You Were Never the Backup

Twenty-three years of friendship. One ridiculous marriage pact. And a kiss that changes absolutely everything.

Miles Avery has been in love with his best friend for twenty-three years.

He's watched Graham Ellis get married, become a father, get divorced, and date his way through half of Briar Landing. Through it all, Miles has kept one stupid promise tucked away on a bar coaster: if they're both single at forty-five, they'll marry each other.

Now Graham's forty-fifth birthday has arrived.

In front of a packed bar, Graham drops to one knee and proposes with a ring fashioned from a cherry stem.

Everyone laughs.

Everyone except Miles.

Because Graham means it—or thinks he does. He's offering Miles a room in his house, a permanent dinner companion, and a carefully planned adventure around the world.

But Miles doesn't want to be someone's comfortable backup plan. He wants the man he's loved since he was twenty-one.

So he kisses Graham.

Just once. To prove why their arrangement could never work.

Except Graham, who has spent forty-five years believing he's straight, can't stop thinking about that kiss. Or wanting another. And another.

Suddenly, two men who know everything about each other are discovering an entirely different kind of intimacy.

But while Graham dreams of an elaborate future together, Miles is quietly fighting for a dream of his own: purchasing The Lantern, the lakeside bar that's been his home for years.

As secrets surface and carefully constructed plans fall apart, they'll have to confront the question neither has ever been brave enough to ask:

What if the person you've loved your entire life has been waiting for you to choose him?

You Were Never the Backup is a steamy, emotional MM friends-to-lovers romance featuring two wonderfully stubborn men in their forties, bisexual awakening, decades of unspoken longing, small-town found family, scorching chemistry, and a hard-earned happily-ever-after.