A Scandal in the Headlines(65)



She made a wordless sort of sound, far past the ability to speak, and he pulled her close and let her cry.

“I’m not your enemy,” he murmured into her hair.

“I know,” she whispered into his strong, warm chest. “I know you’re not.”

She shuddered against him, and then he kissed her. Sweet, sure. Hot. Like a promise. Like hope. And when he drew back she saw the future she’d been too afraid to imagine, right there in his dark eyes, that curve of his perfect mouth.

“Come back to Sicily with me,” he said. “And stay this time. Stay for good.”

Elena nodded, too overwhelmed to speak. And this wasn’t surrender, she realized. She wasn’t losing a thing. She was gaining Alessandro—she was gaining them.

She was trading in something broken, something ruined and outgrown, for a shared set of wings and the whole bright sky to call their own.

“I want you to meet my parents,” she whispered. “My father. He’s not well, but … I think he’ll like you.”

“That is exceedingly unlikely,” he said quietly. “I’m a Corretti.”

And it was Elena’s turn to kiss him then, to press her mouth against his and set him free with all of that fire that was always, only theirs. To love him with nothing held back, nothing hidden. To bask in that terrible, impossible, extraordinary love that had slammed into them with no warning, changing them both. Changing everything.

“He’ll love you,” she told him. She looped her arms around his neck and adored the way he smiled down at her. “Because I love you. That’s how it works.”

He was shadow and light. Ruthless and kind. Dark green eyes and that wild, hot heat when he looked at her.

And all of him hers, as he had been from the start. From that single glance across a crowded room.

“I will always be a Corretti,” Alessandro said. It was a warning. Or, she thought, a promise.

Elena smiled. “So will I.”



Read on for an exclusive interview

with Caitlin Crews!





BEHIND THE SCENES OF SICILY’S CORRETTI DYNASTY

with Caitlin Crews




It’s such a huge world to create—an entire Sicilian dynasty. Did you discuss parts of it with the other writers?

Oh, yes! The other writers were such a huge part of the experience for me—thank goodness, as they’re all so talented! We talked about a lot of different story points, and even shared scenes when we used one another’s characters. I couldn’t have written it without them!


How does being part of a continuity differ from when you are writing your own stories?

It’s a completely different kind of challenge. When you’re writing your own books all the choices you make are organic; they all flow together as you write. In a continuity you have to work inside out, in some respects. You have to back into the characters in order to flesh them out, for example. You have to think a lot about why they do the things you’re told they do. I’d say it’s the writing equivalent of coloring in an already drawn character rather than drawing it yourself from scratch. Either way, you have to make them yours, but the process is a bit different.


What was the biggest challenge? And what did you most enjoy about it?

Learning who my characters really were was the biggest challenge—and then, when I did, I just loved them.


As you wrote your hero and heroine was there anything about them that surprised you?

Many things! I never quite knew what either of them would say, or how dark things would get for them before they found their way back to the light.


What was your favorite part of creating the world of Sicily’s most famous dynasty?

I loved Alessandro and Elena, but I also had a lot of fun researching Sicily. What a fantastic place!


If you could have given your heroine one piece of advice before the opening pages of the book, what would it be?

I would have told her to trust her heart. But we never do, do we?


What was your hero’s biggest secret?

That would be telling!


What does your hero love most about your heroine?

She’s seen the dark side of him and she loves him, anyway—she’s not afraid of him.


What does your heroine love most about your hero?

That she can trust him to be who he says he is, and not to betray her.

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