Common Grounds
A Small Town/Big City M/M Romance
The Closing Time Series Book 3 • by Ames Willow
Pairing: MM
Heat: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ Very Hot
Tropes: Small Town/Big City, Workaholic Learns to Live, Age Gap, Class Differences, Found Family
He came to close the mall. He found a reason to save it.
Michael Ashford has ninety days. That’s how long he has to assess the failing Ridgewood Galleria and recommend its fate to corporate. It should be simple—review the numbers, make the call, move on. He’s done it a dozen times before. But when he walks into Common Grounds coffee shop at closing time, exhausted and empty, he meets someone who makes him question everything.
Brandon Hayes has given up on love. At 28, he’s the manager of the mall’s coffee shop, the unofficial therapist to half the staff, and the guy who’s always there for everyone else. He’s also tired of being overlooked, undervalued, and left behind. When a silver-haired corporate executive starts showing up every morning, Brandon knows better than to hope.
But hope has other plans. As Michael falls deeper into the world of the mall—its quirky employees, its struggling businesses, its rooftop gatherings under string lights—he finds himself falling for Brandon too. The man who makes him laugh. Who challenges him. Who sees past the corporate armor to the lonely man underneath.
The problem? Michael’s recommendation could destroy everything Brandon loves. And when corporate pressure mounts and secrets come to light, they’ll have to decide: is their love worth fighting for, even if it costs them everything?
You’ll love this if you enjoy:
✓ Corporate executive × coffee shop manager
✓ “He came to destroy us but fell in love instead”
✓ Workaholic learns what really matters
✓ 10-year age gap with power dynamics
✓ Found family among mall employees
✓ Rooftop romance under string lights
✓ High heat with deep emotional connection
Common Grounds is a high-heat M/M romance featuring a burned-out executive, a sunshine coffee shop manager, and a love that teaches them both what it means to choose people over profits. Book 3 in The Closing Time Series.
Chapter One Preview
The coffee shop was supposed to be closed.
Brandon Hayes glanced at the clock above the espresso machine—9:47 PM—and sighed. The last customer had left twenty minutes ago, the chairs were stacked, the display case was empty, and he’d been about to flip the sign from OPEN to CLOSED when the door chimed.
The man who walked in looked like he’d been assembled from spare parts of a corporate nightmare. Expensive suit, rumpled beyond saving. Tie loosened to the point of giving up entirely. Silver-streaked hair that had probably been styled this morning and had since surrendered to whatever battle he’d been fighting.
But it was his eyes that made Brandon pause. Gray, like storm clouds, and completely exhausted.
“Are you still open?” The man’s voice was rough, scraped raw by something more than just a long day.
Brandon should have said no. Should have pointed at the clock, gestured at the stacked chairs, made apologetic noises about health codes and closing procedures…
🎁 Exclusive Bonus Content
Want more Brandon and Michael? Get “The Engagement Night”—an exclusive extended scene that’s too hot for retailers. 🔥
More from The Closing Time Series
M/M romance set in the Ridgewood Galleria. Each book can be read as a standalone.
After Hours — Book 1
Jason Chen × Marco Reyes
Grumpy/Sunshine • Age Gap • Authority Figure
Night Shift — Book 2
Ryan Brooks × Evan Cole
Closeted Jock × Out Outcast • Gay Awakening
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Common Grounds spicy?
Yes! Heat level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ (Very Hot). The tension builds through stolen glances and charged encounters before leading to steamy scenes that are fully on-page. There are three explicit scenes in the main book, plus an extra-spicy bonus scene available on this website.
Do I need to read the series in order?
Each book features a complete romance with its own couple and guaranteed HEA. However, characters from earlier books appear in later installments, so reading in order provides the richest experience. Brandon appears as a supporting character in Books 1 and 2, and characters from those books appear throughout Common Grounds.
What’s the age gap?
Michael is 38 and Brandon is 28—a 10-year gap. The age difference is acknowledged but not a source of conflict. Both characters are adults with established careers and the story focuses on their emotional connection and the external pressures threatening their relationship.
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