This book is for my father, Lenworth.

      You were always a hard worker,

      a man of the highest integrity,

      and one our family could always rely on.

      In short, you are the best father a girl could ask for.

      I love you today, tomorrow, and always.

      Dear Reader,

      What is your passion? Do you love knitting? Painting landscapes? And is your passion something everyone knows about, or a well-guarded secret?

      From childhood, my passion was crafting stories. They say, do what you love, and the rest will follow. That’s what I did, and turned my passion into a career.

      Salina, my heroine, has a culinary passion. Offered a shortcut to becoming a chef, she soon learns that this offer comes with a price—one she won’t pay.

      People often put their love lives on the back burner when pursuing their goals, and Salina and Jake are no different. But for them, love is the silver lining after some awful events—if only they’ll embrace it.

      I hope that whatever your passion is, you’re fitting it into your life. But my greater hope is that you don’t put love on the back burner. Because that’s the greatest passion of all.

      Happy reading!

      Kayla

       Chapter 1

      Salina Brown knew well and good that you should always trust your instincts, and indeed she had done that through her entire twenty-seven years. She was smart enough to know that if your gut said something was wrong, you should pay attention. And yet this time, she had ignored her gut, told herself that there was no way the legendary Donald Martin would do anything out of line.

      Even before she got on the train in Brooklyn and headed to the Upper East Side for what Donald Martin had said would be “the opportunity of a lifetime,” Salina had had a niggling doubt, the odd sensation that perhaps things weren’t as Donald said they were.

      But he was the expert chef with an endless list of clients. Who was she to question if someone had hired him to prepare a special dinner at a private residence? The Upper East Side address made it clear that whoever had hired Donald had money, and didn’t wealthy people love to host dinner parties at their lavish residences? Especially during the holiday season. Despite her reservations, Salina had no doubt that Donald catered such private dinners all the time, and for him to offer her the chance to work with him tonight … well, how lucky was she?

      That was the thought Salina concentrated on as she headed to the address where she would be helping Donald to cater the dinner. That and the fact that she would be gaining invaluable private contacts, the kind that would only help her own business grow one day.

      Two months earlier, she had been lucky enough to meet the legendary chef at a charity event her sister’s law firm had been involved in. And wonder of all wonders, after talking to him, he had offered her the chance to work with him. It had been a dream come true for Salina, whose latest passion was to become a chef. Being able to apprentice with one of New York’s greats in the business would surely help fasttrack her own path to becoming a chef with her own restaurant one day.

      Salina glanced up at the mid-rise condo building overlooking Central Park, her heart beating a little faster. She was nervous, she realized. Nervous about doing her best and proving to Donald—and to herself—that she had what it took to succeed in the competitive world of professional chefs.

      Salina approached the beautiful old building, where the immaculately dressed doorman greeted her with a smile and opened the door for her. Inside the building’s foyer, the concierge asked her who she was here to see, and she told him what Donald had instructed her to say—that she was his guest.

      “Ah, yes. Mr. Martin told me to expect you.”

      Salina had never been greeted by a doorman back in her native Buffalo, and not in the Brooklyn neighborhood where she lived with her sister. Of course, she had seen exactly this on television and in the movies, and she couldn’t help thinking that this was a taste of what her own life would be one day. That by following her passion, she would be able to live at this kind of exclusive address.

      Not that she needed all the frills of a lavish lifestyle. Rather, she believed that by following her passion success would come. Every person she admired whose story she had heard or read, all said the same thing. That while not necessarily seeking monetary success, it came when they followed their heart’s passion, and Salina was determined that she would be no different.

      Indeed, it was why she was here, wasn’t it?

      “I’ll let Mr. Martin know that you’re on the way up,” the concierge said pleasantly.

      Salina nodded and then headed toward the elevators. Soon she was on her way up to the penthouse floor. By the time she was glancing down the hallway to determine in which direction she was supposed to head, she saw a door at the end of the hallway on the right open up. Donald appeared, smiling widely, and gestured to her to come.

      Salina made her way down the hallway to him, loosening her scarf as she did. There was no snow outside, but it was frigid, and she was glad she’d thought to wear a scarf to help protect her face from the cold.

      “Hello, Donald,” Salina said as she reached him.

      “Good evening,” Donald responded, and held the door open wide for her to enter. As Salina stepped into the apartment’s foyer, he added, “Let me take your coat.”

      Salina gazed around the immaculate residence. While the building itself was a prewar establishment, this unit had been renovated to reflect the design style of the 21st century. Sleek, white leather sofas, polished mahogany hardwood floors and modern art on the walls—the place could easily be featured in a home décor magazine.

      “Did