kaylalove118
Tiana Ivy Jones doesn't do boxing.
She does 5am prep, cast iron skillets, and her grandma's "no substitutions" rule at Ivy's Table - the most famous soul food spot in Treme. At 23, she's shy, plus size, and more comfortable behind the pass than in a crowd. Her world is collard greens, peach cobbler, and the two women who raised her when her parents didn't.
Cassius "King" Monroe doesn't do quiet.
He's 27, 6'4", 33-0, and the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. Born in Crenshaw, raised in gyms by his dad - the most famous boxer ever - Cassius has been fighting his whole life. When his team ships him to New Orleans for 4 weeks to train for his next title defense, the plan is simple: no distractions.
Then he walks into Ivy's Table.
She doesn't know he's the champ. She doesn't care about belts or ESPN. All she sees is a quiet man in Table 12 who orders dry chicken and says "thank you ma'am" like his mama raised him right.
He doesn't know peace until he hears her humming in the kitchen at midnight.
The problem?
Fight week is coming. And when the world finds out King Monroe is eating at Ivy's Table every night, Tiana's safe, small world turns into a circus. Paparazzi. Groupies. Her aunt playing matchmaker. His dad calling her a "distraction." His little brother adopting her as his new sister.
Tiana didn't sign up for spotlights. Cassius didn't sign up for softness.
But in a city built on heat, faith, and second lines, love hits harder than a right hook.