The Coffee Loft

𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙛𝙖𝙫𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙥 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙙, 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙝𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙮 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙧 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙨 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙡𝙪𝙘𝙠𝙮 𝙋𝙚𝙣𝙣𝙮 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚…

***

Every Denver Edge fan thinks they know the secret behind my goal-scoring streak. The truth is, it’s not the pre-game toffee coffee from the Bevvie Bar that brings me luck—it’s Penny, the shy harp-playing barista who makes it for me.

But my winning streak is threatened when I learn that the coffee shop may be closing and I could lose her forever. On top of that, I’m hit with the news that if I don’t get married, I’ll lose my inheritance.

Can my favorite barista whip up an inheritance-saving recipe before time runs out?

Time isn’t on my side. With the deadline looming, I’ll have to skate fast to earn her affection, and if I mess up, I could lose everything—my inheritance, my career, and most of all, my heart.

***
Hold on to your hockey sticks! That Thing You Brew is a he-falls-first, secret crush, friends-to-marriage inheritance clause romcom with no third-act breakup, laugh-out-loud antics, hockey team shenanigans, and meddling townies. A sweet romcom you won’t want to miss!

She’s a cheerleading coach and part-time barista. When her ultimate rival and co-coach needs a temporary place to stay, will she take him in? And will these two continue to tear each other apart or discover they have more in common than not? And what’s pumpkin spice got to do with it?

I’d rather break my leg again than live with my arch enemy, Montgomery Biddington.

But Monty’s got something I want—connections. Connections my sister and cousin won’t give me. And when he suddenly needs a place to stay, I know exactly how we can help each other.

I can live with his arrogance and unrelenting passive-aggressive digs. I can fire them right back just as well. I’ve been doing it since we were kids. To us, the term “punchbacks” always meant more than than a reverse flip on the mat.

But I never expected his compassionate side – the way he dotes on his Nana Booboo and secretly surveils her sweets consumption, or how he nursed me through an unexpected flare-up of a disease I thought I’d finally gained control of. He even offered to fill in at my other coaching job when I couldn’t leave our apartment due to another of the aforementioned flareups.

I never wanted him to see this side of me. A side that makes me look weak. But living together has given me a peek into his life. And I’ve seen the weak side of him, too.

A side that makes him almost…lovable.

All these years, I’ve underestimated Monty’s inner strength and boundless courage in the face of adversity. Grown-up Monty is well, grown up. And now that I’ve noticed, I want to call a truce.

I want more than a truce, actually. But I can never risk admitting my true feelings, even when I catch him sending compassionate looks my way. We’ve perfected our Good Coach/Bad Coach schtick to the point where we’ve got everything to lose if our coaching dynamic changes.

I’m losing my heart and I don’t know how to stop it. I can’t compromise the team’s chances of winning or risk losing Monty to silly emotions that will no doubt punch back harder than any of his tumbling passes.

It’s going to take an awful latte of willpower to keep myself closed off. But is this a challenge I want to win?

***

Pumpkin Spice Spice Baby is a childhood rivals and frenemies-to-more forced proximity sports romance with #justkisses and no swearing.

Ice will melt when the temporary nanny finds a permanent spot in the playful defenseman’s heart …

The last time I was within arm’s reach of Zaki Marsch, team prankster extraordinaire, he wrecked my carefully replicated vintage gown. Since then, I’ve avoided him—and hockey—like the plague.

But the obnoxious defenseman has morphed into a distinguished ginger-bearded dad who dotes on his girls and wears tutus on command. The attention-seeking entertainer is still there, but this new softer version has me in knots …

Now, out of the blue, he’s asking me to be the nanny for his adorable 5-year-old twins. The offer is tempting. The girls are sweet, and Zaki insists he’ll be traveling with his team half the time.

I’ve laid down the ground rules: My home, my turf, my way. No pranks, no chaos, and definitely no melting my resolve with that grin and little dogs trailing at his heels. He’s everything I’m not—loud, extroverted, and constantly in motion. I’m a small-town introvert who’d rather spend my evenings sewing Regency gowns or reading than watching hockey.

But between backyard rink lessons, school book fairs, and at-home ballet recitals led by his girls, Zaki’s charm starts to break through my defenses. And those stolen moments—puppies in his lap, his girls giggling through bedtime stories—are making it harder to remember why I don’t like him.

It’s just a job, right? Easy. Totally professional. I’ve got this.

Sure, Wynnie. Keep saying that. Maybe someday it’ll actually be true …

𝗦𝗲𝘄 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗮 𝗶𝗻 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙬𝙤𝙤𝙣𝙮 𝙤𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙨-𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙙/𝙣𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙭𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙨 𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 #𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙠𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨 & 𝙣𝙤 𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜.