Cake and Eat It, the third book in the Restaurantland Romance series, is an enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, found-family story crackling with offbeat humor and featuring an eccentric cast of cooks, servers and customers, set in Portland, Oregon, in the fabulous pre-internet 1990s.

Has Anzi found a new recipe for love?

Anzi loves to bake. She’s the pastry chef at the quirky Rose and Thorn restaurant. What she loves most about baking is the precision and predictability. If you have the right ingredients and follow the recipe exactly, success is certain. There’s zero risk.

It’s the same strategy she uses with Austin, her good-natured chef boyfriend and rising star in the Portland fine-dining scene. They’re in a stable relationship, with no surprises, just the way Anzi likes it.

In her downtime, she hosts a pretend baking show on a community access channel. Campy, funny and no-budget—with bedazzled cardboard appliances and a volunteer crew—Anzi is a natural in front of the camera. She uses the show to share her love of baking.

Life is good.

Until Roland—her almost-ex from culinary school days and the perpetrator of “the cake incident”—reappears in her life. He offers Anzi the chance to shoot a pilot for a real national cable TV baking show in New York. Turns out Roland’s boss at EatTV, a new channel devoted to food, saw Anzi’s wacky late-night show. It’s an incredible, life-changing opportunity, but there are two problems.

First, Anzi is still furious with Roland for his betrayal three years ago, and second, she is terrified of flying.

Roland offers to drive her across the country, and with Austin’s blessing, Anzi and Roland set out on a road trip, but she doesn’t plan to enjoy a minute of it. How could she? Stuck in a car with the man who broke her heart and almost ruined her career. Who cares if he’s even sexier and more handsome than he was three years ago?

That lasts until Wyoming.

But falling for Roland again would be a mistake, especially with safe Austin waiting at home—it’s a recipe for disaster, right?