The Coffee Was Still Warm

The Coffee Was Still Warm A Contemporary Romance Novel by Kosuke Onishi, Esq. In the quiet heart of Portland, a small coffee shop becomes the unlikely setting for two broken lives to begin again. Elena, a divorced event planner who traded her high-rise exhaustion for the simple ritual of brewing espresso, finds purpose behind the counter at Riverside Coffee—a place where routine feels like redemption. James, a consultant who has everything except peace, walks in one morning looking for caffeine and finds something far rarer: connection. His request for "something that tastes like hope" begins a love story steeped in vulnerability, courage, and the kind of ordinary magic that can only happen between two people willing to start over. Together, they build more than a relationship—they build a community. From their first shared cortado to the founding of a thriving network of coffee shops, Elena and James learn that meaning doesn't come from success—it comes from showing up, again and again, for the people and the life that matter. Heartfelt, deeply human, and quietly transformative, The Coffee Was Still Warm is a story about second chances, the beauty of small rituals, and the timeless warmth of love that refuses to fade.