"What'll it be---coffee that tastes like regret, or tea that won't judge your life choices?"

In a rain-slicked bookstore café smelling of burnt espresso and unspoken stories, Riley Carter curates cluttered shelves and intricate latte art---avoiding romance like a stain on her favorite paperback.

Her life is a crossword puzzle she fills in sideways---platonic devotion to her found family, secret notes tucked into library books, and evenings dissecting 'Dungeons & Dragons' campaigns over chai.

But when the café’s rusty bell heralds someone who sees intimacy beyond roses and clichés, Riley must decide whether to trust them with her most guarded truth: that love doesn’t need a 'happily ever after' to matter.