Catching His Eye by Christie Gordon Review: A Steamy Forced-Proximity MM Romance
Finding a romance novel that combines genuine emotional development, irresistible chemistry, workplace tension, and forced proximity can be surprisingly difficult. Catching His Eye by Christie Gordon brings all of those elements together in an engaging MM romance centered on two very different men who discover that attraction may be only the beginning of something much deeper.
Part of the Mesa Boys series, Catching His Eye follows Josh Nelson and Gavin Thomas, two coworkers whose growing attraction becomes increasingly difficult to ignore. Although this is the third book in the series, it features its own central couple and can be enjoyed as a standalone story. The novel also promises a happily-ever-after ending without leaving readers hanging on a cliffhanger.
For readers who enjoy coworkers-to-lovers stories, forced proximity, opposites attracting, emotional vulnerability, and plenty of romantic heat, Catching His Eye has a lot to offer.
A Workplace Attraction That Is Hard to Ignore
Josh Nelson is starting his first professional job after graduating from college. He is intelligent, practical, and determined to take his career seriously. The last thing he needs is a complicated workplace romance.
Unfortunately for Josh, one of his coworkers happens to be Gavin Thomas.
Gavin is confident, attractive, charismatic, and difficult not to notice. With his outgoing personality and reputation as the office heartthrob, he seems like exactly the kind of man Josh should stay away from if he wants to keep his professional and personal lives separate.
There is just one problem: the attraction is there.
Gavin notices Josh as well, and unlike the more cautious Josh, he isn’t nearly as interested in pretending the chemistry between them doesn’t exist. Gavin begins finding opportunities to spend time with his new coworker, while Josh remains unsure whether Gavin’s attention is genuine flirting or simply part of his naturally charming personality.
That uncertainty gives the early part of the romance some entertaining tension.
Rather than placing Josh and Gavin together immediately, the story allows their attraction to develop alongside their growing understanding of one another. Josh’s hesitation creates resistance, while Gavin’s persistence gradually reveals that there may be more behind his confident exterior than Josh initially assumes.
Forced Proximity Changes Everything
The story takes a major turn when work sends Josh and Gavin to Austin.
After problems arise with Josh’s hotel arrangements, the two coworkers end up sharing a room. Suddenly, maintaining a comfortable professional distance becomes considerably more difficult.
Forced-proximity romance works best when it does more than simply place two attractive characters in the same physical space. The situation should force them to communicate, notice details about each other they might otherwise miss, and reconsider assumptions they have already made.
Catching His Eye uses the setup to bring Josh and Gavin closer emotionally as well as physically.
Josh begins seeing a more vulnerable side of Gavin. Beneath the confidence, social popularity, and casual approach to dating is someone carrying emotional baggage of his own. Gavin, meanwhile, gets the chance to move beyond flirting and demonstrate that his attraction to Josh may be more serious than either man originally expected.
Their shared time allows walls to fall and chemistry to become increasingly difficult to deny.
And for readers specifically looking for steam, this is definitely not presented as a low-heat romance. Christie Gordon herself has described Josh and Gavin as having particularly strong sexual attraction and has noted the book’s kink-awakening element.
Josh and Gavin Make an Interesting Pair
One of the appealing aspects of the novel is the contrast between its two main characters.
Josh is the more cautious and analytical of the pair. Starting a new career gives him good reason to hesitate before beginning something with a coworker, particularly one as noticeable as Gavin. His reservations keep the relationship from feeling completely effortless.
Gavin, on the other hand, presents himself as confident and experienced. Casual hookups are familiar territory for him. A meaningful relationship is more complicated.
That difference creates an effective romantic dynamic.
Josh has to decide whether trusting Gavin is worth the risk, while Gavin has to confront the possibility that what he wants from Josh extends far beyond casual attraction.
As their relationship develops, the story explores the difference between wanting someone physically and allowing that person to become genuinely important to you.
That emotional progression is important because without it, a forced-proximity romance can easily become little more than a convenient setup for physical attraction. Here, the developing relationship gives the central couple more substance.
More Than Just Workplace Flirting
While romance and chemistry are major parts of Catching His Eye, the story also gives Gavin a more emotionally complicated background.
The death of his parents in a car accident continues to affect his outlook on relationships and attachment. When circumstances later bring difficult emotions back to the surface, the relationship between Gavin and Josh faces a different kind of challenge.
That gives the latter portion of the story a greater emotional dimension.
The question is no longer simply whether two coworkers will finally acknowledge their attraction. Instead, it becomes whether a newly developing relationship can provide trust and emotional support when life becomes difficult.
Reader responses frequently highlight this progression, with reviewers commenting on the development of Josh and Gavin’s relationship, their chemistry, and the way vulnerability becomes increasingly important as the story continues.
Romance Readers Will Recognize Plenty of Favorite Tropes
Catching His Eye brings together several familiar romance elements without relying on only one of them to carry the story.
There is the immediate attraction between coworkers, Josh’s determination to remain professional, Gavin’s persistence, an office-heartthrob dynamic, a work trip, an unexpected shared hotel room, emotional vulnerability, strong physical chemistry, and the gradual realization that a relationship initially driven by attraction might become something permanent.
The forced-proximity element is particularly effective because it creates a believable reason for two characters who have been circling each other to finally spend enough uninterrupted time together for their relationship to change.
Readers who enjoy watching emotional barriers come down will likely appreciate Josh’s gradual willingness to trust Gavin. Meanwhile, those who enjoy seeing a confident character discover that he is capable of wanting commitment may find Gavin’s development particularly satisfying.
Can You Read Catching His Eye Without Reading the Other Mesa Boys Books?
Yes.
Catching His Eye is the third novel in Christie Gordon’s Mesa Boys series, but each installment focuses on a different couple. The book is presented as a story that can be read independently, so readers do not have to finish Books 1 and 2 before meeting Josh and Gavin.
Of course, readers who enjoy the wider group of characters may want to explore the earlier books afterward. Reading the full series can provide additional context around recurring characters and friendships, but it isn’t necessary for understanding the central romance in this installment.
That’s an advantage for anyone discovering Christie Gordon for the first time.
Who Is Catching His Eye Best For?
This book should especially appeal to readers looking for an adult MM contemporary romance with plenty of chemistry and familiar romance tropes.
Fans of coworkers-to-lovers, forced proximity, opposites attracting, emotionally guarded characters, workplace romance, vulnerable heroes, steamy scenes, and guaranteed happily-ever-after conclusions should find several elements here that match their reading preferences.
Because physical intimacy plays a significant role in Josh and Gavin’s relationship, readers looking specifically for a very mild or closed-door romance may want something different. Readers who prefer their romance considerably steamier, however, are much closer to the book’s intended audience.
Final Thoughts
Catching His Eye takes a familiar romance setup—a cautious new employee developing feelings for the charismatic office heartthrob—and gives it additional energy through forced proximity, emotional vulnerability, and strong chemistry.
Josh and Gavin begin from very different perspectives. Josh is worried about professionalism and unsure whether he can trust Gavin’s intentions, while Gavin initially appears far more comfortable with attraction than commitment. Putting them together on a work trip creates the circumstances that allow both men to see beyond those first impressions.
What begins as workplace attraction gradually develops into something requiring trust, openness, and the willingness to depend on another person.
For fans of steamy MM romance, particularly those who love watching reluctant coworkers become much more than colleagues, Catching His Eye is an appealing addition to the reading list.
And because Josh and Gavin receive their own complete romantic arc, newcomers can jump into this third Mesa Boys novel without needing to start the entire series from the beginning.
Book: Catching His Eye: A Close Proximity MM Romance
Author: Christie Gordon
Series: Mesa Boys, Book 3
Genre: MM Contemporary Romance
Popular Tropes: Coworkers-to-Lovers, Forced Proximity, Workplace Romance, Emotional Vulnerability
Ending: HEA, No Cliffhanger
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