I haven't uploaded a #SneakPeekSunday post in a while but today seems like the right time to share my latest WIP (work in progress) with you. There's only one more chapter left to write, and then "Sweet Surprises" will move into the editing phase. I'm hoping for an October release for this 3rd book in the Inn Love series. Here's an exclusive first look at the cover and blurb, plus a short (unedited) excerpt to whet your appetite.
Blurb
Italy has always fascinated Victoria. Now that the interior designer from America is there to help convert a grand old villa into an inn, it feels like a dream come true – even more so when she falls head over heels in love with the handsome gardener. The few precious days she shares with Riccardo make her rethink every decision she’s ever made in life. But just when Victoria is ready to make a leap of faith, she learns that her irresistible Italian isn’t who she thinks.
Will their love be enough to overcome the obstacles, or should she leave Bella Italia and her mysterious billionaire lover behind once and forever?
Will their love be enough to overcome the obstacles, or should she leave Bella Italia and her mysterious billionaire lover behind once and forever?
Excerpt
Shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans, Riccardo strode around to the back of the vast building and found his way to the far corner of the property. He hadn’t come far in his quest last afternoon, although the worst of the debris and vines had been cleared away. Perhaps another three hours of work and he’d be able to reveal what lay hidden—and nearly forgotten—beneath. Searching for the right spot by memory more than by sight, he crouched low and touched the corner of a mossy stone peeking out.
“Are we disturbing your peace?” he asked in soft Italian, whispering as though in a graveyard. “Or are we doing the right thing and actually bringing you peace at last?”
There was no reply, of course. The dead can’t speak, though he knew from experience that they could haunt you in your dreams if you gave them permission to.
“I’ve seen many different methods how people tame a garden gone wild but this is definitely the first time that someone is trying to use verbal persuasion,” a voice broke into his gloomy thoughts.
Startled, Riccardo rocked back on his heels so fast he lost his balance and toppled onto the ground. With a mortified ‘mierda’, he scrambled to find his footing and his scraped dignity and saw himself confronted with a held-out hand.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”
Sighing, he accepted the help that he probably didn’t need because it seemed impolite not to do so. The American’s hand wasn’t as soft as one would have expected it. A hint of callouses and blunt though neatly rounded nails spoke of a woman who wasn’t afraid to get hands-on, just as he’d suspected from watching her. Her grip was firm and warm when she pulled him to his feet, and Riccardo belatedly remembered his manners and murmured his thanks.
“There’s no need to apologize. I should expect you somewhere on the property at all times.”
He let go of her hand, wondering why he felt this odd spark and tingle where their skin had touched. His gaze traveled up, taking in her navy-blue jeggings that were now dust-stained at one knee and her figure-hugging yet modest black T-shirt. She wore her hair bound together in a high ponytail, accidentally adorned with a fallen leaf. His fingers itched to pluck it out, to run through her hair and find out whether it was as soft as it looked.
Their gazes meshed, and she must’ve seen something in his that brought color to her cheeks and made her break the connection.
“It’s my duty to be everywhere,” she said somewhat brusquely, wiping her hand on her thigh. To get rid of whatever dirt he might’ve left on it? Or because she’d felt this tingle too?
“Are we disturbing your peace?” he asked in soft Italian, whispering as though in a graveyard. “Or are we doing the right thing and actually bringing you peace at last?”
There was no reply, of course. The dead can’t speak, though he knew from experience that they could haunt you in your dreams if you gave them permission to.
“I’ve seen many different methods how people tame a garden gone wild but this is definitely the first time that someone is trying to use verbal persuasion,” a voice broke into his gloomy thoughts.
Startled, Riccardo rocked back on his heels so fast he lost his balance and toppled onto the ground. With a mortified ‘mierda’, he scrambled to find his footing and his scraped dignity and saw himself confronted with a held-out hand.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”
Sighing, he accepted the help that he probably didn’t need because it seemed impolite not to do so. The American’s hand wasn’t as soft as one would have expected it. A hint of callouses and blunt though neatly rounded nails spoke of a woman who wasn’t afraid to get hands-on, just as he’d suspected from watching her. Her grip was firm and warm when she pulled him to his feet, and Riccardo belatedly remembered his manners and murmured his thanks.
“There’s no need to apologize. I should expect you somewhere on the property at all times.”
He let go of her hand, wondering why he felt this odd spark and tingle where their skin had touched. His gaze traveled up, taking in her navy-blue jeggings that were now dust-stained at one knee and her figure-hugging yet modest black T-shirt. She wore her hair bound together in a high ponytail, accidentally adorned with a fallen leaf. His fingers itched to pluck it out, to run through her hair and find out whether it was as soft as it looked.
Their gazes meshed, and she must’ve seen something in his that brought color to her cheeks and made her break the connection.
“It’s my duty to be everywhere,” she said somewhat brusquely, wiping her hand on her thigh. To get rid of whatever dirt he might’ve left on it? Or because she’d felt this tingle too?
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Catch up before the new release!
Books 1 and 2 of the Inn Love series will whisk you away to a cottage in England and a log cabin in the Canadian Rockies.
Tantalizing Temptations | Hidden Hopes
Books 1 and 2 of the Inn Love series will whisk you away to a cottage in England and a log cabin in the Canadian Rockies.
Tantalizing Temptations | Hidden Hopes
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