Strays

Leigh returns to the London-based Urban Soul restaurant empire introduced in Misfits for this tasty contemporary romance. Cass, one of the restaurant owners, asks Nero, his top chef, to take server Lenny into his kitchen and his home. Lenny is jittery and agoraphobic—someone is stalking him, and the police have been no help—and has never set foot in a professional kitchen before, but he finds peace working closely and living with Nero despite the chef’s inscrutable nature. Nero, who’s prone to brooding, finds Lenny attractive and secretly ogles him, but he is barely able to articulate his interest. Lenny is “consumed, fascinated, and addicted” to Nero, but he wrestles with his feelings and wonders whom he can trust. A subplot about Nero opening a new restaurant for Cass and his partners in Vauxhall helps the would-be lovers bond. Leigh nicely develops the simmering mutual attraction, which makes the sex, when it finally happens, more satisfying. When the uptight Nero finally discloses his big secret, it paves the way toward love. Well-developed characters and situations will keep readers coming back for more in this promising series. (Mar.)