A high stakes wager pits an aspiring entrepreneur against a ruthless CEO in this sexy romantic comedy.
After her life falls apart, recruitment consultant Layla Patel returns home to her family in San Francisco. But in the eyes of her father, who runs a Michelin starred restaurant, she can do no wrong. He would do anything to see her smile again. With the best intentions in mind, he offers her the office upstairs to start her new business and creates a profile on an online dating site to find her a man. She doesn’t know he’s arranged a series of blind dates until the first one comes knocking on her door…
As CEO of a corporate downsizing company Sam Mehta is more used to conflict than calm. In search of a quiet new office, he finds the perfect space above a cozy Indian restaurant that smells like home. But when communication goes awry, he’s forced to share his space with the owner’s beautiful yet infuriating daughter Layla, her crazy family, and a parade of hopeful suitors, all of whom threaten to disrupt his carefully ordered life.
As they face off in close quarters, the sarcasm and sparks fly. But when the battle for the office becomes a battle of the heart, Sam and Layla have to decide if this is love or just a game.
Release Date: Jun 9, 2020
Heat Level: Hot
Publisher: Penguin Group
Imprint: Berkley
Price: $9.99
Layla Patel got fired and caught her man cheating on her. With her heart broken, she returns back home from New York to start her own company. She needs time to heal so her father allows her to use an office space above his restaurant. The problem is that he already agreed to let Sam Mehta lease the space for his company. Layla wants Sam gone but since her father is now dealing with a health crisis, Layla really has no choice but to try to share he space with Sam.
Sam thinks Layla is a bit crazy despite being attracted to her. He allows her to stick around for a while once he sees that her father set up a “marriage” profile on a website. As the men swing by to interview Layla, Sam can’t help but to interject himself into the process.
I love the concept of this. The story is so over the top and quirky but it still works for me. There are so many characters to love. The Aunties are spot on in this story. Everyone has their noses in Layla’s business. The food and culture is perfectly represented.
Sam escorts Layla on each of her interviews. The banter between them is hilarious. He finds flaws in all of the guys showing his jealousy. Layla can’t help but notice she doesn’t feel one spark with anyone but Sam. The thing I like is that the two act like adults once they realize they liked each other. There is no beating around it.
Sam and Layla are a fantastic couple. They both are strong, opinionated, cute and the chemistry is off the charts. We went from funny hot romcom to some seriously steamy scenes. Sam and Layla were not afraid once they cross the threshold of being friends to lovers.
The author does a great job of showing the family dynamic and definitely how it impacts the relationship. Sam’s outlook on what happened to his sister definitely defined how he viewed marriage and even showed his protectiveness of Layla.
This is surprising little gem. Great debut by this author. I look forward to other books by her…maybe there will be some other characters (hint: Daisy) who get their own story.
~ Samantha
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