Operations Manager Carli Porter runs The Lochwell as if it were her own and is fiercely protective of the community she’s built within its walls. But when the building’s owner sends in his best friend to evaluate its future, Caril finds herself fighting to keep everything she loves from slipping away. Left with no other option, she’s forced to team up with Alexander Grassi, the very man who could decide the building’s fate. Readers who enjoy steamy, he-falls-first romances will devour Fight It Until We Can’t by Cissy Mecca & Tina Gallagher, a small-town, rivals-to-lovers romance.
Blurb
He’s a property analyst hired to find the cracks.
She’s the operations manager who will make sure he doesn’t.
Carli Porter runs The Lochwell like it’s hers. The coffee shop is her living room. Its book club members are her family. The residents are her friends. The pub is her Friday night. The only problem? The building belongs to someone else, and that someone just sent his best friend to decide its fate.
Alexander Grassi is smart and annoyingly hard to hate. He also has the kind of forearms that make it very difficult to stay mad at him. (She’s tried. It hasn’t worked.) He’s supposed to write a report, hand it over to his friend and leave. He wasn’t supposed to start showing up to trivia night. Or turning her coffee cup so the handle faces her. Or looking at her like she’s the best thing in a building full of things worth saving.
She says his report could ruin her life.
He says she’s not wrong.
She says that’s makes him the last person she should want around.
He says he’s staying anyway.
Because some legacies (and people) are worth fighting for.
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Excerpt
Copyright 2026, Author Cissy Mecca & Author Tina Gallagher
Hold on a second. Since when can’t we start with the sex scene? That’s some kind of bullshit.” Everyone laughed. I was pretty sure they thought I was kidding. I wasn’t. One simply didn’t joke about really good sex scenes, especially when the hero drags the heroine up his chest to sit on his face. “We always start with our overall thoughts of the book,” Tiff said, her eyes dancing. She was the leader of our sometimes-unruly pack, but even she couldn’t keep the grin off her face. We were sitting in the back corner of The Brew, the coffee shop that served as the heart of the Lochwell. The smell of roasted beans and old wood settled around us like a blanket. Outside, the Finger Lakes sun was beginning to dip, but inside, the heat was all on the pages of this month’s pick. “My overall thought is that the hero needs to stop talking and start doing more of… that,” I said, tapping the cover. This was my life. My sanctuary. These women were my family, and this building—this beautiful, crumbling, historic brewery—was my soul. I’d spent three years making sure every brick was in place, every tenant was happy, and every cup of coffee was perfect. I was the operations manager. I was the fixer. And I was damn good at it. But as I looked at the door, I saw him. The man who didn’t belong here. The man with the expensive suit and the professional audit folder tucked under an arm that looked like it belonged on a Roman statue. Alexander Grassi. He wasn’t here for the book club. He was here to decide if the Lochwell was worth saving, or if he was going to recommend his best friend sell it to the highest bidder. He caught my eye through the glass, and for a second, the banter of the book club faded into static. He didn’t look like a villain. He looked like a man who knew exactly how much trouble I was about to give him. And God help me, I knew exactly how much trouble he was going to be for me.
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About Cissy Mecca
A “recovering” 8th-grade teacher and curriculum consultant with a PhD in Language & Literacy, Cecelia loves writing high-heat, emotionally charged romance. The Brands (The Mecca Romance Multiverse): Cissy Mecca: Contemporary Romance, Cecelia Mecca: Medieval and Scottish Historical Romance. C.L. Mecca: Fantasy and Paranormal Romance. Mecca Romance Signature Style: Heroines: Bold, strong women who fall hard but never lose their identity. Heroes: High-heat, protective, and intense. Vibe: Visceral, sensory-rich escapes… from family-owned vineyards to the war-torn Anglo-Scottish borders. Other Info: Representation: Katie Reed (Katie Reed Literary) Personal: Married, two teens, Disney enthusiast, traveler, and wine lovers Authority: PhD background makes her an excellent guest for craft-focused podcasts or literacy-based panels.
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About Tina Gallagher
Tina Gallagher grew up and continues to live in Northeast Pennsylvania. As a tween, she and her best friend would create happily ever afters for their favorite soap opera couples. Eventually, the soap operas lost their appeal, but the writing never did. Before living her dream as a full-time author, she worked a spectrum of jobs ranging from baking and cake decorating to marketing and project management. In between creating memorable characters, traveling, and taking pole dance lessons, Tina enjoys spending time with her two grown children and Golden Irish named Thea.
Follow: Facebook | TikTok | Instagram | Goodreads | BookBub | Newsletter | Website | Amazon
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