Ruby’s life couldn’t get any worse after catching her boyfriend cheating on her with her best friend until she clashes with Chef Garett Kelsey, the man with the hottest forearms in England. Her first day in her family’s cookery school turns into a shouting match with blood everywhere and Garett demanding that Ruby leave or he quits.

Garett has lost his restaurant, livelihood, and, worst of all, his dog, Cookie. Unless Garett gives his former business partner and nemesis ten thousand pounds and the secret ingredients to his pasta dish, he’ll never get Cookie back. Garett must keep his head down and work at Cloud Cookery School to get the money he needs to move away with Cookie and start a new life. It’s doable if he doesn’t trust anyone or fall in love.

With Ruby and Garett working together, an irresistible attraction forms. Before he knows it, the grumpy chef is pretending to be her boyfriend to punish her ex, socialising with her family, and teaching her skills to win the baker competition, which risks everything he’s worked for. After weeks of flirting and a snowstorm, temptation overwhelms them.

But Ruby can’t let anyone come between her and her family like her ex did and Garett is keeping a huge secret from Ruby that could ruin everything between them. Can their forbidden connection endure it all, or are they destined to break each other’s hearts?

Fans of Meghan Quinn will enjoy this spicy romance novel that’s While You Were Sleeping meets Tessa Bailey’s The Sweetest Fix meets The Great British Bake Off. It features enemies to lovers, grumpy versus sunshine, one bed, found family tropes and a dash of Christmas.