Ruby Barrett Knihy

A fiery restaurant owner falls for her enigmatic head chef in this charming, emotional romance Amy Chambers: restaurant owner, micromanager, control freak.Amy will do anything to revive her ailing restaurant, including hiring a former reality-show finalist with good connections and a lot to prove. But her hopes that Sophie’s skills and celebrity status would bring her restaurant back from the brink of failure are beginning to wane…Sophie Brunet: grump in the kitchen/sunshine in the streets, took thirty years to figure out she was queer.Sophie just wants to cook. She doesn’t want to constantly post on social media for her dead-in-the-water reality TV career, she doesn’t want to deal with Amy’s take-charge personality and she doesn’t want to think about what her attraction to her boss might mean…Then, an opportunity: a new foodie TV show might provide the exposure they need. An uneasy truce is fine for starters, but making their dreams come true means making some personal and painful sacrifices and soon, there’s more than just the restaurant at stake.Carina Adores is home to romantic love stories where LGBTQ+ characters find their happily-ever-afters.

A former firefighter at loose ends and an academic with a confidence problem join a friendship study--and quickly become more than just friends--in this steamy, emotional romance from Ruby Barrett Jesse Logan doesn't want a fresh start. He wants his old life back--the life where he was a firefighter, before an injury made that impossible. The life before his grandfather's Alzheimer's got so bad that he doesn't recognize Jesse anymore. When a friend tells him about a paid psychological study that could prove enlightening, Jesse sees it as a chance to get back to the man he was before the accident while making a little extra cash. All Lulu Banks is asking for is a fresh start. Back home after a devastating breakup, she's struggling to find her place. She's always been a lot, and she knows that--too loud, too eager, too obvious about her feelings. For her, the friendship study seems like a great idea--until she's paired with Jesse Logan, who recently ghosted her after a blind date that led to a steamy make-out session. Now, that old familiar tension is back. The two are frequently paired together on study assignments, and despite the program's strict "no romance" rule, they're quick to find a work-around that allows them to explore their tenuous connection. And soon they're on their way to total self-improvement... As long as they don't get caught.