HOT SAUCE

Pomfret and Whittier's entertaining, effervescent novel follows two Boston men through the pleasures and pitfalls of love. Rich, "obscenely beautiful" Troy Boston and "stocky, ripped" cornfed, Iowa-raised Brad Drake have been together for two years. A top-rated chef, Brad juggles three busy restaurants while Troy peddles designer fashions at his tony flagship store. When they join forces to develop the upscale restaurant-nightclub Club Troy, Troy's condescending, socialite mother meddles by introducing wealthy, handsome, feline-voiced creative designer Aria Shakespeare into the mix, mostly because she thinks Brad isn't classy enough for her Brahmin son. Aria begins popping up everywhere, from parties to boutique dressing rooms; he even crashes Troy and Brad's romantic getaway in Bermuda. Aria gushes to Brad that he has history with Troy and he wants him back. Meanwhile, to beef up the launch of the club, Troy recklessly announces spontaneous wedding plans, underwritten by New York's Glam! magazine. As Troy and Brad's romance begins to curdle into a frothy whip of suspicion, jealousy, vigorous sex and deception, readers will wonder: will melodramatic bickering trump true love? Only Chessie, Brad's compassionate "fag hag," knows for sure. This is fun, fast-moving, fairy tale fluff custom-built for the softhearted gay beach set. Agent, June Clark. (June)