Raye Morgan has been a nursery school teacher, a travel agent, a clerk and a business editor, but her best job ever has been writing romancesâand fostering romance in her own family at the same time. Current score: two boys married, two more to go. Raye has published over seventy romances, and claims to have many more waiting in the wings. She lives in Southern California, with her husband and whichever son happens to be staying at home at that moment.
Dear Reader
Diamonds are a girlâs best friend. Marilyn Monroe taught us that little gem many years ago, and some believe itâs true to this day. Not romance readers, though. We put our trust in relationships. The old man-woman thing. The eyes meeting across a crowded room. The quickening pulse as you catch sight of that gorgeous guy in your doorway. The soft, exciting crush of his lips on yours. The swell of his hard biceps under your fingers⦠Whoopsâwhere was I?
Oh, yesâdiamonds.
We may not rely on diamonds as the life support Marilyn was singing about, but they are special. We love them for their beauty, and for what they represent: commitment, eternal love and faithfulness. Funny thingâthese are all elements of our fascination with romantic fiction.
Read a lot of romancesâand hereâs hoping there are more diamonds in your future.
Celebrate!
Raye Morgan
CHAPTER ONE
BAD timing.
Max Angeli shoved the single red rose he was carrying into his pocket as he flipped open his mobile and barked a greeting, resigned to the certainty that whatever he was about to be told was going to create a new level of chaos in his life. First problemâthe dance club heâd just walked into was too noisy. Lights swirled and the heavy drumbeat of sensual rhythms pounded. The brittle clink of crystal liquor glasses vied with high-pitched feminine laughter to fill the air with a sort of desperate frivolity. He already despised the place.
âHold on, Tito,â he said into the phone. âLet me get to a spot where I can hear you.â
He could tell it was his assistant on the other end of the call, but he couldnât understand a word he was saying. A quick scan of the crowded lounge located the powder room and he headed for it. The sound level improved only marginally, but enough to let him hear what Tito was saying.
âWe found her.â
Max felt as though heâd touched a live electric wire. Everything in him was shocked. Closing his eyes, he tried to take it in. Theyâd been searching for weeks, with no apparent leads, until this last tip that his brotherâs ex-girlfriend, Sheila Bern, might have traveled by bus to Dallas.
His brother, Gino, had died just months before. Sheila hadnât surfaced at the time, but sheâd contacted Max months later to say sheâd had Ginoâs baby. When heâd asked for proof that the baby was indeed his brotherâs, sheâd vanished again. Heâd almost given up hope. And now, to hear that sheâd been foundâ¦
âYou found her?â he repeated hoarsely. âAre you sure?â
âWell, yes and no.â
His grip hardened on the mobile. âDamn it, Titoâ¦â
âJust get over here, Max. Youâll see what I mean.â He rattled off an address.
Max closed his eyes again and memorized the information. âOkay,â he said. âSit tight. Iâve got to get out of this blind date thing I got myself involved in. Iâll be right there.â
âOkay. Hey, boss? Hurry.â
Max nodded. âYou got it.â He snapped the phone shut and turned back to the noisy room, tempted to head straight for his car and forget the woman who was waiting for him somewhere in all this annoying crush of revelers. But even he couldnât be quite that rude. Besides, his mother would make him pay. She might be sitting in a terraced penthouse in Venice at the moment, but she had ways of reaching across the ocean to Dallas and turning on the guilt machine. Even though she was American, he was the Italian son, and heâd been raised to value keeping his mother happy.
Hesitating on the threshold, he scanned the room and searched for a woman holding a red roseâthe match to the poor, straggly item heâd belatedly retrieved from his suit pocket. All he needed to do was find her and let her know something had come up. Simple. It should only take a minute.
Cari Christensen bit her lip and wished she could drown her red rose in the glass of wine that sat untouched in front of her.
âFive more minutes,â she promised herself. âAnd then, if heâs not here, Iâm going to drop that rose into a trash basket and melt into the crowd. Without that, heâll never know who I am.â