âWeâre a lot alike, Sidney. Workaholics with no sense of time or place.â
She smiled. âAnd here I was thinking how different we are.â
âIn what way?â
âYouâre at home any place in the world. Iâm only happy when Iâm here in Devilâs Cove. You willingly put yourself in harmâs way for the sake of your job. Iâm the biggest coward in the world. I canât imagine having the courage to face down danger over and over again.â
âBut what about the perils of everyday life? There are different degrees of danger. You never know how much courage you have until youâre called upon to face a challenge.â
He took her empty mug from her hand and gathered her into his arms. âEnough talk about how alike or different we are. Thereâs one thing we can absolutely agree on.â
Whatever sheâd been about to say was gone from her mind in an instant as, with one kiss, one touch, she lost herself in the pleasure he offeredâ¦.
Dear Reader,
The weatherâs hot, and so are all six of this monthâs Silhouette Intimate Moments books. We have a real focus on miniseries this time around, starting with the last in Ruth Langanâs DEVILâS COVE quartet, Retribution. Mix a hero looking to heal his battered soul, a heroine who gives him a reason to smile again and a whole lot of danger, and youâve got a recipe for irresistible reading.
Linda Turnerâs backâafter way too longâwith the first of her new miniseries, TURNING POINTS. A beautiful photographer who caught the wrong person in her lens has no choice but to ask the copsâmake that one particular copâfor help, and now both her life and her heart are in danger of being lost. FAMILY SECRETS: THE NEXT GENERATION continues with Marie Ferrarellaâs Immovable Objects, featuring a heroine who walks the line between legal, illegalâand love. Dangerous Deception from Kylie Brant continues THE TREMAINE TRADITION of mixing suspense and romanceânot to mention sensualityâin doses no reader will want to resist. And donât miss our standalone titles, either. Cindy Dees introduces you to A Gentleman and A Soldier in a military reunion romance that will have your heart pounding and your fingers turning the pages as fast as they can. Finally, welcome Mary Buckham, whose debut novel, The Makeover Mission, takes a plain Jane and turns her into a princessâliterally. Problem is, this princess is in danger, and now so is Jane.
Enjoy them allâand come back next month for the best in romantic excitement, only from Silhouette Intimate Moments.
Yours,
Leslie J. Wainger
Executive Editor
is an award-winning and bestselling author of contemporary and historical romance. Her books have been finalists for the Romance Writers of Americaâs (RWA) RITA>® Award. Over the years, she has given dozens of print, radio and TV interviews, including Good Morning America and CNN News, and has been quoted in such diverse publications as the Wall Street Journal, Cosmopolitan and the Detroit Free Press. Married to her childhood sweetheart, she has raised five children and lives in Michigan, the state where she was born and raised. Ruth enjoys hearing from her readers. Letters can be sent via e-mail to [email protected] or via her Web site at www.ryanlangan.com.
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Epilogue
Tuscanyâ1998
Sidney Brennan worked quickly to catch the last rays of the fading sunlight that fanned over the pale, sun-washed landscape. The distant villa, with its stucco walls and tiled roof, was framed with those long rows of grapevines that grew in such profusion. She mixed the paints on her palette until she had the perfect shade of light that tinted the hills surrounding the village in hues of terra-cotta and burnt umber.
At last she set down her paints and took a moment to assess her work. Though sheâd captured the feeling of the place where she was staying, the painting didnât move her. Instead, it left her feeling empty.
Like her life. Like her heart. Like her future.
The best that could be said about it was that it was merely adequate. There was no passion. No fire. Anyone looking at it would recognize this place. But would they feel the burning desire to live here? Did the painting call to them?
What was calling to her was food. She touched a hand to her middle and realized sheâd forgotten to eat. Again. Picking up the canvas and paints, the easel and stool, she lugged them across the field and stowed them just inside the door of the villa before going to the kitchen in search of food. Half an hour later she sat on a little balcony and nibbled cheese and bread, washing it down with wine while she watched the sun set over those glorious, purple-hued hills.
This lovely old villa in Tuscany was to have been her haven while her heart healed and she immersed herself in the great passion of her life. Sheâd come to this place to follow a dream. Instead, it had become her prison. The solitude she had always enjoyed was now filled with utter loneliness. She was bedeviled with memories. Memories that had begun to affect her work. Though she was perfectly capable of capturing the light, the scenery, the feelings of this place, there was no denying that the work she was turning out was mediocre at best.