This is 4.5, but rounded down until I figure out rereadability. 
 This story can be read standalone from the Nature of Desire series. (I did.) 
 I really enjoyed this story. We meet Marcus and Thomas after they've already known each other and Thomas had left to help his family, sacrificing himself and what he wanted because it isn't what's expected/needed of him, the small town Southern boy who'd run off to the big city to become an artist, and was on his way to doing so. 
 The beginning has several flashbacks. I did feel this 'layout' of the story was a bit tiresome because the memories seemed spaced too closely (meaning not enough "present day" events between them). But I know that was the author trying to help us understand who they were to each other before the current events taking place. Though I understand the reasoning, something (pacing? layout? something.) didn't feel right about the set-up. 
 That aside, I loved the rest of the book (once the memories were more spread out and finally subsided). We get to see who Thomas was with Marcus, and who Marcus was with Thomas, and watch them as they struggle to figure out what failed in the past and what will ultimately keep them together in the future. There was so much depth to these characters, and several of the secondary characters as well. It was a very moving piece. 
 It came highly recommended, and I was not disappointed. I wish I'd read it sooner.