Thank you for joining me for the second and final book in Wedding Bells at Lake Como duet. Two sexy brothers… Two beautiful cousins… come together one summer evening and changes their lives forever.
Sometimes when you love someone so much, you’ll do whatever it takes to keep them safe—even taking drastic measures. That’s exactly what happens to restauranteur, Carla Falco when her workaholic father refuses to listen to his doctors and slow down. There’s one thing her father wants above all else—Carla to get married. She uses this to her advantage and strikes a most unusual deal with her father. And then she proposes to the grandson of her father’s archenemy—knowing he dislikes marriage even more than her. Theirs will be a union of purely business.
Spice merchant, Franco Marchello has less than zero interest in marriage but he’s getting desperate to save his family’s faltering business. So when beautiful and alluring Carla surprises him with a most unique marriage proposal, he’s absolutely torn about what to do.
But as they work together and get to know each other better, will they be able to ignore their growing feelings and stay focused on the business at hand?
Because a marriage on paper only might sound like a good idea in theory but everything changes after saying, “I do.”
Happy reading,
The perfect destination for love!
Italy’s picturesque Lake Como is the perfect destination for love, except the path to happy-ever-after isn’t always smooth…
Cousins Gianna and Carla aren’t looking for romance. Gianna’s nursing a broken heart and Carla’s wed to the family business. Until charismatic brothers Dario and Franco arrive on Lake Como’s stunning shores…and sweep them off their feet!
Find out what happens when a case of mistaken identity leads to a fake engagement in Bound by a Ring and a Secret
Will their business deal…
…give them more than they bargained for?
To appease her overbearing father, Carla told him that she’s engaged. She doesn’t, however, have a fiancé…yet! That’s where Franco comes in—if they marry temporarily, she’ll ensure that both of their companies will mutually benefit. Since neither wants a relationship, saying “I do” is strictly for business. But with their undeniable chemistry, can they keep it that way?
Excerpt
“Marry me.”
Seated in a little out-of-the-way café on the outskirts of Verona, Franco Marchello wordlessly opened his mouth. He immediately forgot what he’d been about to say. Surely he hadn’t heard correctly. Because there was absolutely no way Carla Falco had proposed to him.
Still, he’d seen her glossy red lips move. The words she’d spoken, he must have gotten them mixed up. That was it. His mind raced to come up with an alternative: Carry me? Bury me? None of the alternatives made a bit of sense.
Franco swallowed hard. “Excuse me, what did you say?”
Carla didn’t smile. In fact, she looked quite serious, the way he imagined seeing her at the head of the table in a boardroom. “I asked you to marry me.”
That’s what he thought she’d said. And yet he had no idea why she’d propose to him.
Sure, they might have had a good time at his brother’s wedding two weeks ago at Lake Como. She had been the maid of honor and he’d been the best man, but that had been one evening of laughter and dancing. Maybe he hadn’t wanted the evening to end so soon, but Carla had avoided his attempts to turn the evening into something more intimate. So what had changed her mind?
The following week, he’d invited her to dinner. She’d been hesitant until he assured her that it would be a proper business dinner. After all, she’d rebuffed him once. He wasn’t about to subject himself to being rejected twice—no matter how beautiful he found her or how her glossy lips tempted him. He made it abundantly clear that the only thing on his mind was a mutually beneficial business arrangement.
Even though it’d been dinner for two, as promised, he’d kept it all aboveboard. He’d pitched her the reason she should consider putting Marchello Spices back in all her family’s restaurants. She’d told him she didn’t have the authority to make it happen. Her father was still controlling every aspect of the company. But she had been curious enough to agree to review the projections. He knew if she saw the same potential that he’d seen in those numbers, she wouldn’t be able to ignore them. At last, he had an in with her father, who’d refused numerous times to meet with him—all because of an old grudge between him and Franco’s grandfather.
And that’s where things had ended—on the sidewalk outside the café. Had there been something in his drink that evening? Had he blacked out and totally forgotten about some torrid romantic night together—anything to explain this most unexpected proposal?
Because he didn’t do marriage—no way. He was a Marchello. Marchellos were notoriously bad at marriage. At least his parents had been.
But then again, his younger brother had just gotten married. That was what had initially led Franco directly into Carla’s orbit. And they’d been running into each other ever since. Now it seemed as though the entire world had completely and utterly rotated off its axis.
He struggled to swallow. His brain raced to find the right words. “Why do you want to get married?”
He purposely failed to include himself in that question. Maybe she just wanted to get married to anyone and he just happened to be standing in the wrong place at the wrong time.
She glanced away. “Perhaps I jumped a bit ahead.”
Tour Schedule
September 7th:
Fire and Ice
I’m All About Books
reviewingbooksplusmore
Sadie’s Spotlight
September 8th:
Bookish Jottings
Author Melissa McClone
Wishful Endings
September 9th:
Splashes of Joy
Novels Alive
Rockin’ Book Reviews
Harlie’s Books
Christy’s Cozy Corners
September 10th:
#BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog
Reading Excursions
Novels Alive
Hallie Reads
September 11th:
Pause for Tales
Heidi Reads…
Locks, Hooks and Books
Books and More Books
A mistaken identity…
…a proposal that changes everything!
Photographer Gianna is done with men. Retreating to her villa on the shore of Lake Como, Gianna is stunned to find gorgeous Dario renting her house! When Dario is mistaken for her long-gone fiancé, they realize a fake engagement could solve problems for them both. Pretending to be in love should be easy, but what happens when very real feelings start to grow?
About the Author
Award-winning author, Jennifer Faye pens fun, heartwarming
contemporary romances with rugged cowboys, sexy billionaires and
enchanting royalty. Internationally published with books translated into
nine languages. She is a two-time winner of the RT Book Reviews
Reviewers’ Choice Award, the CataRomance Reviewers’ Choice Award, named a
TOP PICK author, and been nominated for numerous other awards.
Tour Giveaway
One winner will receive a $25 Amazon gift card and a copy of BOUND BY A RING & A SECRET, winner’s choice of print (US only) or ebook
Ends September 16, 2021
Colleen C.
I would see the sites… soak it in!
Tina R
This sounds interesting and I really like the cover. I would relax and take in the sites.
Sherry
I would site see and try out restaurants. I love the cover and think the book sounds great.
Victoria S
Love the cover! I would enjoy the sites!
jodi marinich
i would just love to relax outside
Robyn K
I would enjoy the surroundings, soak in the peaceful atmosphere, and sample all the delicious food.
denise
I just want to relax.
Lori Byrd
Just relax and read
Dianne Casey
I would like to enjoy Lake Como and discover Italy while there.
Bonnie
I would like to visit the sites, relax, and enjoy the area.
Kimberly Field
relax and sight see some
Linda May
I would see the sites, have a bite to eat and then read and relax. Thanks.