MARIA K. ALEXANDER
Contemporary Romance
Where Love, Family, and Friendship Unite
Believe in My Heart
Tangled Hearts - Book 4
This holiday season, love is on the menu.
Culinary arts student, Hope Mastriano, is down on her luck. Homeless on Thanksgiving Day, she’s caught trying to break into her cousin’s apartment by her sexy boss and lifelong secret crush.
Since getting dumped seven months ago, head chef Vinnie DiFrancesco has been in a frustrating holding pattern. He returns relaxed from a retreat, but his life is sent into a tailspin when he offers Hope, the event coordinator at his family’s trattoria, temporary housing.
With the trattoria’s traditional Italian Christmas Eve charity dinner slated to be featured on a local TV segment and things heating up in his apartment, the two must set aside their different visions to make the event a success. When a computer glitch threatens their plans, Hope proposes a risky solution. Vinnie must believe in Hope and his heart in order to secure the future of the restaurant and make it a Christmas to remember.
Praise for Believe in My Heart.
“I was drawn in to this story and found it difficult to put down.
~ Robin, ROM CON Reviewer ~
“The characters were engaging and I really enjoyed that Hope was honest, vulnerable, and willing to be open to a relationship.”
~ Robin, ROM CON Reviewer ~
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Excerpt
Even from across the room, with his chest bare, every delicious ripple of his stomach was visible. She took in the wide span of his broad shoulders and moved south, stopping only when her gaze met the indentations of his pelvis and the fine line of hair that led down from his belly button to the waistband of his pants.
She must have made a sound because his eyes snapped open.
He held her gaze a moment before tracking down her body, pausing at her breasts and panning back up to her eyes. “Nice jammies.”
Hope hadn’t thought twice when she fell into bed last night, but perhaps her spaghetti-strap holiday PJs imprinted with the phrase “Naughty can be nice” across her breasts wasn’t the smartest sleeping attire.
Turning on her heel, she hightailed it to the bedroom and shut the door, leaning against it.
What the hell? Was he being a smart-ass or teasing her? This playful, almost flirty Vinnie wasn’t someone she recognized.
Should she ignore him or…? She pushed away from the door and paced the room. Or she could play his game and see what happened.
After a moment of deliberation, she traded her pajamas for a cami and yoga pants. This was either the stupidest thing she’d ever done or the smartest. She was hedging on it being the stupidest, but when had that ever stopped her? With that she opened the door.