Izzy Calabrese wants to make her restaurant a success. She has a passion for cooking and life in general. Romance is the furthest thing from her mind when she finds Mel Thomas crying after being abandoned by her husband…again. She tries to distance herself from Mel, but she keeps showing up.

Clients know Mel Thomas as the CEO of her own consulting firm. She’s smart, engaging, and successful. Anyone who knows her would never think she’s insecure, but she’s more fragile than anyone knows. Her marriage on shaky ground, she doesn’t know how, or if, it can be salvaged. All she’s ever wanted in a relationship is someone’s attention. She thinks she may have found the person who can give that to her. Never in her wildest dreams did she expect it to be Izzy.

Dena grew up in Novato, California, where she learned to ride motorcycles and grow vegetables. Eventually moving with her family to the southwest, she began writing in her spare time and found it to be her passion.

Dena earned a bachelor degree in information assurance and forensics from Oklahoma State University. She has gone from information security to IT customer relations, which suits her perfectly. She is a would-be chef, tech nerd, and occasional mechanic who loves cars, art, coffee, and curling up by the fire on a cold, blustery day reading or writing a book.

Dena currently lives in the southwest with her partner and is constantly amazed at what she learns from their two kids.