April Appleby only wants two things in life: to move on from her ex-fiancé, and, as a foodie living on the north side of Chicago, to figure out the secret ingredient of her late mother’s pasta sauce. Easier said than done considering her ex has just popped back into the picture, and she inherited zero cooking genes from her mom. But when April hears from her old friend Simon Becker for the first time in fifteen years, she finds herself reuniting with him in the culinary capital of the world: Rome. The perfect place for recipes, and as it turns out, romance.​

In the eternal city, April embarks on a secret ingredient scavenger hunt. But, with Italian romance on every corner, her search soon expands to more than just food. Especially since there’s a catch: Simon’s work is paying for the spouses-only trip, so these two old friends need to pretend to be married. Um… this could get awkward…​

Will flames ignite and heat up an old friendship? And will the streets of Rome lead to an old family secret recipe? April just might find more than ingredients along the cobbled streets of the eternal city.