The Grump Next Door (Steele Brothers of Starlight Cove #1)
Brighton Walsh
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars
4.31
· Steam/Spice level: 5 of 5
Explicit and plentiful [?]
· 28 ratings · 326 pages · Published: 05 Jun 2025

Because now Sutton Sinclair—the sharp-tongued troublemaker who left claw marks down my back and a dent in my self-control—is living in my backyard cottage with her teenage daughter. And I’m her goddamn landlord.
I like things quiet. Controlled. She's neither. Sutton’s chaos wrapped in sunshine, a temptation in scrubs I can’t seem to stay away from.
When her ex shows up acting like Sutton’s still his to lose, I claim her on instinct. The kiss? Hot. The fallout? Immediate.
Now my family—and the entire town—thinks we’re a couple.
Fake dating Sutton wasn’t in my playbook, but if being a pro-footballer turned high school coach has taught me anything, it’s how to pivot. All I have to do is keep my hands to myself.
Then her cottage floods.
Now we’re sharing a roof…and a bed. The line between real and fake is blurring faster than I can redo the guest house.
This is supposed to be temporary. But Sutton doesn’t just crash into my life—she rewrites it. She’s in my home, moaning my name, breaking every rule I’ve ever lived by.
And I’m starting to want something permanent with the woman who’s already got one foot out the door.
Tagged as:
- small town 10
- grumpy & sunshine 9
- football 8
- single mother 8
- grumpy/cold hero 8
- teacher/coach hero 8
- forced proximity 8
- rich hero 8
- m-f romance 7
- age gap 7
- sassy heroine 7
- working class heroine 7
- contemporary 7
- sports 6
- height difference 6
- caretaking 6
- spanking 6
- independent heroine 6
- take-charge heroine 6
- possessive hero 6
- athlete hero 6
- new adult 5
- fake relationship 5
- class difference 4
- hurt/comfort 4
- sweet/gentle heroine 4
- alpha male 4
- working class hero 4
- found family 4
- bdsm 3
- funny 3
- praise kink 3
- sweet/gentle hero 3
- forbidden love 2
- anal sex 2
- curvy heroine 1
- bondage 1
- Add topics
- Format
- Audiobook
- dual pov 5
- male pov 2
- first person pov 2
romance tags
The 'Steele Brothers of Starlight Cove' series
28 ratings 4.31 ·
contemporary · height-difference · teacher-hero · new adult · caretaking · bdsm · bondage · first-person-pov · usa · length-medium · curvy heroine · working class hero · age difference · cold hero · humor · forced proximity · anal sex · super rich hero · male-pov · independent heroine
Steele Brothers of Starlight Cove reading order and complete book list ❯