“You're old enough to do it alone. That doesn't mean you have to.” Growing up hanging out in his single mom's diner, Sam Grant never planned to inherit it. But a car accident two weeks after his eighteenth birthday left him no choice but to turn away from the freedom he'd tasted, take legal guardianship of his younger brother, and hang up his childhood. Now twenty, Sam's diner regulars have watched him grow up, but he can't convince himself he's worth dating. Not once a guy finds out about his scars: his fixation on routines, the responsibilities cracking him open, and his growing certainty that he can't be attracted to someone he doesn't already love. Who would stick around that long? Dying his first gray hairs pink was the extent of Denver Weston's thirtieth birthday crisis. He's lived through it all already—forced to drop out of school a decade ago when his parents found out he was seeing a guy and cut him off, doing what he had to in order to survive, moving in with boyfriend after boyfriend. His HIV diagnosis seven years ago is the best thing that’s happened to him. Starting Plus, a HIV charity, has given him a purpose. But Denver can't bring himself to have his heart broken over and over, so dating has been off the table. Love and acceptance don't just fall into a guy's lap, do they? Denver's just the guy who always sits in the corner booth and orders the classic breakfast, eggs over easy. Sam's just the kid who always seems to be working when Denver comes in. It's one small change: a different breakfast order. But, like dominos, the moment their preconceptions of each other collapse, so do their carefully set-up plans. Can they give in to the attraction that's been slowly burning them up, or will uncharted territory make them turn tail and run? Faux is a standalone gay romance novel with a happily ever after ending.