The Recipe We Buried
Rowan Park came home to sign away her grandmother's bakery, not to run it. Ben Calder, the best friend who kissed her once and never mentioned it again, has other plans—because Grandma's will says they inherit the Juniper Crumb together, or not at all, unless they reopen it for the Frostlight Festival in six weeks. Between broken ovens, disputed family recipes, a rival grocer circling the festival sponsorship, and a children's choir rehearsing in the only warm kitchen in town, old chemistry reheats fast. But when Rowan discovers the quiet financial sacrifice Ben made to keep her grandmother housed—and a viral review dangles the prestige job she thought she'd never get again—she has to decide what she actually wants: a career built on leaving, or a life built with someone who finally learns to ask for help out loud. A warm, witty, high-heat small-town romance about grief, ambition, and the kind of love that survives full financial disclosure. Free sample available.