Hired: The Italian's Bride

“Kiss me, Mariella.”

Their gazes held for a second. Luca was waiting for her, she realised. He understood she’d been hurt and he was letting her make the first move. It was unexpected. She was used to him bossing her around. Now he was giving her the power, and it made him even more difficult to resist.

She leaned into his hand, tilted up her face, and with her heart in her throat touched her lips to his. The connection between them was so strong it rocked her core.

For the first time since leaving her old life behind she threw caution to the wind, wrapping her arms around his torso and pulling him closer.

The moment she did it, everything changed.

A busy wife and mother of three (two daughters and the family dog), Donna Alward believes hers is the best job in the world: a combination of stay-at-home mum and romance novelist. An avid reader since childhood, Donna always made up her own stories. She completed her Arts Degree in English Literature in 1994, but it wasn’t until 2001 that she penned her first full-length novel and found herself hooked on writing romance. In 2006 she sold her first manuscript, and now writes warm, emotional stories for Harlequin Mills & Boon’s Romance line.

In her new home office in Nova Scotia, Donna loves being back on the east coast of Canada after nearly twelve years in Alberta, where her career began, writing about cowboys and the west. Donna’s debut Romance, HIRED BY THE COWBOY, was awarded the Booksellers Best Award in 2008 for Best Traditional Romance.

With the Atlantic Ocean only minutes from her doorstep, Donna has found a fresh take on life and promises even more great romances in the near future!

Donna loves to hear from readers. You can contact her through her website at www.donnaalward.com, or visit her myspace page at www.myspace.com/dalward.

Recent titles by the same author:

THE RANCHER’S RUNAWAY PRINCESS

FALLING FOR MR DARK & DANGEROUS THE SOLDIER’S HOMECOMING MARRIAGE AT CIRCLE M HIRED BY THE COWBOY*

*Winner of the 2008 Booksellers Best Award

Dear Reader

For nearly twelve years I lived in Alberta, Canada, with my husband and children. My mum would come to visit us annually, and her visit always included a trip to the Rocky Mountains and, more often than not, lunch at the fabulously decadent Banff Springs Hotel. I always thought there was something magical about it. It’s perched at the pinnacle of town, a great stone castle looking up at Cascade Mountain and down the Bow River Valley. At Christmas there’s a replica of it made of gingerbread on display inside. The food is excellent, the atmosphere even better. When I thought of putting a heroine somewhere to reclaim her life, the townsite of Banff simply fitted the bill.

Of course I needed a hotel, and a to-die-for handsome hero. I found him in Italian Luca Fiori. Luca is heir to the Fiori hotel empire, and is sent to Banff to oversee the newest company acquisition, the Fiori Cascade. The Cascade is a place for relaxation, and rejuvenation, for a bit of decadence and specialness. Luca says it is to ‘remember the romance’.

As I write this letter, I’ve just returned home from a wedding…my mum’s wedding, after many years on her own. I couldn’t be happier that she has ‘remembered the romance’, and that she and her new husband ‘found’ each other. It just goes to show that there is always, always, room for love.

I’d love to hear from you… You can e-mail me at [email protected], or write to me in care of my publisher.

With my very best wishes

Donna

BY

DONNA ALWARD

For Mum and Harold

CHAPTER ONE

“MS. ROSS? Mr. Fiori has arrived.

He was here.

“Thank you, Becky. Show him in.”

Mari ran a hand over her already smooth hair, trying hard not to resent a man she’d never met. Luca Fiori, golden son of the Fiori Resort empire. Rich, powerful, and according to her online research, a bit of a playboy.

Just what she—and the hotel—needed. Not.

She could just make out the sound of his voice, smooth and warm, coming from the reception area. The sound sent a flutter through her tummy. Becky would be bringing him back any moment. Perhaps she should go out to meet him. Yes, that would probably be the genial, professional thing to do. But her feet wouldn’t move. Instead she turned her head to both sides, assessing the office as if through a stranger’s eyes. Her new office, though she couldn’t help feeling a bit of an interloper. What Fiori needed to see was a woman confident in her new position. Even if she wasn’t, she had to give that appearance. She made sure everything was in its place. Not a speck of dust or scrap of paper. Everything had to be perfect. The only thing that revealed she’d even been there that morning was her mug, half-full of cold tea, a faint half-moon of lipstick marring the cream-colored ceramic.

Mari inhaled, then let it out slowly, trying to relax her shoulders. She carried all her tension there and right now they were sitting close to her ears, she was so nervous. She pushed them down and attempted a smile. She had to show him she was up to the job…the job she’d had for exactly two weeks and three days.