âHeidi Rice is simply brilliant when it comes to
writing sharp, sassy and sexy romantic novels!â âwww.cataromance.com
âThe amusing opening spins into
an emotional and heartfelt story.â âRT Book Reviews on Hot-Shot Tycoon
âI was actually breathless while reading this bookâ¦.
Itâs a sensual ride you wonât want to lose the opportunity of reading.â âwww.thePinkHeartSociety.com on Public Affair, Secretly Expecting
About the Author
About Heidi Rice
HEIDI RICE was born and bred and still lives in London, England. She has two boys who love to bicker, a wonderful husband who, luckily for everyone, has loads of patience, and a supportive and ever-growing British/French/Irish/American family. As much as Heidi adores âthe Big Smokeâ, she also loves America, and every two years or so she and her best friend leave hubby and kids behind and Thelma and Louise it across the States for a couple of weeks (although they always leave out the driving off a cliff bit). Sheâs been a film buff since her early teens and a romance junkie for almost as long. She indulged her first love by being a film reviewer for the last ten years. Then a few years ago she decided to spice up her life by writing romance. Discovering the fantastic sisterhood of romance writers (both published and unpublished) in Britain and America made it a wild and wonderful journey to her first Mills & Boon>® novel.
Heidi loves to hear from readersâyou can e-mail her at [email protected] or visit her website: www.heidi-rice.com
To Abby Green, for seeing me to the end of this book,
and being a fabulous roomie in NYC 2011!
With special thanks to Michelle Styles,
who knows the Bay Area much better than I do.
âDONâT look now, but heâs here and heâs right behind us.â
Eva Redmondâs heart catapulted into her throat as the urgent whisper from her old college chum Tess sliced through the hum of polite conversation and the tinkle of champagne glasses in the upscale San Francisco art gallery. âAre you sure?â
Tess looked past Evaâs right shoulder. âTall? Check.â She nodded. âDark? Check. Handsome? Check. The only one not in a suit? Check.â She grinned at Eva. âYup, itâs definitely your rebel scriptwriter.â Her gaze flicked past Eva again. âAnd youâre in luck. Not only is he alone. But heâs even hotter than his photo.â
Eva stared blankly at the six foot square canvas in front of herâwhich was titled The Explosion of the Senses, but looked more like an explosion in a paint factory to her untrained eyeâand swallowed down the knot of apprehension that had been tightening around her larynx ever since sheâd boarded the plane at Heathrow that morning.
The knowledge that the man sheâd travelled five thousand miles to meet was standing a few feet away made it feel as if she were trying to swallow a boulder.
âGoodie,â she muttered.
Tess laughed and nudged her. âDonât sound so pleased.â
âWhy would I be pleased?â Eva whispered back, fairly sure Nick Delisantroâs extreme hotness was not going to work in her favour. If only he were a geeky academic. Sticking with what you knew might be dull. But dull had its advantages.
âWhy wouldnât you be?â Tess countered. âGiving a scorching hot guy the news that heâs the heir to a fortune in Italian real estate is what Iâd call a win-win situation.â
Eva nobly resisted the urge to sneak a peek over her shoulder. âYes, but Iâm not you, am I?â she remarked wryly as she studied her friend dispassionately.
In her ice-blue, off the shoulder silk gown and six-inch designer heels, Tess looked elegant, slim, super-confidentâand completely at home in the rarefied atmosphere of a gallery opening in San Franciscoâs Union Square neighbourhood. Which wasnât at all surprising. Tess had spent the last three years building a formidable reputation as an events planner in the US and even at university sheâd been able to schmooze for England. Eva meanwhile had spent the years since sheâd gained her first at Cambridge burying her nose in dusty antiquarian documents and computer research data. She couldnât schmooze to save her lifeâand sheâd never felt more out of place than among all these beautiful people who had elevated socialising to an art form.
The admission touched some lonely place deep inside. She shook off the thought. She wasnât lonely; her life was exactly how she wanted it. Settled, secure, content. Until two days ago, when her boss Henry Crenshawe had demanded she travel halfway round the globe to be humiliated in public.
âAnd itâs not as simple as telling him he could be the Duca DâAlegriaâs grandson. Iâll also have to tell him the man he always thought was his biological father isnât.â Eva tensed at the thought of having such an intimate conversation with a stranger. A scorching hot stranger who had steadfastly ignored all her attempts to contact him in close to a month. âI shouldnât have let you talk me into asking him for an appointment here. Itâs not appropriate.â