Saturday's Excerpt from Bella Lucia By Joanne Troppello

Joanne Troppello is an author of romantic suspense novels.  She has published three books: Shadowed Remembrances, Mr. Shipley’s Governess and Bella Lucia. Currently, she is working on her new writing project, The Paradise Redeemed Series. Joanne is married and loves spending time with her husband and family. She enjoys interacting with readers at The Mustard Seed Blog.

 

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About Bella Lucia:

 

Have you ever been in love—you know, the infuriating kind—where you want to be around this person all the time and yet at other times, this person drives you nuts! Yes, you know what I mean.

 

Well that’s where Detective Marc Abrams finds himself. He is insanely attracted to U.S. Marshall Sam Collins, but she doesn’t seem too interested in him. So what’s a guy to do? Solve a murder for one! And maybe even hook up with the sexy and spirited marshall. Who knows what will happen when these two collide and join forces! You can meet these exciting characters in my newest romantic suspense novel, Bella Lucia.

 

Purchase Link for Bella Lucia at Astraea Press

Purchase Link for Bella Lucia on Amazon

 

Excerpt from Bella Lucia:

 

Reaching into his pocket, he frantically searched for change to finish paying for his coffee. Lint and candy wrappers mixed with the quarters he found. He must not let this woman get away. Ever since he’d met her, she’d ruled his thoughts. He rushed past the line of customers and caught up with Sam. “I thought you’d left me.”

 

“You’re like a fungus—easy to get and hard to get rid of.”

 

He followed her as she headed down the sidewalk. “Wow, if your words weren’t so insulting, I’d be impressed.”

 

“So, was there some actual reason you needed to speak to me, or do you always get your morning coffee here?”

 

“No, I simply wanted to see you.”

 

“Couldn’t you at least pretend you needed to discuss the case or something?”

 

Her words surprised him. “What? I thought women wanted straight talk from men, unless I’ve been reading the wrong playbook.”

 

She laughed. The musical sound of it made him smile. “We do, but if you’re after a colleague, straight talk isn’t going to cut it, at least not yet. We don’t know each other well enough.”

 

Sam picked up speed and crossed the street at the corner. Man, she walks fast. Or maybe she truly is trying to get away from me. Either way, Marc didn’t care. He wanted to spend as much time with her as he could. He wondered whether she spoke truthfully or not—perhaps women did play by different rules when amongst colleagues. He opted to follow her lead. “I met with the couple who witnessed the body dump.” She stopped mid‑stride. Now he had her attention. This is a good method, if it’ll get her to look at me.