes up, there's no sex, yet. Just a comforting hug, which apparently was enough to get Evan thinking that perhaps his friend was bi. (for those of you who are slow that's bisexual)
Surprisingly this doesn't completely freak Evan out, he realizes just how close he has become to Matt, and decides to give to whole "gay" thing a go. Here comes to sex and I give the author this, this seems like the kind of sex two straight, middle American, men might try when faced with this situation. Which is to say fumbling, awkward, and curious.
The story does not end there, nope the plot goes on. Add in Evan's four children, his fear of anyone finding out about his relationship with Matt and his guilt complex over the death of his wife and things go downhill. I cried, and that is a real accomplishment for an author. I don't cry easily, I have to be emotionally invested.
There is the obligatory fight and breakup, of course, and the realization and make up, all very romance novel.
Also the author is working on two other novels, one based on a secondary character in this book and a third based back on Matt and Evan.