On Any Given Sundae — Marilyn Brant

In this light romantic comedy, when Elizabeth's uncle Siegfried and Rob's uncle Pauly rush off to Europe for a month in summer, they temporarily relinquish the reins of their ice cream shop to their respective niece and nephew -- two people who may have grown up practically next door to each other but who have next to nothing in common... Elizabeth Please Don't Call Me Lizzy Daniels is a small-town Wisconsin girl at heart. Shy and inexperienced at love, the frizzy-haired dessert cookbook writer still resides in her quaint hometown, stutters painfully when nervous and is only comfortable with her tiny circle of cooking pals. She must come out of hiding to help her uncle, but she's convinced her childhood crush, Rob, barely knows she exists. Roberto You'd Better Call Me Rob, or Else Gabinarri is the town's golden boy. A former football star who left home after high school, he made a splash in the big city and never looked back. He returns home to help out, but he's counting the minutes until he can escape to the relative anonymity of his commitment-free Chicago life and the restaurant he owns there. Despite his chattiness and charm, Rob was always intimidated by quiet, brainy girls like Frizzy Lizzy, and he isn't pleased to be back where people still see him as that popular but dumb jock -- an image he worked for almost a decade to shed. And then there's his dear Italian mother, who's bent on lining up potential hometown brides for him... Rob has an idea that just might help them both, but it involves a bit of family deception. With time running out to finish her cookbook, Elizabeth reluctantly agrees. Neither of them are used to playing games of pretense, but can love, hot summer nights and, maybe, some chocolate sauce, caramel and whipped cream...turn their farce into reality?