by Joe Cosentino
published by Dreamspinner Press
Do you remember your first love? I sure remember mine. I think the remembrance of past love is one of our strongest memories. What if you and your first love had been separated by your parents when you were only eighteen years old? Imagine you are facing your last years in a nursing home, desperately wanting to be reunited with the love that got away. Finally, picture a handsome young man visiting you with an offer to find your lost love and reunite the two of you.
That is the premise of Finding Giorgio, the first novella in my brand new Found At Last series published by Dreamspinner Press. It is the heartfelt, touching, and surprising story of Theo Stratis, an unlucky in love young accountant, who registers at his upstate New York LGBTQ Center to visit Nolan Downes who lives in a local nursing home. The young man is charmed by the eccentric ex-pharmacist and his wisecracking caretaker Tanisha. However, Theo is shocked at Nolan’s request for him to find the love of Nolan’s youth: Giorgio Roberto. Upon questioning Nolan, Theo finds out Giorgio’s parents had separated Nolan and Giorgio at eighteen after their romantic summer at a Poconos resort. Nolan had kept Giorgio’s picture and his love for Giorgio in his heart ever since. Theo is also surprised to meet the gorgeous Jamison Radames, a medical director, who is visiting the same nursing home. Theo and Jamison embark on an exciting adventure to find Giorgio. Their search takes them to an old neighborhood, a veterans’ center, a homeless shelter, and all the way from New York to Boston. Along the way, Theo and Jamison uncover a great deal about Giorgio and about themselves. The story is full of plot twists and turns, humor, romance, and a very touching happily-ever-after ending.
You won’t want to miss reading this special novella, which truly comes from the heart. I’m sure, like me, you will fall in love with Theo and Jamison as they fall in love with each other and grant Nolan his last wish. And keep an eye out for the upcoming release of Finding Armando, Found At Last series book two!
I love to hear from readers! So contact me at http://www.JoeCosentino.weebly.com.
https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/finding-giorgio-by-joe-cosentino-11658-b
http://mybook.to/FindingGiorgio
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/finding-giorgio-joe-cosentino/1136391360?ean=9781644058206
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.
Praise
for Joe Cosentino’s Books:
“Joe
Cosentino has a unique and fabulous gift. His writing is flawless…will have you
guessing until the very last page, which makes his books a joy to read. His
books are worth their weight in gold, and if you haven't discovered them yet
you are in for a rare treat.” Divine Magazine
“adventure,
mystery, and romance with every page….Funny, clever, and sweet.” Urban
Book Reviews
"The
author executed his storyline with a marvelous precision that would be the envy
of many authors. He draws the readers into the lives of his characters, they
become real and in turn, their emotions becomes yours….If you can only afford
to buy one more book this year, buy this one.” Three Books Over the Rainbow
Reviews
Genre: MM, contemporary, romance,
mystery, comedy
Cover Art: Paul Richmond
Release
date: April 21, 2020
Excerpt of Finding Giorgio, Found At
Last Book One, by Joe Cosentino, published by Dreamspinner Press:
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?”
A crease appeared on his forehead. “My father
damned me to Hell and sent me away to a Catholic college, where I ironically
had to dodge frisky priests.”
“And Giorgio?”
“On the day we left the resort, I saw him
from inside our car.” A tear slid down his face. “He had a welt on his cheek
and a blackened eye.”
“After that, didn’t you try to contact him?”
“I wrote to him every day from college. My
letters were all returned to me unopened, I assumed by Giorgio’s father. After
my first year at college, I came home for the summer. When I drove to Giorgio’s
house, the woman who answered the door was Dutch. She had bought the house from
a realtor, and she hadn’t heard of the Roberto family. When I went back to
college for my second year, I met Frank. We kept our relationship a secret… at
the college and to our families.”
“Your parents never knew about Frank?”
“They knew all right, but they called Frank
my ‘roommate’ or ‘friend.’” He sighed. “My parents and I could have been such
close friends; instead we were distant relations.”
“And you never saw Giorgio again?”
“Only in the midst of a crowd of people, each
time realizing it was just my imagination.” He placed the picture back inside
his pocket.
I heard a silky, masculine voice. “Nolan,
they let you out of your room? Are the other residents safe?”
I glanced up at the most gorgeous man I had
ever seen. He seemed about my age, tall with a peaches-and-cream complexion and
jet-black hair. There was a quiet dignity about the man, whose periwinkle
sweater and dark slacks housed his muscular physique.
At the sight of him, Nolan giggled merrily.
“Darn, you found me! Next time I’ll try hiding under the sofa.”
“You’re so thin, you could fit.”
The two men shared a laugh.
Nolan noticed the confused look on my face.
“Theo Stratis, this is Jamison Radames.”
I rose and extended a hand.
Giveaway: Post a comment about
a lost love. The one that tugs at our heart strings the most will win an e-book
of any of Joe’s back titles published by Dreamspinner Press!
https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/searchresults?q=Joe+Cosentino
Joe
Cosentino was voted Second Place Favorite LGBT Romance Author of the Year by
the readers of Divine Magazine. He wrote 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. He also wrote the popular Nicky and
Noah mystery series: Drama Queen (Divine Magazine readers’
Favorite MM Mystery of the Year), Drama
Muscle, Drama Cruise, Drama Luau, Drama Detective, Drama Fraternity, Drama Castle, Drama Dance, Drama
Faerie, Drama Runway, Drama Christmas, Drama Faerie; 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’s books have received numerous Favorite Book of the Month Awards
and Rainbow Award Honorable Mentions.
Web site:
http://www.JoeCosentino.weebly.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoeCosen
Amazon: Author.to/JoeCosentino
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