Book 6: The Mountain Monroes
Charmed by the Cook’s Kids
A cook rediscovers her passion… Thanks to a new chef in town
If she’s to keep her diner afloat, single mom Ivy Parker must overhaul her menu. When high-profile chef Cam Monroe comes to Second Chance, she’s wary of asking for help. Would a perfectionist like him approve of the corners she cuts to find time for her children? But as Cam helps her rediscover her love for cooking, Ivy finds they have more in common than she expected…
Tropes: second chance romance, single mom, chef/cooking, diner, small mountain town romance
Excerpt:
Ivy Parker marched across the Bent Nickel Diner, arm raised, finger pointing toward the restaurant’s main entrance. “Get out!”
Chef Camden Monroe, the offending would-be patron, gave her a smile that burned her chest like jalapeño-induced heartburn.
How does such a handsome man still affect me so?
“Out!” Ivy repeated, fully aware her audience included her customers and her two impressionable young kids. But she was fuming. Honestly, if not for Nick and R.J., she’d have added an unflattering description of what she thought of Cam.
Get out, you heartless, talentless food snob!
“Nobody criticizes my food and comes back for more.” Ivy blocked the aisle and waved her hand as if she could erase Cam’s presence. His dark-haired, dark-eyed, all-too-handsome presence.
“So…” Cam had a grin that might have made Ivy’s heart pound if he’d made eye contact. He was that gallingly good-looking. Thank heavens for his huge ego. He stared at the back wall as if she was beneath him. “Are there no second chances in Second Chance?”
He thought this was a joke?
“Out!” Heat radiated from Ivy’s chest, up her neck and into her face.
“Now, Ivy.” Laurel Monroe stepped in Ivy’s path, pregnant belly first. “Hear us out.”
“No. This is my place.” Ivy paused. It wasn’t exactly her place. She’d sold it to Harlan Monroe, Cam’s grandfather, several years ago and had been leasing the Bent Nickel back from him for the enviable rate of one dollar a year. But Harlan was dead, and her lease was up at the end of the year. Whether or not those generous terms were renewed was up to Harlan’s twelve grandchildren, including Chef High-and-Mighty Monroe.
Heaven help me.
Cam huffed. His gaze, black as a moonless night, met Ivy’s with a jolt. It sent a warning—let me in if you want your lease renewed.
Ivy’s heart stuttered. She’d thought her divorce had done away with power struggles in the diner.
Cam was big and bad in the food world. One of those hoity-toity, much-revered chefs who charged a hundred dollars or more for a meal—a small, pretty serving on a delicate white plate, a meal that didn’t fill bellies. Cam wasn’t setting foot in the Bent Nickel again, no matter how long he stood there huffing and puffing.
Ivy lifted her head high, swallowing back unwelcome awareness of the man and unwanted doubts. “I reserve the right to refuse service.” She wouldn’t look at Cam again. She wouldn’t take in those chiseled cheekbones. She wouldn’t stare at that obstinately curling hair. She wouldn’t—
She looked.
Cam had resumed smiling, as if he knew she’d been backed into a corner and he could waltz right in.
“Out!” Ivy’s arm popped up once more, narrowly missing Laurel’s belly.
The Story Behind the Story
Ivy’s Bent Nickel Diner has been the heart of Second Chance for the series. I could relate to her running the place all by herself, but I started to wonder why she was running it all by herself. Yes, I knew she was going to fall for Cam. No, I had no clue about Ivy’s backstory until it was time to write the book.
Ivy wasn’t my editor’s favorite character in the series…until this book.
I seem to write a lot of books about cooking but reality is…I don’t like to cook on the daily. I enjoy cooking when I’m on vacation. LOL.
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