Natalie Caña

Natalie Caña turns up the heat, humor and heart in this debut rom-com about a Puerto Rican chef and an Irish American whiskey distiller forced into a fake engagement by their scheming octogenarian grandfathers. Kamilah Vega is desperate to convince her family to update their Puerto Rican restaurant and enter it into the Fall Foodie Tour. With the gentrification of their Chicago neighborhood, it's the only way to save the place. The fly in her mofongo--her blackmailing abuelo says if she wants to change anything in his restaurant, she'll have to marry the one man she can't stand: his best friend's grandson. Liam Kane spent a decade working to turn his family's distillery into a contender. Now he and his grandfather are on the verge of winning a national competition. Then Granda hits him with a one-two punch: he has cancer and he has his heart set on seeing Liam married before it's too late. And Granda knows just the girl...Kamilah Vega. If they refuse, their grandfathers will sell the building that houses both their businesses. With their futures on the line, Kamilah and Liam plan to outfox the devious duo, faking an engagement until they both get what they want. But soon, they find themselves tangled up in more than either of them bargained for.

Santiago "Saint" Vega gets a second shot at love with Lola León, but when duty to his family forces him to do something she'll never forgive, will everything he's built come crumbling down? Years ago, Santiago “Saint” Vega walked away from the girl he loved to fulfill his duty. Now the word duty has become both his motto and his albatross. He’s already struggling to build bridges between his drifting family, take on more responsibilities at his uncle’s construction company, figure out why his daughter refuses to talk at school and curtail his mischievous abuelo’s escalating pranks. Then she walks back into his life. Social justice advocate Lola León has returned to Humboldt Park for two reasons: to help care for her dear abuelo and to serve the community center she loved, particularly the shelter for unhoused LGBTQIA+ youths. When she finds out that the Vegas are responsible for endangering both, she is more than ready to go to war, even if Saint— the boy she never forgot—is standing at the front of the battlefield. Neither of them expects to become allies in saving the shelter, helping Saint’s daughter or ending the decades-long feud between their grandfathers. They definitely don’t expect all of their old feelings to come rushing back. As Saint and Lola enter combat, they can’t help but wonder where the other’s true allegiance lies, and whether they’ll win these battles only to lose the war and, ultimately, each other.

The third book in the riotously funny Vega Family Love Stories finds self-assured firefighter Leo Vega trying to reignite a flame that’s gone cold and finally bring his secret love affair into the open. Leo Vega’s love life has been on life support since long before the gunshot wound that put him on leave from the fire department. Now, a year after his injury, he’s finally able to return to work, but he’s no closer to fixing things with Sofi, his sister’s best friend and the woman he’s had a secret on-again, off-again relationship with for years. Sofi is still reeling from the revelation that her best friend lied to her years ago, setting her life on a course she’s resented ever since. She’s done with the Vega family, and that includes Leo, who has always prioritized his tight-knit clan over their relationship. She’s moving on with her life, but then circumstances beyond their control push Sofi and Leo into a tense roommate situation. It’s almost impossible to move on with someone new when Leo is there, reminding her what they had, every day. When his great-granddaughter Rosie tips Papo Vega off about what’s been going on between Leo and Sofi, he’s on the case, with reinforcements. Working behind the scenes alongside Sofi’s mom, he’s determined to help these two stubborn lovebirds end up where they belong—together.