Grump Who Stayed Next Door: A Small-Town Enemies-To-Lovers Romance

I didn’t fall for the man next door.
I chose him.

That distinction matters in a town that notices everything.

Hunter Bennett moves in quietly, keeps to himself, fixes what’s broken, and never explains why he’s staying. He watches the world like it’s waiting to take something from him—and somehow decides I’m worth the risk.

We don’t rush.
We don’t hide.
And when I choose him, I do it where everyone can see.

That’s when the pressure starts.

Not scandal. Not accusations.
Just systems recalibrating. Terms shifting. Costs appearing where they never existed before.

Hunter thinks protection means leaving.
I know better.

Because disappearing is how they win.
And loving him—openly, deliberately—might cost me my livelihood, my privacy, and the quiet life I fought to build.

But walking away would cost more.

The Grump Who Stayed Next Door is a slow-burn romance about commitment under scrutiny, the danger of being seen, and the radical choice to stay when silence would be easier.