Scarlet Wilson - The Mysterious Italian Houseguest

Falling for the enemy!

Italian movie star Javier Russo needs to escape his Hollywood life. Isola dei Fiori is the perfect retreat—a lush island in the glittering Mediterranean. What he didn’t expect was having to share his peaceful hideaway with the infuriatingly beautiful Portia Marlowe!

Celebrity reporter Portia is intrigued by her unwelcome and mysterious visitor, and the secrets he’s clearly holding back. Villa Rosa isn’t big enough for both of them, and soon there’s nowhere to hide from their simmering chemistry!

‘I want to stay here, Portia. Not in some hotel. Do you think that would be possible?’

Portia. Javier didn’t say her name. He practically sang it.

He didn’t even remember her. Not that she’d expected him to—really. But she had met him and interviewed him before. And it was kind of insulting for a guy not to remember you—even in the cut-throat Hollywood industry.

Her rational head understood. At any press junket he’d meet hundreds of journalists and could never be expected to remember them all. On awards nights he’d speak to just as many again on the red carpet. She wasn’t any different from any other person who shoved a microphone in his face and tried to think of an original question.

But it still stung.

And now he wanted to stay with her. Javier Russo wanted to stay with her.

She lifted her hands from his chest. She needed all her senses to be working. And they were already piqued. A fresh, clean scent drifted up under her nose. She scrunched up her face for a second and tried to shake it off. The last thing she needed to think about was fresh, clean Javier Russo.

The Mysterious Italian Houseguest

Scarlet Wilson

www.millsandboon.co.uk

SCARLET WILSONwrites for both Mills & Boon Romance and Medical Romance. She lives on the west coast of Scotland with her fiancé and their two sons. She loves to hear from readers and can be reached via her website: www.scarlet-wilson.com.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text Falling for the enemy! Italian movie star Javier Russo needs to escape his Hollywood life. Isola dei Fiori is the perfect retreat—a lush island in the glittering Mediterranean. What he didn’t expect was having to share his peaceful hideaway with the infuriatingly beautiful Portia Marlowe! Celebrity reporter Portia is intrigued by her unwelcome and mysterious visitor, and the secrets he’s clearly holding back. Villa Rosa isn’t big enough for both of them, and soon there’s nowhere to hide from their simmering chemistry!

Introduction ‘I want to stay here, Portia. Not in some hotel. Do you think that would be possible?’ Portia. Javier didn’t say her name. He practically sang it. He didn’t even remember her. Not that she’d expected him to—really. But she had met him and interviewed him before. And it was kind of insulting for a guy not to remember you—even in the cut-throat Hollywood industry. Her rational head understood. At any press junket he’d meet hundreds of journalists and could never be expected to remember them all. On awards nights he’d speak to just as many again on the red carpet. She wasn’t any different from any other person who shoved a microphone in his face and tried to think of an original question. But it still stung. And now he wanted to stay with her. Javier Russo wanted to stay with her. She lifted her hands from his chest. She needed all her senses to be working. And they were already piqued. A fresh, clean scent drifted up under her nose. She scrunched up her face for a second and tried to shake it off. The last thing she needed to think about was fresh, clean Javier Russo.

Title Page The Mysterious Italian Houseguest Scarlet Wilson www.millsandboon.co.uk

About the Author SCARLET WILSON writes for both Mills & Boon Romance and Medical Romance. She lives on the west coast of Scotland with her fiancé and their two sons. She loves to hear from readers and can be reached via her website: www.scarlet-wilson.com .

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

EPILOGUE

Extract

Copyright

CHAPTER ONE

PORTIA CLOSED THE door behind her and breathed out as the car puttered off into the distance. Finally, peace perfect peace.

Somewhere, on the other side of the house, she could hear the chirrup of birds. After three days of being constantly surrounded by people and chatter it was music to her ears.

She leaned back against the cool wall, tempted to just slide down it.

Her sister Miranda’s wedding was over. She could stop smiling. She could stop fending off the intrusive questions from her sisters. Miranda had looked radiant, lost in the pink cloud of love and drifting off somewhere that seemed a million miles out of Portia’s reach.

She was the oldest sister—wasn’t she supposed to get married first?

The tightness that had gripped her chest since she’d got here eased just a little.

The last wedding guest had left. Miranda was off on her honeymoon, Posy had gone back to work, and Immi had returned to her job in the family business. Finally, Portia could have some quiet.

It wasn’t that she didn’t love her sisters. Of course she did. It was just that being around them was so...busy. They all talked at once, and over the top of each other. And what she really needed right now was a chance to take stock, to weigh up what to do next.

Her discarded mobile phone lay on one of the gilded tables in the large entrance hall almost mocking her.

L’Isola dei Fiori had patchy mobile coverage. Villa Rosa had an old phone line that didn’t currently work, and no Internet.

She didn’t need emails. She didn’t need a phone signal.

The last conversation on the phone had turned her work life upside down.

‘What have you brought us in the last four weeks, Portia? The award ceremony was weeks ago. Your red carpet interviews are yesterday’s news. You’re supposed to be an investigative reporter. This is Hollywood. And at twenty-seven your time is almost up. Bring me a headline story in the next four weeks or you’re history.’

She’d felt numb. Studying investigative journalism at university had been a dream come true. Finding a job in Fleet Street had been much harder. When she’d decided to hitch around the US with a friend for a few weeks she’d no idea how her life would turn out. One random conversation in a small café in Los Angeles had led to a temporary job at a TV station as a runner. When one of the producers had found out what she’d studied he’d asked her to pull some material together for their entertainment gossip show. Portia was smart and Portia was beautiful. Two months later she’d still been there and when the TV host had been involved in an auto accident on the way to the studio, she’d filled in with less than an hour’s notice. The audience had loved her. Social media had exploded. The gorgeous brunette with tumbling curls, dark eyes, plummy English accent and sense of humour had attracted more viewers. Within a year the show had been a hit. All for a job that Portia had landed due to a complete fluke.

Five years on she’d broken more Hollywood stories than any of her rivals. The truth was, she’d been a little ruthless at first. She’d had a natural tendency to sniff out a story at fifty paces and her boss had quickly pushed her for more and more headlines. At first, she’d enjoyed it. She’d interviewed film stars past and present with aplomb. And while she’d charmed them with her smile, she hadn’t lost her investigative edge. For the last five years she’d happily exposed liars, cheats and corruption in Hollywood. But as time had marched on the colours around her had muted a little. She was becoming jaded. She’d lost the fire that had once burned in her belly. Hollywood seemed to be a cycle, with only the faces changing while the stories sounded the same. And her boss was pushing and pushing her for more scandal-led headlines—the kind that had started to make her stomach flip over.