ESPRESSO

"Tell me to leave," he said, his voice a low, dangerous whisper that sent shivers cascading down my spine.

My breath hitched as I met his piercing gaze, my heart racing in my chest. "And if I don't?"

His lips curled into a slow, wicked smile, his eyes dark and consuming, laced with something that made my pulse quicken. He leaned closer, his voice dropping even further. "Then don't blame me for what happens next."

"You're playing a very dangerous game, Leo," I managed to say, though my voice trembled as my eyes flicked to his lips.

"Am I?" he murmured, his tone soft yet devastating. "Because from where I'm standing, you're the one pulling the strings." His smirk was ever-present, and the amusement dancing in his eyes told me he was thoroughly enjoying this-and it was dangerous for both of us.

~~~~

They were both hiding, but neither expected to be found.

Calista Carlisle, Hollywood's sweetheart, escapes to the sleepy town of Mendocino after a public breakup turns her life into tabloid fodder. She's traded red carpets for creaky coffee shop chairs, hoping to stay invisible. But nothing stays quiet for long-not when Leo Donovan, the maddeningly smug owner of the café, keeps finding ways to break through her defenses.

Leo isn't just any barista. Billionaire by birth, recluse by choice, he's traded boardrooms for espresso machines, running his late mother's café chain under the radar. He's done with the high-stakes world of fame and fortune-until Calista waltzes into his café and flips his carefully curated life upside down.

Their connection is magnetic, but the secrets they're running from might pull them apart. In a town too small for pasts as messy as theirs, one thing becomes clear: they're either each other's safe haven-or their ultimate undoing.

"They were supposed to be each other's escape-until they became each other's greatest temptation."