Dating Games(124)

The old Ellie would have ripped her hand away and berated him for acting so brazenly. But the point of this trip was to bid farewell to the old Ellie. For the past decade, perhaps even longer, I’d been a hostage in my own life. I refused to crawl back home, beg forgiveness, and try to piece my life back together. I’d made my decision and I intended to stand by it. I deserved a new start. Hopefully, Italy would give it to me.

“Are you okay, Eleanor?” Dante asked, noticing my bereft expression.

Pulling my hand from his, I gave him a forced smile. “I’m fine.”

I stared straight ahead, the feel of his eyes on me burning my flesh, flustering me. He had this confidence and self-importance about him. Culture and custom taught us it wasn’t polite to stare after you reached a certain age. Dante didn’t appear to have paid attention during that lesson in his early years. As unnerving as the feeling of his eyes on me was, I found myself enjoying it. It was a welcome change to finally have the attention of a man, instead of simply being an afterthought, an armpiece to increase approval ratings.

“So…” I cleared my throat. “If you claim to be such an expert on reading people without so much as having any sort of discussion, tell me what you think you know about me.”

He pinched his chin, his fervent gaze disarming. I couldn’t help but feel he was able to strip away all the layers and see me for who I really was, even though I wasn’t quite sure who that was myself. I raised my glass to my lips, swirling the wine around my mouth.

“You’re sheltered,” he said after much thought. “You’ve been living in the shadows for so long, you’re unsure of whether you’re doing the right thing by breaking the chains that have kept you bound for years…and not the good kind of chains,” he added with a lascivious wink. “You were scared to get on this plane back in Los Angeles, but you were even more scared to stay.” He lifted a brow.

My jaw grew slack at his astute assessment. I wondered if he’d been watching me since I arrived at the gate, nervously pacing, debating whether I should even board the plane.

“Am I right?”

I straightened my spine, as I always did to make it appear I wasn’t intimidated. It often worked against my opponent in the courtroom or during negotiations.

“That couldn’t be further from the truth,” I responded in a strong voice, avoiding Dante’s eyes. This man was a stranger, yet he saw me with more clarity than anyone else in my life ever had.

How was that possible?



I hope you’ve enjoyed this peek into Inferno. This is a gripping, suspenseful saga about the power of fate. If you’d like to read more, start the series today for free. Download your copy here.





Acknowledgments





Phew. I did it. Finally. This has actually been the most challenging book for me to write, not because of the subject matter, but because I rewrote the dang thing THREE TIMES!

This was always going to be a story about a woman who was dumped by her long-term boyfriend. The premise remained, but the details changed. First, Julian was just a tech guru and it was set in San Fran. Then I decided a male escort would be a lot more fun, so he became just that and it moved to Manhattan. Then I decided to switch from Manhattan in the winter to the Hamptons in the summer. And boy did it open up a world of possibility for me. This is what I love about writing and allowing my characters to take control. They really do have their own ideas. If I tried to steer them in the direction I’d originally planned, this story wouldn’t be as fun and endearing as it is.

As always, I have my husband to thank for putting up with my constantly bouncing new ideas off him, sometimes when he’s trying to sleep. I couldn’t do this without him, so a big thanks.

Another big thanks to my two nannies who help with Harper Leigh so I can get lots of writing time in — Brooke and Karissa. Thanks so much for loving Harper as much as I do.

There’s only one woman I trust with my baby, ie., my manuscript, and that’s Kim Young. She’s edited every single one of my books so far, and I hope she’ll edit all the books I have planned in the future, as well.

I’m fortunate enough to have an amazing team of beta readers who graciously take time out of their busy schedules to read for me and offer their input and advice. Oftentimes, it's difficult to see the forest amongst the trees, and they help me do just that. Stacy, Lin, Melissa, Vicky, Joelle, and Sylvia — thank you ladies. #BurnhamBitches4Life

As always, a huge thanks to my fantastic publicist - Emily from Social Butterfly. You make releases infinitely less stressful. Told this would just be one book this time around (although it is the length of two books. LOL)

Another big thanks to my fantastic Angels, who help promote my work everywhere. I truly appreciate it. And to my spectacular reader group — thanks for giving me somewhere to hang out when my brain feels like it’s going to explode and I need a good laugh.

And of course, last but not least, thank you to YOU! Whether this is your first T.K. Leigh book or your eighteenth, I so appreciate you for taking a risk on my work. I can’t wait for you to see what I have planned next.



Love & peace,

~ T.K.