A spicy second chance mafia romance with plus size and neurodivergent representation.

Some debts are paid in blood. Some wounds only time can heal.
But second chances? Those come with a price tag even a mafia informant can't afford.

Lanie Carley learned early that life doesn't give breaks—it takes them. After losing her parents, she's built her world around two things: caring for her brother and burying the memory of the man who shattered her heart.
Until fate deals her another cruel hand.

Caught in a deadly mafia power play, Lanie discovers her past isn't just haunting her—it's hunting her. And the man she swore she'd never forgive? He's the only one who can save her.

Jason Rathborn has everything money can buy, except the one thing he threw away years ago: Lanie. Now a cunning poker player and informant in the mafia underworld, he's made enemies who know exactly where to strike—at the curvy, brilliant woman he never stopped loving.

When their worlds violently collide again in Trenton, California, Jason must prove he's worthy of redemption. But with danger closing in and secrets threatening to destroy them both, protecting Lanie might mean letting her go.
Again.

In this dark mafia romance, a broken queen of hearts must decide if she can trust her king to protect her this time.

Tropes: Second Chance Romance • Mafia Informant • Plus Size Heroine • Neurodivergent Representation • High Stakes Poker • Forced Proximity • Redemption Arc • HEA

If you loved the morally gray heroes in Penelope Douglas, the mafia intensity of Cora Reilly, and the authentic representation in Helen Hoang, you'll devour The Professor's Bet.

International Impact Book Award Winner

Author: K. M. Ringer, Kimberly M. Ringer
Genre: Romance
Subgenre: Dark Romance
Tropes: Second chance, Forced proximity, Morally grey characters, Mafia / crime romance
Audience: Adults