Off-Map Hearts — Elle Brownlee

When efficiency consultant Graden Baxter gets stranded at the Las Vegas airport, of course he starts to book another flight… until curt demands and disappointing news from his boss finally best his practical nature. If tireless dedication to the job only leads to being taken for granted, maybe he should reevaluate his life.

A cross-country drive to New York City with fellow stranded traveler Cole Carmichael presents the perfect opportunity. He can have a little adventure but still make it home in a long weekend.

Professional nomad Cole has other ideas for getting there, but the tension building between them isn't all down to Graden's overplanning and Cole's inconsiderate spontaneity. As they navigate the Southwest, exploring parks and endless starry skies, they begin to see themselves less as opposite and more as complementary.

Unfortunately, adventures have to end -- and theirs ends with Graden back at a thankless job, Cole solitary and rootless.

Except that peculiar road-trip alchemy means they aren't the same men who embarked on the trip. Can they find their way together, even if it means going off the map?