New Release: Italian Valentine by Kate Hofman
Purchase: Amazon
Book Blurb:
At a party, Bill Castellano, a mystery writer, meets Marie Boudreaux, an actress, and sparks begin to fly. He invites her to come with him to Ocean Breeze, FL, where he introduces her to the CEO of an Advertising agency, who offers her a job in a new campaign, acting opposite famous model Jamie Christopher.
Marie and Jamie play well off each other, but Bill becomes uneasy watching their professional embraces. Confused by his feelings, he returns to Florida–for his book, he says, but is Marie deceived?
Will Bill be able to come to grips with his feelings, and if he does, will Marie take him back?
Excerpt:
His friend Amadeo di Sant’Angelo really knew how to throw a party, Bill Castellano mused. He was glad they had bumped into each other in the morning when they were both assessing the avalanche risk, and realized there could be no question of serious skiing. And that was why people came to Lucino—for serious skiing.
When Amadeo invited him to a party he was giving, he had quickly accepted—they had been good friends for years. He smiled to himself. The party was fun. It was in full swing, and he was standing to one side for a while, letting his eyes slide over the women guests—amazed at the number of beauties present, all in couture dresses and fabulous jewelry.
Invariably, when Amadeo invited, the women came—even some he had not invited. After all, Amadeo di Sant’Angelo was an Italian count, and they all wanted the cachet of being able to say they had slept with him. Bill’s mouth quirked. Amadeo was too fastidious to sleep around. For that matter, so was he. Several of the women here had come on to him—but he hadn’t been interested.
Glancing back at the mêlée, he noticed one woman who seemed to stand out from the others, although he thought her dress was not couture, and she wore no jewelry except for a pearl necklace resting just in the hollow at her throat. He felt that this woman would make any dress look great—even the plain black silk jersey that draped itself faithfully to her curves.
When she looked in his direction, he saw that she was beautiful, her blonde hair worn loose—just the way he liked it—framing a lovely face with huge eyes—blue or green, he couldn’t be sure, but he promised himself he would move closer to her and find out. He liked her small, straight nose, and the soft, sensual mouth—a pink invitation. As for her figure, it was simply sensational, and although she was petite, her legs were long and beautiful. Bill closed his eyes for a moment. She was the woman of his dreams. He promised himself he’d go over and make her acquaintance.