Emily Belden

Risk – the seductive, destructive kind – was never Allie Simon's weakness. She didn't play a game unless she knew all the rules. And when she played, she always played it safe. That was before Chicago's most lusted–after culinary genius, Benji Zane, walked into her world and pulled her into his. Burdened with a reputation shadowed by scandal and addiction, and gifted with the potential to reach superstardom, he's recklessness personified. And when he's offered the chance to light up Randolph Street with a new edgy restaurant, Allie takes the ultimate risk and invests her life savings in his dream.

And then Benji disappears, relapsing to a place where Allie can't reach him. The Chicago dining world can cut, damage, and sting. But an addict's lies leave behind the deepest scars. Left with nothing but a restaurant that absolutely must open in a matter of weeks, Allie is thrust into a world of luxury and greed, of cutthroat business and ruthless delight. She can either walk away completely burned…or stay, cook, and fight like hell for the life and love she wants.