Fellow Choc Lit Author, Evonne Wareham is back with something a little different; a fun, flirty summer read set on the Riviera featuring mysterious strangers, confidence tricksters, film crews and cocktail parties. Phew! If that wasn’t enough to whet your appetite I’m delighted to bring you an exclusive from Evonne’s latest novel right here!
"Cassie put her feet up on her desk and stared at the ceiling. She was too restless to settle to work for the moment. Images of Jake McQuire floated in her mind. And she didn’t like thinking about Jake McQuire. Too many memories.
Benita and Tony, Cassie and Jake. They’d been friends all through school, part of a much bigger gang, but their foursome had always been special. Everyone had expected them to pair off. Tony and Benita had.
That last glorious summer, in the weeks before Jake went on to university, anything seemed possible. Cassie had been seventeen and wildly in love.
Recollection brought a lump to her throat.
After years of absence, Trevor McQuire had swept back into his son’s life. And everything changed. Trevor was a rich, ambitious man. He’d wanted the same for his son. Instead of university, Jake had gone to New York. Cassie hadn’t seen him since.
Looking back, she knew it had all been for the best. Their love had been just a teenage thing. It would never have lasted.
From the safety of twelve years down the line, Cassie could be cool and mature about it. Which didn’t mean she wanted to run into Jake again. So, he was back in town? So what?
Bath wasn’t that big a city, but now they moved in very different circles. Cassie’s experience of exclusive restaurants and society celebrations was strictly on behalf of her clients. She hadn’t encountered Jake at any of the events she’d organised. If and when that happened she’d be too busy to worry about it. And she wouldn’t be attending anything as a guest where he would be present. Which is fine by me.
Yanking herself out of the past, she put her feet to the floor and reviewed the files on her desk, calling up a spreadsheet on her computer. The agency’s remit –sourcing goods and services – was pretty wide, everything from providing the maid and butler for a special dinner party to waiting at home all day for the gas man to call. But not usually impersonating a client.
Not something she’d ever choose to do in normal circumstances. But circumstances hadn’t been normal since Jason disappeared with their money. Sticking rigidly to her scruples might mean the end of the agency.
Shaking her head, Cassie scanned the spreadsheet. Jenni and Claire, the two postgraduate students who supplemented their funds by delivery sitting and running errands, had everything covered for the rest of the week. Benita would take care of birthday and anniversary reminders, with appropriate shopping, and sort out the final arrangements for a book signing on Wednesday and a gallery opening on Thursday. Which left Cassie with the one-off jobs.
She opened the nearest file and closed it again. She was much too edgy to give her best to a project for kitting out a couple of holiday cottages. The next one was better – contacting old friends and extended family for a lady from Cardiff who was planning a surprise birthday party for her husband, and who didn’t want to be caught making calls. Straightforward and methodical. Cassie pulled the phone towards her and dialled the first Price-Jones on her list.
He looked up at the first-floor windows. Her office was up there. She was up there. She didn’t want to see him. Benita had made that clear. But now there was a job she couldn’t do alone.
He exhaled deeply. What he was about to do was crazy. On an insanity scale of one to ten, it probably hovered somewhere near eleven. He knew it, and he was going to do it anyway. It was too late to back out now. The thing has already started.
He stepped up and gave the door a shove. It opened easily. He put his foot on the stair, and began to climb."
Benita and Tony, Cassie and Jake. They’d been friends all through school, part of a much bigger gang, but their foursome had always been special. Everyone had expected them to pair off. Tony and Benita had.
That last glorious summer, in the weeks before Jake went on to university, anything seemed possible. Cassie had been seventeen and wildly in love.
Recollection brought a lump to her throat.
After years of absence, Trevor McQuire had swept back into his son’s life. And everything changed. Trevor was a rich, ambitious man. He’d wanted the same for his son. Instead of university, Jake had gone to New York. Cassie hadn’t seen him since.
Looking back, she knew it had all been for the best. Their love had been just a teenage thing. It would never have lasted.
From the safety of twelve years down the line, Cassie could be cool and mature about it. Which didn’t mean she wanted to run into Jake again. So, he was back in town? So what?
Bath wasn’t that big a city, but now they moved in very different circles. Cassie’s experience of exclusive restaurants and society celebrations was strictly on behalf of her clients. She hadn’t encountered Jake at any of the events she’d organised. If and when that happened she’d be too busy to worry about it. And she wouldn’t be attending anything as a guest where he would be present. Which is fine by me.
Yanking herself out of the past, she put her feet to the floor and reviewed the files on her desk, calling up a spreadsheet on her computer. The agency’s remit –sourcing goods and services – was pretty wide, everything from providing the maid and butler for a special dinner party to waiting at home all day for the gas man to call. But not usually impersonating a client.
Not something she’d ever choose to do in normal circumstances. But circumstances hadn’t been normal since Jason disappeared with their money. Sticking rigidly to her scruples might mean the end of the agency.
Shaking her head, Cassie scanned the spreadsheet. Jenni and Claire, the two postgraduate students who supplemented their funds by delivery sitting and running errands, had everything covered for the rest of the week. Benita would take care of birthday and anniversary reminders, with appropriate shopping, and sort out the final arrangements for a book signing on Wednesday and a gallery opening on Thursday. Which left Cassie with the one-off jobs.
She opened the nearest file and closed it again. She was much too edgy to give her best to a project for kitting out a couple of holiday cottages. The next one was better – contacting old friends and extended family for a lady from Cardiff who was planning a surprise birthday party for her husband, and who didn’t want to be caught making calls. Straightforward and methodical. Cassie pulled the phone towards her and dialled the first Price-Jones on her list.
***
Jake McQuire stood on the pavement in Walcot Street, staring at the pillar-box red door in front of him. The colour was so typical of the Cassie Travers he remembered that he almost laughed. The single word Concierge was etched on a glass fanlight over the door. A laminated card, pinned to a shiny red panel, gave the opening times of the office. What had he expected? Sober colours and a brass plate? That wasn’t the Cassie he had known.He looked up at the first-floor windows. Her office was up there. She was up there. She didn’t want to see him. Benita had made that clear. But now there was a job she couldn’t do alone.
He exhaled deeply. What he was about to do was crazy. On an insanity scale of one to ten, it probably hovered somewhere near eleven. He knew it, and he was going to do it anyway. It was too late to back out now. The thing has already started.
He stepped up and gave the door a shove. It opened easily. He put his foot on the stair, and began to climb."
If you enjoyed this extract and can’t wait to read more, you can find Summer in San Remo available to purchase on all eBook platforms!
Kindle UK: https://goo.gl/ghNaks
Kindle US: https://goo.gl/UFqzx8
Kobo: https://goo.gl/vuz1yR
For other buying options click here: https://goo.gl/XVvZmn
Kobo: https://goo.gl/vuz1yR
For other buying options click here: https://goo.gl/XVvZmn
Anything could happen when you spend summer in San Remo …
Running her busy concierge service usually keeps Cassie Travers fully occupied. But when a new client offers her the strangest commission she's ever handled she suddenly finds herself on the cusp of an Italian adventure, with a man she thought she would never see again.
Jake McQuire has returned from the States to his family-run detective agency. When old flame Cassie appears in need of help with her mysterious client, who better than Jake to step in?
Events take the pair across Europe to a luxurious villa on the Italian Riviera. There, Cassie finds that the mystery she pursues pales into insignificance, when compared to another discovery made along the way …
Comments
Evonne -thank you so much for setting the scene for your novel which I'm very much looking forwards to reading.