Preston Pruitt put aside his dreams of becoming a gourmet chef at a high-end restaurant to raise his daughter while her mother was on active duty in Afghanistan. Now Abby is a precocious eight-year-old in love with fairies and princesses, and Preston works at an unimaginative and monotonous job as a short order cook.<br><br>Abby has her quirks, and when she tries to wear a pair of costume wings for her school pictures, her father is called to help talk her out of them. That's when Preston meets Cam Richards, a handsome photographer with his own studio in town. Between Cam's quick smile and flirty manner, Preston is smitten and surprises himself by asking the guy out. Late night phone calls lead to dinner dates, and soon Preston is falling for Cam. It helps that Abby approves of her father's new special friend.<br><br>With Cam’s encouragement, Preston gets the chance to interview for an executive chef position. Now that he has all the ingredients, will he finally fulfill his dream of becoming a top chef and find the perfect recipe for romance?

Recipe for Romance

Fortunately she really wanted to be in the class photo, because she was in and out in less than three minutes. Preston knew; he kept his phone out and watched the clock. When she came out, her hair was a tangle of wild, staticky strands sticking up all over her head and the back of her shirt had somehow been tucked into her panties, but he helped straighten her out. She produced her comb from amid the folds of her dress and let him smooth down her hair as they walked down the hall. By the time they reached the cafeteria, she looked as pretty as ever, even without the fairy wings.


And they were just in time. Her classmates were already arranged on a small stand of bleachers on one end of the stage, a conspicuously empty spot on the upper level where one student was missing. As Abby and Preston entered the cafeteria, she saw her friends and dashed for the stage. “Wait for me!” she cried, sneakers squeaking on the polished wooden floor.


Chapter 14