South Beach, two chefs falling in love, and an unexpected competition to be THE CHEF featured in a local magazine! What could go wrong? Did I mention two teen nieces who each want to have the best Sweet 15 party ever? If you love sweet romances filled with flavorful food, humor, emotion, and romance, you’ll love SOUTH BEACH LOVE, now available from Hallmark. It’s my pleasure to share a teaser from SOUTH BEACH LOVE!

Excerpt

“Chef, there’s someone out there who says he’s an old friend.”

Sara peered over the half wall that separated her restaurant’s open kitchen from the dining area. As her hostess jerked her head in the direction of the front door, Sara craned her neck to see an older, but unquestionably memorable face, at the hostess podium. A face she had dreamed about more than once as a teen.

“OMG,” she heard from beside her. “Is that Tony Sanchez? The Tony Sanchez?” said Jeri, her business partner, fellow chef, and long-time best friend. Inches shorter than Sara, Jeri had to rise on tiptoes to peer over the half-wall.

“None other,” Sara said as she grabbed a towel to dry her hands and shot a quick look at a starstruck Jeri. Her aqua blue eyes were wide with surprise in a face of flawless café con leche skin. “Can you handle things for a few minutes?”

At Jeri’s nod, Sara rushed out to greet Tony. She told herself not to make too much of how his smile widened when he spotted her, or how his eyes, those melty chocolate-colored eyes, warmed as he settled his gaze on her. But it was impossible to stop how her heartbeat picked up speed that he was here and seemingly happy to see her.

Hugs had always been freely given by the Sanchez family, but she held her hands out to him to avoid a hug, uncertain of how she’d react to the embrace. “It’s been way too long, Tony.” Nine years and eight months, give or take. Not that she was counting.

Liar, the little voice in her head chastised. Even though Tony had left Miami behind, she’d eagerly followed all his accomplishments. Even dared to wonder if he’d ever make Miami his home again.

Tony took both her hands in his and playfully wagged them. “You’ve grown up, chiquitica.”

She laughed and tried to ignore the tingle building where her hands rested in his. Slowly she eased her hands free. “I couldn’t stay ten forever. You look good,” she said and prayed it didn’t sound too much like flirting. To cover for it, she blurted out, “What brings you to Miami?”

“Family,” he said and glanced around the restaurant. “I ran into Rick the other day and he mentioned you had a place, so I decided to come by and say ‘Hello.’”

“Well, hello,” she said, feeling more and more like a tongue-tied fool with every passing second. “Monica will get you a table.” She waved at the hostess and when the young woman came by, she said, “Please seat Tony as soon as you can.”

He raised his hand in a ‘stop’ motion. “Por favor, no special treatment.”

Sara peered around the dining room. Every table was full inside and a quick look through the windows confirmed the outdoor seats were all taken. Plus there were quite a number of people milling around outside waiting to be seated.

“It may be a while,” she said with an apologetic grimace.

Tony mimicked her action, scrutinizing the restaurant and outdoor area. “I can wait. I’ve got all night. And if I’m still here when the rush is over, maybe we can grab a coffee later?”

Coffee? With Tony? Butterflies erupted in her stomach, but she somehow got the word out. “S-s-s-ure,” she stammered and without waiting for his reply, she rushed back to the kitchen before she embarrassed herself even more.

“You’re blushing. I’ve never seen you blush before,” Jeri kidded as Sara resumed the final plating of the nearly complete orders.

“It’s the heat in the kitchen,” she said, although her partner probably knew it was a lie.

“Sure, Sara. The heat and not…” Her friend paused and looked over the wall to where Tony waited outside, just beyond the entrance to the restaurant. “That hot guy you obviously have a crush on.”

“Not a crush,” she said and jerked tickets off the board to place them and the finished plates on the counter. Like clockwork her servers came over to pick up the meals and take them to their respective tables.

“Sure thing, Sara. Whatever you say,” Jeri teased as she finished up an order of sliders by topping them with slices of perfectly grilled foie gras. When she was done, she passed the plates to Sara for the final touch of caramelized onion compote before a toasted brioche bun top completed the slider and the order went up on the counter.

“Please, Jeri, leave it alone,” she pleaded and with a reluctant nod, her partner returned her focus to the new orders while Sara prayed that she wouldn’t make a fool of herself with Tony when it came time to chat with him.

She’d tried to keep her crush a secret from him and if he’d ever noticed it, he’d been gentleman enough not to mention it.

She wanted to keep it that way.

He had his restaurant and life in New York and she was here in Miami and never the twain would meet.

But in the back of her mind, she wondered, “What if?”