Amnesia obliterates a married couple’s shared past in this poignant second-chance-at-love story.
Matteo Vanni washed up on a Tunisian beach six years ago with no clothes, identity documents, or memories, just a wedding ring to link him to his past. He’s reinvented himself as a wealthy entrepreneur, but now a knock on the head restores some of his memories, particularly that his wife Bella is waiting for him in Sicily. But returning to his native land and digging into his mysterious and sudden disappearance could cost this new millionaire everything.
Sheep farmer Bella Vanni has accepted that her presumed-dead husband is long gone, so it’s a huge shock when he knocks on her door and announces his desire to resume their marriage. She can’t trust his answers on where he’s been or why he left, and she certainly isn’t keen to walk away from the family farm she labored to save. But their mutual passion won’t be denied.
When Matteo’s freedom is threatened, Bella must decide which is most important to her: everything she’s painstakingly built or a new start on love.
Sensuality Level: Sensual
The next time he heard his name slip from her lips she was stomping across the farmyard, her hair tumbled around her shoulders and down her back, her T-shirt hitched up at one side, exposing her taut midriff, and her feet shoved into a pair of old rubber boots. If she were wearing a designer evening gown he couldn’t want her more.
“Did you turn off my alarm and close my curtains?” She came right up to him, her boots toe to toe with his now incredibly disgusting shoes. First thing he was going to buy this afternoon was a pair of farm-friendly footwear.
“Yes.” He couldn’t stop the grin that formed at her outraged gasp. Dio, you’d think he’d eaten her last square of chocolate, spilled her wine, or some equally heinous crime, not given her a few extra hours of precious sleep.
“It’s ten o’clock. I’ll never get done all I need to. I’ll have to cancel our date tonight.” She put her hands on her hips, which just stretched her T-shirt tight across her breasts. Merda, she wasn’t wearing a bra. Her nipples jutted out, begging for his touch. If he weren’t holding two very heavy pails of goat’s milk, she’d be pushed up against the barn wall, her T-shirt over her head two seconds from now.
“You need more than four hours’ sleep to get done all you do in a day. So I canceled your alarm and did your morning chores for you.”
She glanced at the pails of milk and then around the yard. The camel was fed and watered and put out in the pasture, a chicken atop his hump, both ignoring the newly milked goats that frolicked nearby. The horse and donkey had been brushed and stood staring at the chicken, no doubt, like him, wondering where on earth that had appeared from. The rabbits had new straw, and the dogs were fast asleep in the shade. He’d done good, if he did say so himself, even though milking had taken him almost two hours rather than the forty-five minutes it took Bella.
“The nannies let you milk them?” She reached for a pail, but he moved back, careful not to slosh his hard-earned liquid. “And when did you learn to milk goats?”
“I Googled it. They were reluctant at first”—he’d been butted and tossed on his ass more than once, and he was pretty sure he’d have a massive bruise on his thigh from where one of the goats tried to take a piece of him—“but then I discovered they like to be sung to as I massaged their teats. Your goats have very questionable taste in music. They prefer Italian songs about dirty sex.”
Bella’s eyes widened and a flush crept up her neck. “You sang raunchy songs to my goats as you milked them?”
He hoisted the pails hip level. “Yup, and I got two buckets full. I seem to recall yesterday you got only one and a half.”
Her laugh rang out over the farmyard. “I think you’ve just found your new calling.”
If it was making her happy, then yes, he had. “I’ll put these in the urn for the dairy to collect. Why don’t you go inside and start breakfast? I’ll be there as soon as I’ve had a shower.”
“I can—” She reached again for a pail.
“The only way I’m going to let you take this milk is if you agree to shower with me.”
The challenge hung in the air between them, and for a second he thought maybe she’d agree. Then she pulled her hand back and shoved it in the pocket of her jeans. “I’ll make breakfast.”
“Will you do one more thing?” he asked before she could move away.
“What?”
“Unless you want to be ravished on the kitchen table, put on a bra. After six years, I have only so much restraint left.”
He turned before she could answer and went to find the empty urn the dairy had dropped off yesterday. Was it wrong to pray for your wife to ignore your request?
“Did you turn off my alarm and close my curtains?” She came right up to him, her boots toe to toe with his now incredibly disgusting shoes. First thing he was going to buy this afternoon was a pair of farm-friendly footwear.
“Yes.” He couldn’t stop the grin that formed at her outraged gasp. Dio, you’d think he’d eaten her last square of chocolate, spilled her wine, or some equally heinous crime, not given her a few extra hours of precious sleep.
“It’s ten o’clock. I’ll never get done all I need to. I’ll have to cancel our date tonight.” She put her hands on her hips, which just stretched her T-shirt tight across her breasts. Merda, she wasn’t wearing a bra. Her nipples jutted out, begging for his touch. If he weren’t holding two very heavy pails of goat’s milk, she’d be pushed up against the barn wall, her T-shirt over her head two seconds from now.
“You need more than four hours’ sleep to get done all you do in a day. So I canceled your alarm and did your morning chores for you.”
She glanced at the pails of milk and then around the yard. The camel was fed and watered and put out in the pasture, a chicken atop his hump, both ignoring the newly milked goats that frolicked nearby. The horse and donkey had been brushed and stood staring at the chicken, no doubt, like him, wondering where on earth that had appeared from. The rabbits had new straw, and the dogs were fast asleep in the shade. He’d done good, if he did say so himself, even though milking had taken him almost two hours rather than the forty-five minutes it took Bella.
“The nannies let you milk them?” She reached for a pail, but he moved back, careful not to slosh his hard-earned liquid. “And when did you learn to milk goats?”
“I Googled it. They were reluctant at first”—he’d been butted and tossed on his ass more than once, and he was pretty sure he’d have a massive bruise on his thigh from where one of the goats tried to take a piece of him—“but then I discovered they like to be sung to as I massaged their teats. Your goats have very questionable taste in music. They prefer Italian songs about dirty sex.”
Bella’s eyes widened and a flush crept up her neck. “You sang raunchy songs to my goats as you milked them?”
He hoisted the pails hip level. “Yup, and I got two buckets full. I seem to recall yesterday you got only one and a half.”
Her laugh rang out over the farmyard. “I think you’ve just found your new calling.”
If it was making her happy, then yes, he had. “I’ll put these in the urn for the dairy to collect. Why don’t you go inside and start breakfast? I’ll be there as soon as I’ve had a shower.”
“I can—” She reached again for a pail.
“The only way I’m going to let you take this milk is if you agree to shower with me.”
The challenge hung in the air between them, and for a second he thought maybe she’d agree. Then she pulled her hand back and shoved it in the pocket of her jeans. “I’ll make breakfast.”
“Will you do one more thing?” he asked before she could move away.
“What?”
“Unless you want to be ravished on the kitchen table, put on a bra. After six years, I have only so much restraint left.”
He turned before she could answer and went to find the empty urn the dairy had dropped off yesterday. Was it wrong to pray for your wife to ignore your request?
A former world wanderer, Alexia Adams writes contemporary romance stories that reflect her love of exotic destinations and diverse characters and cultures. She currently lives near Vancouver, Canada with her husband and four children and dreams of a world without housework. As a flight risk mom, romance is her escape and she can often be found with her nose in a book, pretending she’s somewhere else.
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Congrats on the tour and thank you for the excerpt and giveaway.
ReplyDeleteNice cover and really enjoyed the excerpt.
ReplyDeleteI like the cover and read the excerpt. You are a new author to me...I would love to read your books.
ReplyDeleteI love the cover. Thanks for the giveaway.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a lot of fun too.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great read. Would love to read this.
ReplyDeleteDo you prefer e-books or print books?
ReplyDeleteWhat writers have inspired you?
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to reading this one, thanks for sharing:)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this giveaway and good luck on your book.
ReplyDeleteMusic or silence while writing?
ReplyDeleteWhat is your favorite genre?
ReplyDeleteHad the flu all day yesterday, not a good thing at all. Hope everyone else avoids it and back however to thank you for the chance at winning again.
ReplyDeleteThe excerpt sounds great, and on a cold winter day, the cover is delightful!
ReplyDeletesounds so good.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you do to unwind and relax?
ReplyDeleteThe cover is very nice and I like the dialogue in the excerpt. Where is one place you'd like to travel this year?
ReplyDeleteDo you have a favorite movie?
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to start this book!
ReplyDeleteWhat was your favorite childhood book?
ReplyDeleteWhat books have most influenced your life?
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great read.
ReplyDeleteIf you could tell your younger self anything, what would it be?
ReplyDeletePen or typewriter or computer?
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of research do you do before you begin writing a book?
ReplyDeleteAre you a morning, afternoon or night writer?
ReplyDeleteWhat inspired you to write this book?
ReplyDeleteIf you could go back in time, where would you go?
ReplyDeleteI really like the book cover.
ReplyDeleteHow many hours a day do you write?
ReplyDeleteDo you ever get into a writing slump?
ReplyDeleteCan you imagine any of your books being made into a movie?
ReplyDeleteAre you an introvert or an extrovert?
ReplyDeleteLooks like an interesting book.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the contest.
slehan at juno dot com
Do you listen to music when you write?
ReplyDeleteI like the cover, it looks very nice. I was wondering, do you have a process you go through when you are writing a new book?
ReplyDeleteNice cover, sounds like a good book.
ReplyDeleteI love the cover. It is very apt for the story. The book sounds very interesting.
ReplyDelete