The key didn't fit, but her new neighbor just might.

Rachel Ames is a thirty-three-year-old newly divorced single mom running on color-coded spreadsheets, iced coffee, and sheer panic. Moving into half a dilapidated duplex in Millhaven, Vermont, was supposed to be a fresh start for her and her hockey-obsessed ten-year-old daughter. It wasn't supposed to include a front door that requires a blood sacrifice, or a painfully attractive, infuriatingly capable neighbor who fixes it without breaking a sweat.

Jordan Clarke's pro-hockey career ended with an ACL tear, leaving her to manage the local rink and coach the U-12 girls' team. She's quiet, steady, and perfectly content flying solo. But from the moment Rachel lands on her doorstep, Jordan finds herself drawn into the chaotic orbit of the woman next door, stepping in to carry mattresses and fix leaky faucets when she knows she should keep her distance.

As Rachel navigates the messy aftermath of her marriage, she begins to realize her relentless anxiety quiets whenever Jordan is around. What starts as shared porch steps and late-night ankle-wrapping sessions quickly deepens into an intense, slow-burn tension. But Rachel has spent her whole life trying to take up less space—and letting herself want a woman for the very first time might be the most terrifying, exhilarating risk of all.

Coach Next Door is a swoony, high-heat sapphic romance featuring close proximity, late-in-life queer awakening, acts of service, and a guaranteed happily ever after.

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