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

By the end of the week, Preston was more than ready to see Cam again. On Thursday when Cam suggested another night on the town, though, Preston countered with an idea of his own. “How about an evening at ChezPruitt instead?”


“Ooh, sounds French,” Cam purred, his voice warm through Preston’s phone. “Where’s that, exactly? The Fan? The museum district?”


“My place,” Preston told him. “I live in the West End. I’ll cook and Abby will be all too happy to provide the evening’s entertainment, I’m sure. She’s talked about you nonstop since the photo shoot, did you know that?”


Cam laughed, a delightful sound in Preston’s ear. “You might have mentioned it once or twice.”


Chapter 38