She made a choice she can’t take back. He walked away from the things he loved. Two broken souls trying to heal in all the wrong ways.

Naomi
I told myself I could handle playing the role. Because pretending was easy. Feeling is dangerous.

Brandon
Cooking used to be my escape. Now, it’s just another thing I can’t touch. But then she walked in, and suddenly, I’m starving for something I shouldn’t want. Again.

Naomi Smith has spent her life keeping things under control. The devoted girlfriend. The corporate daughter. The woman who never lets the cracks show. But when she agrees to a deal with Brandon Milton, she quickly realizes she’s in over her head, because with him, control isn’t just slipping through her fingers... she’s starting to like the way it feels.

Cooking was Brandon's passion, his art, his everything. Now it's just a painful reminder of the dreams he abandoned after loss tore his world apart. When Naomi walks back into his life—when she looks at food like it’s both her greatest enemy and her deepest craving—he starts to remember why he loved it in the first place.

They fight, they pretend, and somewhere along the way, the lines start to blur. Because beneath all the resentment, there’s something else pulling them back together, something they haven’t been able to shake since college.

But some things don’t stay buried forever. And when the truth finally comes to light, their carefully built façade may come crashing down for good.

Perfect for fans who crave sharp banter, reluctant alliances, protective heroes, fake relationships that become beautifully real, BDSM dynamics woven through emotional healing, dark angsty romances where broken characters find salvation in each other's arms, and slow-burn chemistry that refuses to be ignored.

The steamy food billionaire romance 'here' is the fifth book of the interconnected Distance series, but it can be read as a standalone. Happily Ever After (HEA) is guaranteed. Dual POV. Please check the content note before reading.