Welcome to another LoveCats DownUnder Sunday Smooch!
Today we have a retro smooch from REUNITED BY A BABY SECRET but first
... the winner of last week's Sunday Smooch Giveaway is Helen Sibbritt!
Can you please contact Amy: amy (at) amyandrews (dot) com (dot) au to receive your copy of GOING DOWN
The Calantti Vineyard series has been repackaged in Australia and New Zealand! So in honour of that, today I'm sharing a retro smooch from Reunited By a Baby Secret.
She's back in Calanetti...
After a vacation in paradise, Marianna Amatucci returned to her family vineyard determined to make a fresh start. But her plans changed in an instant when two blue lines on a pregnancy test revealed she'd returned with a souvenir!
When she finds the father, Ryan White, he's nothing like the laid-back surfer she met on the beach. In a tailored suit, he oozes masculine authority, and he's staying in the penthouse! What will walking into his high-flying corporate world mean for their baby...?
Come back next Sunday, when the winner of today's giveaway will be announced and a smooch from Kandy Shepherd will be posted!
Smooch Graphic by WebWeaver
... the winner of last week's Sunday Smooch Giveaway is Helen Sibbritt!
Can you please contact Amy: amy (at) amyandrews (dot) com (dot) au to receive your copy of GOING DOWN
The Calantti Vineyard series has been repackaged in Australia and New Zealand! So in honour of that, today I'm sharing a retro smooch from Reunited By a Baby Secret.
After a vacation in paradise, Marianna Amatucci returned to her family vineyard determined to make a fresh start. But her plans changed in an instant when two blue lines on a pregnancy test revealed she'd returned with a souvenir!
When she finds the father, Ryan White, he's nothing like the laid-back surfer she met on the beach. In a tailored suit, he oozes masculine authority, and he's staying in the penthouse! What will walking into his high-flying corporate world mean for their baby...?
Scene
set-up: Ryan is helping Marianna redecorate the cottage she’s decided
to move into. In exchange, Marianna is going to help him learn what he
needs to know about looking after a baby. Marianna is impressed with his
plan of attack for her cottage…and, it has to be said, with him :).
Ryan, however, is desperately afraid of losing control around her.
‘Have I said thank you yet?’ Marianna said.
Dear God in heaven, he couldn’t risk her kissing him again. ‘You have.’ To distract her from further displays of gratitude, he nodded towards the bags. ‘What have you got there?’
‘A lesson.’
He tried to pull his mind to the task in hand. Pay attention. He had to learn how to take care of a baby.
She reached into the nearest bag and, with a flourish, pulled out a…
He blinked and backed up a step. “Uh, Marianna, that’s a doll.’ He scratched the back of his neck and glared at her from beneath a lock of hair that had fallen forward on his forehead. He really should get it cut. ‘Don’t you think we’re a little old to be playing with dolls?’
She stared at that lock of hair and for a tension-fraught moment he thought she meant to lean across and push it out of his eyes. Hastily, he ran a hand back through his hair himself. She blinked and then shook herself. He let out a breath, his heart thumping.
She, however, seemed completely oblivious to his state. She dangled the doll—a life-sized version from what he could make out—from its foot, and smirked at him. ‘Ooh, is the big strong man frightened of the itty-bitty dolly?’
He scowled. ‘Don’t be ridiculous.’
A laugh bubbled out of her and she sashayed around the table still dangling that stupid doll by its foot. ‘Is your super-duper masculinity threated by a little dolly?’
He snaked a hand around her head and drew her face in close to his. ‘Tread carefully, Marianna.’
Her curls, all silk and sass, tickled his hand. ‘I’m holding on by a thread here. My so-called masculinity is telling me to throw caution to the wind. It’s telling me to kiss you, to take you to my bed and make love with you until you can barely stand.’ And then he told her in the most straightforward, vivid language at his command exactly what he craved to do.
Her eyes darkened until they were nearly black. Her lips parted and she stared at his mouth as if she were parched. The pulse in her throat pounded. If he touched his lips to that spot they’d both be lost.
He hauled in a breath. With a super-human effort he let her go. She made a tiny sound halfway between an outbreath and a whimper that arrowed straight to his groin. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. ‘You told me that if I do that—here in your real world—that I will hurt you, break your heart. I don’t want to do that.’
REUNITED
BY A BABY SECRET is Book 3 in The Vineyards of Calanetti series and is
set in Tuscan wine country. To go into the draw to win a copy of the
book, answer this question: If you could visit any place in Italy, where
would you go?
‘Have I said thank you yet?’ Marianna said.
Dear God in heaven, he couldn’t risk her kissing him again. ‘You have.’ To distract her from further displays of gratitude, he nodded towards the bags. ‘What have you got there?’
‘A lesson.’
He tried to pull his mind to the task in hand. Pay attention. He had to learn how to take care of a baby.
She reached into the nearest bag and, with a flourish, pulled out a…
He blinked and backed up a step. “Uh, Marianna, that’s a doll.’ He scratched the back of his neck and glared at her from beneath a lock of hair that had fallen forward on his forehead. He really should get it cut. ‘Don’t you think we’re a little old to be playing with dolls?’
She stared at that lock of hair and for a tension-fraught moment he thought she meant to lean across and push it out of his eyes. Hastily, he ran a hand back through his hair himself. She blinked and then shook herself. He let out a breath, his heart thumping.
She, however, seemed completely oblivious to his state. She dangled the doll—a life-sized version from what he could make out—from its foot, and smirked at him. ‘Ooh, is the big strong man frightened of the itty-bitty dolly?’
He scowled. ‘Don’t be ridiculous.’
A laugh bubbled out of her and she sashayed around the table still dangling that stupid doll by its foot. ‘Is your super-duper masculinity threated by a little dolly?’
He snaked a hand around her head and drew her face in close to his. ‘Tread carefully, Marianna.’
Her curls, all silk and sass, tickled his hand. ‘I’m holding on by a thread here. My so-called masculinity is telling me to throw caution to the wind. It’s telling me to kiss you, to take you to my bed and make love with you until you can barely stand.’ And then he told her in the most straightforward, vivid language at his command exactly what he craved to do.
Her eyes darkened until they were nearly black. Her lips parted and she stared at his mouth as if she were parched. The pulse in her throat pounded. If he touched his lips to that spot they’d both be lost.
He hauled in a breath. With a super-human effort he let her go. She made a tiny sound halfway between an outbreath and a whimper that arrowed straight to his groin. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. ‘You told me that if I do that—here in your real world—that I will hurt you, break your heart. I don’t want to do that.’
REUNITED
BY A BABY SECRET is Book 3 in The Vineyards of Calanetti series and is
set in Tuscan wine country. To go into the draw to win a copy of the
book, answer this question: If you could visit any place in Italy, where
would you go?Come back next Sunday, when the winner of today's giveaway will be announced and a smooch from Kandy Shepherd will be posted!
Smooch Graphic by WebWeaver
A swoonworthy moment! If ever I made it to Italy, I'd head for Lake Como in Northern Italy’s Lombardy region. Alps, castles, romantic lake views ... sigh. I've also always wanted to ride a finicular :)
ReplyDeleteOoh, Juanita! Doesn't Lake Como look divine? Annie West set a story there, and I remember wanting to be whisked away there immediately. Nice choice! :-)
DeleteAnywhere with a villa and view of distance villages. Somewhere to chill and have some piece and quiet. Somewhere to slow down and watch the world go by. Beautiful countryside and beautiful sunsets. Bliss
ReplyDeleteHow divine you make that sound, Ginette! Happy sighs. Very little beats beautiful countryside with beautiful sunsets. Throw in a gorgeous cheese platter and a glass of Italian wine, and I'd not be moving for a very long time. ;-)
DeleteHi Michelle
ReplyDeleteWoohoo thank you I have sent an email :)
This is such a great smooch, fabulous story I did love it :)
Oh Italy my daughter went there at 14 on a school excursion so I would love to visit Venice she loved it there so much but of course all of Italy would be fabulous.
Have Fun
Helen
Doesn't Venice sound absolutely amazing, Helen! There's an Italian film called Bread and Tulips that's set in Venice and I adore the scenery and the atmosphere. I must dust that off and watch it again soon. :-)
DeleteThat was hot.... loved it and it would be Venice to go on a gondola, down the river through the city. :)
ReplyDeleteAh, there's something so romantic about a gondola ride, Jan. Happy sighs. Lovely choice. :-)
DeleteI'd need at least a month in Italy to see everything, but I'd begin at the Colosseum.
ReplyDeleteGreat smooch!!
Which sounds like an excellent place to start, Mary! And a month in Italy sounds absolutely perfect. :-)
DeleteCongratulations Michelle for this book. I read the whole series "The Vineyards of Calanetti" in the Italian version. I liked it alot. I have visited some places described in the books ... they deserve to be visited. I live in Italy, so I visited several places, all beautiful. I've never been in Sicily and Sardinia. Here I would like to get to visit these two islands.
ReplyDeleteAw thanks, Franca. :-)
DeleteSicily and Sardinia sound both romantic and beautiful. Great choices, and I hope you get to visit them one day (I hope I get to visit them one day too!).
Fabo smooch, Michelle!
ReplyDeleteItaly is my soul country so I'd love to revisit Positano and Venice again and again and again. But the next time I go, I'm heading for the Cinque Terra!
Positano and Venice seem so utterly different from one another -- which is probably part of the joy. Oh, and the Cinque Terra look utterly amazing and too gloriously gorgeous to be true. :-) Excellent choices!
DeleteI would love to go to Florence first, staying in a villa in the near countryside. i am currently in Italy awe, my nephew and his wife are there right now for a friends wedding, they started in Rome and ended in Positano, where they rented a villa with 5 other couples for the week. A nurse friend of mine just returned yesterday from 2 weeks in Italy and Greece, where they took their 5 and 7 year olds to meet the family still there. All the pictures from both trips had me drooling with envy!
ReplyDeleteFlorence sounds amazing, Laurie! I'd love to go there first too (though everyone tells me I should start in Rome). Wow, so many people in your life are or have been to Italy recently. I'm terribly envious too. :-)
DeletePostitano Campania in Italy ( on the Almalfi Coast )
ReplyDeleteIt looks absolutely amazing, Diana! Gorgeous choice. :-)
DeleteI'd go back to Cinque Terra, and Sorrento, and oh heck, most of Italy. It's a wonderful country.
ReplyDeleteGreat smooch, Michelle.
You're making me pea-green, Sue! Sounds fabulous. :-D
DeleteMichelle, what a great snippet. Now I want to spend the day reading a love story set in a lush Italian vineyard! Sigh.
ReplyDeleteWhere to visit? Hm. I'd say anywhere would be good. I've heard Ravenna is wonderful and Sicily is fascinating and so many places in between...
Annie, the very sound of those place names -- Ravenna and Sicily -- give me a happy thrill! :-) I *so* have to visit Italy.
DeleteP.S. It's the perfect weather for curling up with a good book (especially one set in a lush Italian vineyard). ;-)
It's a scorcher of a smooch. Wow.
ReplyDeleteNow onto Italy. I would visit ... Can't pick just one spot. Really can't, but maybe my next trip will be Rome.
:-D Glad you enjoyed it, Laura.
DeleteAnd I'm with you -- I can't just pick one spot either. But I suspect my Italian travels will start in Rome.