Restaurant Wars by Daphne Dyer

He was the last person she expected to cook with—let alone trust.

Nica Monroe didn’t picture her thirties as a single mom living with her parents, dodging advice, and watching her sleazy ex-boss try to win their town’s biggest cooking contest. The prize? A chance to represent her community and secure her daughter’s future.

Enter Ethan Cole: once a quiet high school classmate with a secret crush, now a Hollywood heartthrob with a reputation to fix. Years ago, one humiliating moment tied them together for all the wrong reasons. Now he’s back with an offer to fund her dream restaurant and team up for the contest.

Their kitchen partnership is anything but easy. Old wounds, clashing goals, and unexpected connection stir up more than just batter. But with so much on the line, can Nica risk trusting the boy who once broke her pride or the man who might win her heart?