Excerpt from California Wine

Oh, my.

Elizabeth’s eyes locked with a pair of the most intense blue eyes she’d ever seen. They belonged to a man with thick black hair to his shoulders, a strong aquiline nose, and high cheekbones. His smile was warm; his straight white teeth a sharp contrast to his light olive skin.

Why did Italy produce such heart-breakingly handsome men?

She looked down at the restaurant table and then looked up again. He was still staring, the smile even broader.

Maybe her daughter Sarah was right. Elizabeth should dine out more often, especially if the scenery was going to be like this.

The waitress brought her a salad and Elizabeth looked at it morosely. Was it possible to eat salad and not get some stuck in her teeth when a gorgeous man was staring at her?

Or worse, drop a huge leaf of oily lettuce on her blouse, calling his attention to her less than abundant breasts?

But the salad looked so good...tiny red cherry tomatoes interspersed with baby carrots and radishes on a bed of mixed greens. She sighed and stabbed the nearest tomato with her fork.

The red orb escaped her plate and went bouncing off the table to land on the floor, rolled to the center of an open space, and sat there for only a minute before being squished by a waitress’ black shoe.

“Such a tragic end for a little tomato.” A rich masculine voice spoke near her ear.

She looked up into the blue eyes of the man standing next to her.

“Perhaps if you had not stabbed at it so viciously, it might have survived,” he continued.

She had to grin at his mock seriousness.

“May I join you?” he asked his hand on the chair.

She considered him. She’d intended to eat her supper alone, go upstairs to her room, run a hot bath, and relax with a good book.

He waited for her answer.

Suddenly, her plan seemed a lonely way to spend one of her last days in Italy. “Sure.”

He sat down next to her and a frisson of heat zapped her body. For the first time since her mother had died, life stirred in her heart. She put down her fork.

“My name is Marcos,” he said, holding out his hand.

“Elizabeth.” She shook. His palm was smooth and cool, and the long fingers fit the rest of his lean body. His touch electrified her skin.
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California Wine is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and iTunes.