Celeste Rowan

Maren Cole rebuilt her life in the kitchen at Breakwater House, where every menu carries the labor and memory of her Black coastal community. Then Theo Walsh arrives with a camera crew, a network opportunity, and the unfinished history of the love he left behind. Theo wants to prove he can tell the hotel's story without taking ownership of it. Maren has heard that promise before. When an old creative betrayal collides with a high-stakes preview supper, she sets firm rules for access, authorship, and the parts of her life that will never become content.
Their chemistry has only deepened with time, but a second chance requires more than regret. Theo must practice consent when no camera is rolling, and Maren must decide whether staying can be a choice she authors for herself. A passionate BWWM second-chance workplace romance about food, creative ownership, community, and a love rebuilt in full view of the truth.