I'm pretty sure there's a rulebook somewhere that says the owner of a successful small-town bakery must be cheerful, friendly, and a little bit curvy, which means I'm nailing it. But my family doesn't see it that way, especially since there's no handsome doctor or lawyer keeping me company. They're visiting Eastshore Isle for our summer celebration, and they're planning to bring me a date to cure my case of singlehood.

Desperate to escape their matchmaking, I make up a story about my own knight in shining armor, and cast the grumpy, seven-foot-tall town mechanic in this role. It's not like Cairo knows I've been crushing on him forever, so he has no reason to step up and help me out. But when my mother demands proof we're actually dating . . . Cairo delivers.

Oh boy, does he ever.

He's definitely not the kind of guy my family wants me to be with, and he's clearly not really interested in me. But as we spend more time together to sell the story, I realize that we might have the secret ingredient for a perfectly sweet romance. What's it going to take to convince my overbearing family—and Cairo himself—that the pair of us are perfect for Eastshore Isle?

Contains mature themes.