Romance in the City

At fourteen, Penny Winters fell out of the closet and in love with her best friend, Misa Ito. But before they truly understood their feelings, Misa and her family were gone. Over a decade later, when Penny secures a job at a top New York advertising agency, she has a second chance at first love when she's introduced to the lead account executive, Misa. But the road to happiness is riddled with potholes. Misa is still impossibly beautiful, but super cold. And Misa shows no recollection of Penny, the girl who once showed her how to skateboard, make daisy chain crowns, and shared every secret with. On top of that, there's the huge engagement ring and photo of a handsome man on Misa's desk. The butterflies Penny feels don't seem one-sided, and she wants answers. Penny has no idea that she's begging for the impossible. Getting Misa to admit anything means asking her to do the unthinkable: put aside her career and her father's expectations to give in to her heart. Which has always belonged to Penny. Contains mature themes.

He's ready to cook his heart out. When amateur chef Ryan Tate earns a spot on the cooking competition show, “The Heat,” he drops everything and heads west. His grandma needs to revamp her restaurant and he's confident he has what it takes to win the prize money to make that happen. Little does he know, the one that got away could be the one to ruin his chances. Assistant chef Miguel Moreno has already established a name for himself in the culinary world, but he's tired of operating in the shadows of the greats. With the prize money from “The Heat,” he can finally open his own restaurant. Victory seems imminent when he learns the show has a twist this season-six pros will face off against six amateurs. But he's thrown when a familiar face stands temptingly in his path. Their love affair a year ago was scorching, but it's nothing compared to the heat they generate battling their way through each challenge. For Ryan and Miguel, cooking and passion have always been linked, but protecting their hearts might be their biggest obstacle yet. Contains mature themes.

The heart wants what it wants . . . convenient or not. Instead of winning a prestigious cooking competition, Sundia Sharma won infamy by breaking her tailbone on television. Thinking her culinary dreams are over, she prepares to head back to her corporate accounting job. That is, until a world-famous celebrity chef, impressed by her innovative recipes, offers her an internship at his new restaurant. It's Sundia's last shot to prove to herself-and her family-that she has what it takes. If only her crush wasn't the chef's personal assistant . . . and her new roommate. With a love 'em and leave 'em reputation, Avery Daniels is practically famous-perhaps infamous-as far as West Coast lesbians go. As the right-hand woman to a celebrity chef, Avery barely has time to breathe, let alone do dinner or dates. She prides herself on staying cool in all situations, but something about Sundia gets under her skin-and in the stone-cold heart she denies having. Sundia can't afford any more mishaps-or temptations-and firmly friend zones Avery. But staying apart gets more challenging as both their walls slowly crumble in and out of the kitchen. Contains mature themes.