New Year by A.M. Arthur

Nathaniel “Nat” Hawking is used to the people he loves betraying him—first his mother, and now his abusive ex-boyfriend Austin. After finally being pushed too far, Nat chooses living on the streets to stay off Austin’s radar. No address, no legit job, to way to be found. But for a twenty-three-year-old college dropout who used to love waiting tables at a neighborhood gay bar, the isolation of his chosen life is stifling. And dangerous.
When Zack Matteson moves to Reynolds, North Carolina, to both start over and help his ailing best friend run his restaurants, he has no interest in dating. After too many bad choices and risks, he left his old, wild city ways for a quieter, peaceful, single life. But when a chance encounter in an alley crashes young, scared Nat Hawking into his carefully ordered life, Zack’s closed-off heart begins to open up.
Nat is grateful for Zack’s help, while still suspicious of his motives. Nothing is ever free. But as Zack helps Nat find a job, a place to live, and a real purpose in life, the unlikely pair forges a new, powerful bond. A bond threatened by Austin’s jealousy and cruelty. As Zack and Nat slowly fall in love, Austin’s sinister need to say goodbye to Nat on his own terms could tear them apart forever.