A Chocolate-Box New Years by Josie Riviera

Fresh pasta isn’t the only specialty that takes extra time…
The extra time and expense of Julie Elliot’s old-school cooking methods are worth it, but that means The Pasta Junction’s bottom line is often stretched thin—much like herself. Even during the holidays, the restaurant’s busiest season.
When she carves out time in her brutal schedule to meet with Bloomingfield weatherman Lorenzo Rossi, she crushes her reaction to the tall, blue-eyed charmer quicker and harder than a clove of roasted garlic. Lorenzo may be sweet as Italian cassata and hot as a red pepper, but planning an anniversary dinner means married, and she needs another disaster like that like she needs another olive oil stain on her shirt.
But as she and Lorenzo assemble the ingredients for a perfect celebration, she discovers something completely unexpected. And her heart may not withstand the storm of emotion she never saw coming.
Some recipes don’t turn out quite as you predicted…