When young
accountant Theo Stratis visits Nolan Downes, an elderly gay man in a local
nursing home, he is surprised by Nolan’s request: find the lost love of his
youth, Giorgio Roberto. Theo is also surprised to meet handsome and successful
Jamison Radames, who is visiting the same nursing home. As Theo and Jamison
embark on an investigative adventure to find Giorgio, they discover a great
deal about themselves and each other. Solving the mystery of what happened to
Giorgio might mean happily ever after for more than just Nolan.
Cat gives this one 4 Meows
with a 2 Purr heat index...
What a bittersweet story.
It is beautifully written to make it not overly angsty and tear-jerking and you
do get the idea from the beginning that the end will have something sad happen (gab
a box of tissues). If you are familiar with Joe Cosentino’s writing you will
know there is a lot of wit and humor even in his more serious work so that
softens the blow as well. The romance is instant the entire story happens over
just a few days, but I fell in love with both main characters and Nolan Downes
the elder friend they go hunting a long-lost love for. Yes, the story is also
predictable, but again it is a sweet feelgood love story.
If you like instalove,
Elder friends, opposites attract, first love, fated love, soulmates and an
allover sweet romance this is for you!
Excerpt…
I slowly walked Nolan out
of the room, down the hallway, and into the lounge with large windows
overlooking the Mid-Hudson Bridge surrounded by the clear azure sky. After we
were settled on a sofa next to a marble fireplace, he tented his fingers. “I
want to tell you about a man I once loved.”
Assuming he had forgotten,
I replied, “You told me about Frank.”
“Not that man.”
That caught my attention.
“His name was Giorgio
Roberto.” Nolan’s face lit up. “I knew him when we were eighteen years old.”
“And you still remember
him?”
“I remember everything
about Giorgio.” He grinned like a schoolboy.
“How did you two meet?”
Nolan gazed straight ahead
as if turning back the pages of time. “My father was a high school history
teacher. My mother was a writer. Every summer we vacationed at a resort in the
Pocono Mountains: my father, my mother, my sister, and me. We had a wonderful
time back then—swimming in the lake, mountain climbing, playing volleyball and
checkers, and eating the family-style meals in the dining room.” His eyes
brightened and cheeks grew rosy.. “Every summer there was a dance contest. My
sister and I won each year.” He winked at me. “I still have a few moves.” He
extended his leg, then rested back, recovering on the sofa. “We didn’t have
air-conditioning back then. So the summer of my eighteenth year, after Clancy
and I took the silver cup, I headed out of the community room to the veranda
while all the other boys inside asked my sister for a dance—except for one
boy.”
“Giorgio?”
Nolan nodded. “I was
standing outside, staring at the gray mountains and the inky lake. Then I saw
him, bathed only in starlight as he sat on the balcony railing.”
“What did he look like?”
Nolan reached into his
pocket and displayed an old black-and-white photograph of two attractive young
men in bathing suits sitting on a large rock. Giorgio was average height. But
that was the only average thing about him. He had wavy jet-black hair and a
strong Roman nose. A white T-shirt barely contained his rippling muscles, and tight
black jeans with a button-up fly housed his bulge. Black boots and a black
leather jacket finished the look.
I pointed to the young man
next to Giorgio in the photo. “You were quite the looker yourself, Nolan, with
your handsome face and cut body.”
“I was what you now call a
ginger.” He smiled. “And being with Giorgio made me feel so special. Giorgio
gazed at me as if he could look straight into my heart. Though I had never seen
him before, he seemed so… familiar, as if we had known each other in a parallel
universe. I stared into his dark eyes, and for the first time in my life, I was
safe. It was as if I had come home after a long, exhausting journey.” Nolan sat
up straight with a grin on his face as if reliving it. “We stayed like that for
some time, watching each other, smiling, but not saying a word. Finally,
Giorgio said in a velvety voice, ‘Where’d you learn to dance like that?’ I
tried to answer, but my voice broke like a choirboy’s. When I found my voice, I
said, ‘My sister and I have been dancing together since we were little kids.’
Giorgio unleashed the most radiant smile I’d ever seen. ‘So, she’s your sister.
That’s good,’ he said. ‘Why is that good?’ I asked. He came closer and I
breathed in the scent of his mint gum. ‘That means she’s not your girlfriend,’
he said. ‘I don’t have a girlfriend,’ I replied. Then I breathed a sigh of
relief when he said, ‘Looks like we have that in common.’ He asked me to dance
with him, and I did. Giorgio and I stood out there for most of the night,
talking about our families, friends, schools, vacations, hobbies, likes,
dislikes, fears, and dreams.”
“Did you live far apart?”
Nolan shook his head. “My
family was in Poughkeepsie and Giorgio’s in Hyde Park.” He recited as if it had
all happened yesterday, “Giorgio’s father was a butcher. His mother a
seamstress. He had two older brothers. They worked for his father. Though
Giorgio had never been on a plane, he was fascinated with them, stopping dead
in his tracks to watch every time one flew overhead. Giorgio told me he wanted
to be a pilot. I told him I found that exciting. He replied, ‘I like that I
excite you.’ When I told him I wanted to be a pharmacist, he asked me, ‘Does a
pharmacist work on a farm?’” Nolan smiled nostalgically.
“Did you guys spend a lot
of time together?”
He cooed. “Every waking
minute of that summer. We played shuffleboard, ping pong, went fishing, and we
enjoyed food marathons and walks through the woods. Our favorite activities
were swimming and boating. When I saw Giorgio in his tight lemon swim trunks, I
nearly fainted. He told me I looked ‘adorable’ in my navy trunks.”
Feeling like a gossip
columnist, I asked, “Did anything romantic happen?”
“Not for most of the
summer.” Nolan grinned. “But the last week we were there, Giorgio and I were in
a sailboat far from the shore. It was a calm summer day, so the boat was barely
moving. We were out on the lake for about an hour when he suddenly turned to me
and said, ‘I want to see you after we leave here.’ I told him I wanted the same
thing. Then to my surprise, he leaned in and kissed me, and I kissed him back.
It was as if the lion’s gate had been opened. Once we started, we couldn’t
stop. We held on to each other for dear life, hugging and kissing until our
mouths ached. After tearing off our swimsuits, we made love, experimenting and
learning as the sun’s golden rays surrounded our rocking boat. When we were
through, I rested my head on his chest. As we kissed and held hands, we pledged
our love to each other. When we got back to shore, we planned to meet the next
morning after breakfast. Giorgio went to his family’s cabin as usual, and I did
the same. That night, as every night, I hugged my pillow, pretending it was
Giorgio, my first love.”
“What happened when you
met at breakfast the next morning?”
“We didn’t.” Nolan’s eyes
filled with moisture. “That night, our sailboat must have been closer to the
shore than we had thought.”
“Somebody saw you?”
He nodded. “Giorgio’s
father. He pounded on my family’s cabin door early the next morning, ranting
and raving at my father that ‘my son can never see your son again.’ Back then,
many Irish and Italian people feuded. Adding homosexuality to the mix, which
was illegal and thought of as a mental illness, sent our two fathers over the
edge.”
My heart broke for Nolan.
“What did your dad do?”
Joe Cosentino was voted Favorite LGBT Mystery, Humorous, and Contemporary
Author of the Year by the readers of Divine Magazine for Drama
Queen. He also wrote the other novels in the Nicky and Noah mystery
series: Drama Muscle, Drama Cruise, Drama Luau, Drama
Detective, Drama Fraternity, Drama Castle, Drama Dance, Drama Faerie, Drama
Runway, Drama Christmas; the Dreamspinner Press novellas: In My
Heart/An Infatuation & A Shooting Star, the Bobby and Paolo
Holiday Stories: A Home for the Holidays/The Perfect Gift/The First
Noel, The Naked Prince and Other Tales from Fairyland/Holiday Tales
from Fairyland, Found At Last: Finding Giorgio/Finding Armando; the Cozzi
Cove series (NineStar Press): Cozzi Cove: Bouncing Back, Cozzi
Cove: Moving Forward, Cozzi Cove: Stepping Out, Cozzi Cove: New
Beginnings, Cozzi Cove: Happy Endings; and the
Jana Lane mysteries: Paper Doll, Porcelain Doll, Satin
Doll, China Doll, Rag Doll (The Wild Rose
Press). He has appeared in principal acting roles in film, television, and
theatre, opposite stars such as Bruce Willis, Rosie O’Donnell, Nathan Lane,
Holland Taylor, and Jason Robards. Joe is currently Chair of the
Department/Professor at a college in upstate New York, and he is happily
married. Joe was voted 2nd Place Favorite LGBT Author of the
Year in Divine Magazine’s Readers’ Choice Awards, and his books have received
numerous Favorite Book of the Month Awards and Rainbow Award Honorable
Mentions.
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