Eli wanted nothing more than quiet, strong coffee, and enough focus to finish his thesis. What he got instead was a neighbor who growled louder than the porch steps and glared like every sunrise had personally offended him.

Caleb keeps to himself for a reason. He's not just grumpy he's hiding something no amount of small-town gossip could touch. But when masks slip and whispers spread, Eli finds himself pulled into late-night talks on the porch and small, unexpected flashes of trust with the man who never lets anyone close.

Annoyance shifts to curiosity. Curiosity slides into friendship. And friendship starts to feel like something neither of them is ready to name. The closer Eli gets, the more he sees through the cracks in Caleb's armor: a man who longs to belong but fears what will happen if anyone sees too much.

The town is watching, the rumors are building, and Eli has to decide protect the quiet life he thought he wanted, or stand beside the neighbor who might change everything.

Can love hold steady when secrets claw at the edges?

***

Part of the Otherworldly Hearts series, this story brings its own magical twist to love and laughter.

Otherworldly Hearts proves romance can bloom anywhere through time, across magic, even out among the stars. This clean MM romcom series pairs oddball characters with laugh-out-loud disasters and tender connections in worlds where the impossible feels almost ordinary.

Spells backfire, ghosts meddle, shifters wrestle instincts they'd rather ignore, and aliens stumble their way through the messy art of love. Each standalone story mixes comedy, warmth, and a romance that stays sweet but never boring.

Sometimes the strangest places lead to the most unexpected happily ever afters.