Rise & Grind: An Age-Gap Sapphic Culinary Romance

Twenty-two-year-old culinary dropout Sloane Delacroix has raw talent, zero discipline, and a mouth that gets her in trouble. When she lands an apprenticeship under Margaux Fontaine—Portland’s most exacting, icy, and brilliant pastry chef—Sloane expects a grueling kitchen. She doesn't expect the intense, undeniable heat that flares between them every time Margaux corrects her technique.

Margaux hasn't let anyone into her kitchen—or her bed—in eight years. She has built her life around control, precision, and distance. But Sloane’s chaotic brilliance is dismantling her carefully built walls, piece by piece.

As the prestigious Pacific Northwest Pastry Invitational looms, the stakes reach a boiling point. With a former flame sitting on the judges' panel and Sloane's entire career on the line, Margaux and Sloane must decide if the heat between them is a recipe for disaster, or the most honest thing they've ever made.

Rise & Grind is a steamy, fast-paced, age-gap sapphic romance featuring an ice-queen boss, a fiercely determined apprentice, high-stakes culinary drama, and a guaranteed HEA.