Book excerpt: To the casual observer, Casey Thomas has had a perfect life. Sole heir to a wealthy, powerful business mogul, she seems to have the world at her feet but life is not easy for a daughter whose father only wanted a son. Not to be deterred, Kenneth Thomas makes the best of bad circumstances and sets out to prove that he can transform anything even a girl into profit. He pushes Casey to excel and dangles a carrot in front of her: graduate from business school, and you'll get a cool half-million bucks. Casey plays her father's game and gets that diploma and the reward. And just like her father, she sets out to make the best of a bad situation. She uses the nest egg to fund her own sweet dreams of being a pastry chef, leaving her father's dreams behind for crepes drenched in chocolate ganache, a bungalow on the beach, and a wind-in-your-face, tricked-out ride. She's convinced she has the hottest ride on the beach that is, until she meets Nate, her scorching-hot photographer neighbor. After experiencing what he can do with chocolate icing, Casey's convinced she's found the man who can satisfy her sweet tooth. But then she learns he's become her competitor and may be in cahoots with someone who's trying to sabotage her new business venture. Nate's fallen hard for the accident-prone beauty. Somehow or another, he has to convince her that his involvement with the bagel joint isn't what it seems. Someone that rotten has no business looking that good.