A Diva in Manhattan: HarperImpulse Contemporary Romance
A Date with the DivaFresh off a successful Italian tour, soprano soloist Alaina Amaldi returns to America on cloud nine. The Metropolitan Opera has invited her to guest star in their performance of Mozart’s Magic Flute, and she’s singing at the top of her game. But, to act the part of the sweet, young Pamina in love, she has to be likeable; something that has never come easily to her. On a quest to soften her diva-like image, she volunteers at an arts school for underprivileged children. Too bad the kids call her the opera witch…Brett Robinson has moved to Manhattan to start afresh. Used to living on his own as a logger, he finds a job with a construction company repairing the sidewalk in front of the Metropolitan Opera House. What he didn’t count on was for one of those hoity-toity divas to strut straight past him and into his heart!However, Brett knows that a guy like him doesn’t have a chance with a woman like Alaina. That is until an older woman asks him to attend a fundraiser, posing as her Wall Street stockbroker son. Before he knows it, Brett’s drinking cocktails with the gorgeous diva! Trouble is, she thinks he’s quite a few billion dollars richer. Is she as shallow as everyone claims, or will she still love what she sees when the tux comes off?
Читать A Diva in Manhattan: HarperImpulse Contemporary Romance онлайн беплатно
HarperImpulse an imprint of
HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
First published in Great Britain by HarperImpulse 2014
Copyright © Aubrie Dionne 2014
Cover images © Shutterstock.com
Aubrie Dionne asserts the moral right
to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue record for this book is
available from the British Library
This novel is entirely a work of fiction.
The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are
the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to
actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is
entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved under International
and Pan-American Copyright Conventions.
By payment of the required fees, you have been granted
the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access
and read the text of this e-book on screen.
No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted,
downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or
stored in or introduced into any information storage and
retrieval system, in any form or by any means,
whether electronic or mechanical, now known or
hereinafter invented, without the express
written permission of HarperCollins.
Ebook Edition © November 2014
ISBN: 9780007594603
Version: 2016-11-17
Digital eFirst: Automatically produced by Atomik ePublisher from Easypress.
To Donna Lombardo, the fabulous opera soprano and my good friend. Thank you for all of your insights and advice!
Contents
Copyright
CHAPTER FIVE: Looking Too Hard
CHAPTER SIX: Heroes and Villains
CHAPTER TEN: From Riches to Rags
CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Bumps in the Night
CHAPTER FIFTEEN: Baring It All
CHAPTER SIXTEEN: Return to Reality
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: Prize Students
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: Deal Breaker
CHAPTER NINETEEN: Bianca’s Revenge
Also by Aubrie Dionne…
Alaina sang the last note of her aria and waited for her voice to echo throughout the farthest rows of the Metropolitan Opera House. A year ago, she would have never thought she’d be standing here in front of the judges. But, one favorable review on her Italian tour last summer was all it had taken to escalate her into high demand status and get her the audition of a lifetime for the character of Pamina in The Magic Flute.
She brought her arms down to her sides and awaited judgment. She’d sung her lungs out. If that wasn’t the bomb, then she didn’t know what they were looking for.
Roxanne Smith, an older woman with Elizabeth Taylor’s wild dark hair, and the president of the board nodded to the European conductor, Altez Vior, then addressed Alaina. “Obviously you have the vocals for the part.”
Alaina concealed her breath of relief and bowed her head, trying to look modest - an act that didn’t come to her naturally. “Thank you.”
“But.” Elizabeth’s look-a-like tapped her pen on her cheek.
Alaina swallowed her disdain. She never did like those old movies. “Yes?”
“The role calls for a sweet young maiden in love, which is hardly what you’re known for.”
Alaina bit back a retort. “I can assure you, I’m an excellent actress.”
Roxanne held up a finger. “But will concert goers want to see you in that role? Will they believe you are capable of unrequited love?”
“They will believe what I sing.” She was at the top of her game, and she’d have the audience at her feet with one sweet note. Why couldn’t these idiots see that?
The conductor, nodded, rubbing his hand over his crazy white hair. “Perhaps. But, to get them in the seats in the first place, you need to soften your image.”
Alaina scoffed. Her image? Why, she was the most beautiful, alluring, and versatile soprano around. Who else were they looking for? Mother Teresa? “And how do you propose I do that?”
Roxanne smiled wickedly. “We want you to volunteer as a music teacher at Heart House.”
“Heart House?” Shock weakened her knees, followed by a large dose of fear. That was a charter school for the underprivileged. They scribbled more graffiti on the walls than notes on a page. She’d even heard there were gangs.
Mr. Vior nodded. “That’s not all. You’ll have to attend a number of high profile fundraisers for children with disabilities, victims of tragedies, and the Center for Cancer Research.”
Alaina blinked as she digested his words. Being an only child, she had no practice working with children, the only tragic thing she’d experienced was a bad review, and the thought of anything medical made her sick to her stomach. “I see.”
The conductor raised both his eyebrows. “If you agree, we are willing to offer you the part.”
The bright lights burned into her retinas as a feeling of claustrophobia came over her. For someone who’d been on stage her entire life, social work was far from her comfort zone.
