You & Me by Tal Bauer

Synopsis

Landon is the picture-perfect single dad of Last Waters, Texas — confident, put-together, effortlessly parenting his football-star son. Luke is the opposite: a year out from his wife’s death, barely speaking to his own teenage son, and drowning. When their boys turn out to be best friends, Luke volunteers for the football booster club just to spend more time with his kid — and ends up spending most of it with Landon instead. As their friendship deepens, Luke starts feeling things for another man for the first time in his life, and has to decide whether risking it is worth what he’s already rebuilding with his son.

Why We Loved It

Do we even need to explain why we love this book besides “Tal Bauer wrote it?” That should be enough.

The prose is beautiful, the characters are memorable, the Texas high-school-football vibes are accurate for a sports romance without taking over the whole plot,

It’s also a great example of Landon working through the The Identity Disco process as he recognizes that he’s not quite as straight as his previous marriage would have seemed, and then has to work through the The Friendship GAMBLE with Luke — then add in the extra layer of their sons being friends and teammates!

Where We've Discussed This

78 | Friends to Lovers Explained: The Comfort, Chaos, and Chemistry