Jo Leigh: Tempted In The City

TALL, DARK AND DAMN

Meet Little Italy’s best-kept—and hottest—secret: bachelor Tony Paladino

Little Italy is a part of Tony Paladino. The noise, the food, the people—it’s in his blood. Now he’s taken over the family contracting business, trying to keep the community as vibrant and beautiful as it used to be. But the bitch about small communities is everyone knows everyone...

Which is why newcomer Catherine Fox is pretty much screwed. There isn’t enough cannoli in the world to convince the old-school neighbors to accept an outsider. As Tony helps Cat restore the old home she bought, however, the chemistry between them is sizzlin’ hot. And suddenly this sexy bachelor—who’s oh-so-good with his hands—is not about to say Ciao!

“I wasn’t finished...”

“With what?” Catherine asked, all innocence, his hungry look and low raspy voice exciting her.

“Kissing you,” Tony said, pulling her close. The way he took her mouth, possessive and demanding, accelerated more than her heartbeat.

It was thrilling. Her breasts brushed against his chest, her hardened nipples sensitive enough to make her breath catch. She squeezed her legs together as tightly as she could, needing the pressure, wanting so much more.

His hands tightened on her waist, and he lifted her up onto the center island. Their eyes were level now, and she could see the black of his widening pupils.

“Christ, you’re beautiful,” he whispered, then kissed her as he slid his hands underneath her dress, moving them up her thighs, which seemed to part of their own volition. “I’ve been thinking about this since the last time you were here,” he said.

“Except this time, I intend to finish what I start.”

Dear Reader,

I’m back writing about my favorite city in the world—New York! In this gently reimagined tale of Little Italy, five generations of the Paladino family have lived in their house on Mulberry Street since 1910. Now, they’ve got a thriving construction firm where three hot brothers, Tony, Luca and Dominic, work, live and love in the shrinking, old-fashioned world of close Italian families who seem to specialize in gossip.

In Tempted in the City, Tony Paladino meets a woman who is most definitely not one of their own. Catherine Fox works as a translator at the United Nations. After growing up in Europe, the daughter of diplomats, she’s finally found the home she’s always dreamed of in the heart of Little Italy.

Unfortunately, the Old Guard—a bunch of nosy neighbors who should know better—objects to this stranger remodeling one of the few single-family homes in the neighborhood.

Tony, on the other hand, loves everything about Cat. From the moment she hires his family to do the remodel, the two of them click in every way...especially in the bedroom.

It’s supposed to be just a fling—until they finish the house. But life doesn’t always follow a blueprint.

I hope you all fall in love with the Brothers Paladino in the hot NYC Bachelors series! I certainly have.

Ciao,

Jo Leigh

Tempted in the City

Jo Leigh

www.millsandboon.co.uk

JO LEIGH is from Los Angeles and always thought she’d end up living in Manhattan. So how did she end up in Utah in a tiny town with a terrible internet connection, being bossed around by a houseful of rescued cats and dogs? What the heck, she says, predictability is boring. Jo has written more than forty-five novels for Harlequin. Visit her website at joleigh.com or contact her at joleigh@joleigh.com.

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Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Dear Reader

Title Page

About the Author

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Extract

Copyright

1

“WHERE THE HELL have you been?”

Tony Paladino stopped in his tracks as Gina, his cousin and the office manager at Paladino & Sons, came at him waving a wad of pink message slips. He held his hand up to stop her as he checked the text on his cell phone.

Sure enough, Rita wanted to meet later, after work. She was in town only for tonight, and he wasn’t going to let anything get in the way of seeing her. He hadn’t had sex in too damn long, and Rita was just the ticket. Uncomplicated, didn’t even live in New York, and she wanted nothing from him but some hot action with a wave goodbye after. Perfect.

He answered her text in very few words, and the moment he hit Send, Gina pounced.

“You were supposed to be here two hours ago. Alex, the plumber on the Ortega job, says the whole system needs replacing from the ground up, and that was not in his budget, so he wants his money up front.

“Also, Sal is going crazy at Catherine Fox’s house. He says she’s insane and if you don’t call him back right away, he’s going to pack it up and go home.”

“Well, that’s just great.” Tony shook his head. The hits just kept on coming.

“I’m not finished,” Gina said. “The mayor’s assistant is trying to get hold of your father to ask him to dinner as thanks for the remodel of his offices. And Leo’s truck broke down in Park Slope so he hasn’t gotten to the Walkers’ brownstone yet. There’s a bunch more, but those are the calls you need to get to right away.”

“Sounds about right after the morning I’ve had. Thanks, Gina.”

She put a hand on her hip and gave him the stink eye.

“Hey, I told you I had to go to Aunt Miriam’s house.”

“You were there this whole time?”

“She made me physically verify every item on her final punch list while the project manager drank coffee and ate biscotti, because suddenly I’m the only one she trusts.”

“Oh. Well, it wouldn’t have killed you to text me back.”

“I forgot to turn my cell phone back on. But you’re right. I’ll try not to do that again. I tell you, Miriam is—”

“A lunatic with too much time on her hands.” Gina gave him one of her best “all is forgiven” smiles when she handed him the messages. “I thought maybe you weren’t so anxious to get here. This being the first day and all.”

“Nah, why delay the inevitable?” he said, shrugging, though anxiety had tightened his chest a few times.

“Congratulations, Tony. You’re going to do your father proud taking over the company. I left some files on his desk but that’s it. I didn’t touch anything. I figured you’d want to fix things up yourself.”

“I don’t think that office will ever feel like anything but Dad’s. I’ll do my best and we’ll take it one day at a time. And by the way, let’s stop with the pink slips, huh? We can do all of this on our tablets.”

“Thank God,” she said. “Chasing down you and your brothers is like herding cats. This way, I won’t get blamed when the three of you screw up.”