Two accomplished chefs. Three weeks to cater the wedding of the year. One unexpected partnership that changes everything.
Derek Craword-Michelin-starred chef, TV personality, restaurant empire-took the Winterberry Hollow catering job as a favor to a friend. Three weeks, one wedding, easy. What he didn't expect was to realize how burned out he'd become. Or to meet a chef who reminds him why he fell in love with cooking in the first place.
Meredith Hayes has built a thriving career as a personal chef for Chicago's elite. She's talented, successful, and has spent twelve years playing it safe-perfecting her craft without ever taking the creative risks that could launch her to the next level.
When they're accidentally hired to co-cater their best friends' Christmas wedding, neither expects the partnership that develops.
Through snow-covered farmers' markets and late-night menu planning, Derek and Meredith discover something extraordinary: together, they're better than either ever was alone. He challenges her to be bold. She reminds him why food matters. They create dishes that feel like magic-the kind of cooking that comes from partnership, not performance.
Then their dream opportunities arrive.
Both opportunities are once-in-a-lifetime. Neither can be done together.
With the wedding days away and their hearts completely entangled, Derek and Meredith face an impossible choice: the careers they've worked their entire lives to build, or the partnership-and love-that makes them both better than they ever imagined possible.
