I'm thrilled to be revealing the dreamy cover for the talented Kristina Knight's new release today, yay! Congratulations, Kristina!
The Saint's Devilish Deal
A
billionaire surfer… A down-on-her-luck hotelier… One hot summer fling…
Esmerelda Quinn has been looking for a place to belong
since her parents were killed in a car crash when she was young. The closest
thing to home has always been Aunt Constance's villa in Puerto Vallarta, so
after a string of dead-end hotellier jobs, she's coming home to run the villa.
Santiago Cruz has called the villa home for as long as
he can remember. In between surfing events, Constance has always had a room for
him. Color him surprised when Constance decides to retire - and leaves a joint
interest in the villa to both Santiago and Esme.
Esme isn't thrilled to share ownership of the villa
with the the youngest Cruz brother - especially when she learns Santiago's
brother has been after the villa for years. But Santiago has grown up while
she's been away at school and soon she finds herself falling for the rich boy
down the hall.
Excerpt:
“You forget
yourself, Esmerelda. You’re talking about making this simple for the staff,
that doesn’t mean I need to come to you for every new guest registration or
idea I have. Besides, we need this campaign.” Santiago waved his hand. “We need
more guests of a certain means to make the villa stand out. Families are great,
but they won’t make Casa Constance a go-to destination. These people will. So,
we use our new guests as features in a new campaign for the high-end travel
magazines. A few shots in the tabloids wouldn’t hurt, either.”
“You weren’t even going to discuss
this with me?”
“I’m telling you now. While we’re on
the subject—” he tossed a few magazines from his desktop onto her lap “—what do
you see in these pictures?”
Esme sent him a killing glance and
then flipped through the pages. “Boring. Bland. Not home.”
“Exactly. This isn’t a home, or it
shouldn’t be a home first. If you want Casa Constance to succeed you need to
treat it like a business. So, make-over, what do you like?”
She tossed the magazines back onto
the desktop. “Our guests love the color and textures of Old Mexico. They say so
all the time.”
“Your guests haven’t been in
residence, at least not actively, in more than a year. We aren’t appealing to
anyone right now and we need to. So, makeover starts this afternoon and your
new training begins in the morning.”
“I know what I need to know about
running a vacation resort.”
“You need to experience a vacation
to sell it. We need day-trips, we need amenities. I’ll bet you’ve never gone
para-sailing or sky diving, much less enjoyed a couple’s massage.” Her cheeks
pinked at the last suggestion and Santiago smiled. “Celebrities visiting Casa,
playing on our private beach, being featured in an advertising campaign—with a
few pictures leaked to the tabloids to get the word out even sooner. Casa needs
this.”
Esme took a few breaths and then
settled back into her chair. “I can’t afford to pay the salary of a New York
advertising crew. Seriously, Santiago, you have to cancel.”
“My three months, remember? It won’t
cost you a thing. The photographer owes me a favor. The only cost will be the
campaign copy, which will be negligible. I do know what I’m doing, Esmerelda.”
“Okay, mail.” Esme shook her head as
if clearing thoughts of the upcoming ad campaign from her head. “Marquez
usually separates bills from letters—”
“As the mail will be delivered to
the front desk, I’m happy to see to it. And let’s cut to the chase.” He leaned
back in the chair and clasped his hands behind his head. “I don’t want to be
tied down to a vacation villa for the rest of my life. But if you really want
this, there is something you have to do for me. First.”
Esme swallowed, crossed and
re-crossed her legs before clasping her hands in her lap. “What do you want? A
payoff? You’ve seen the books, you know there isn’t much money. But if it’s
money you want, I’ll agree to your price. I just need time to come up with the
capital.”
She really didn’t know him at all.
He shouldn’t be surprised, but he was. Surprised and a bit disappointed. “I
need your money like I need another surfing championship,” he said, sitting up
straight. “No, what I want from you is a bit more. . . ephemeral. I want your
time. For three hours each day, you belong to me. No villa work. No guest
handholding.” He walked around the desk to rest his hip against one corner. “No
conferences with staff. No following the maids on their routine cleanings and
no visits to the kitchen to give Gloriana instructions. For three hours each
day, your time is my time.”
“You can’t be serious. That. . .
that’s just. . .” She trailed off when his index finger traced the line of her
jaw. He lowered his voice.
“No work. No phones. No villa. You
do what I say, what I want.”
Fantastic excerpt! I can't wait to get my hands on a copy. For buy links head on over to Kristina Knight.
Fantastic excerpt! I can't wait to get my hands on a copy. For buy links head on over to Kristina Knight.
Author Bio/Links:
Once upon a
time, Kristina Knight spent her days running from car crash to fire to meetings
with local police—no, she wasn't a troublemaker, she was a journalist. When the
opportunity to focus a bit of energy on the stories in her head, she jumped at
it. And she’s never looked back. Now she writes magazine articles by day and
romance novels with spice by night. She lives on Lake Erie with her husband and
daughter. Happily ever after.
Kristina's
Links:
Website:
http://www.kristinaknightauthor.com
FB: http://www.facebook.com/kristinaknightromanceauthor
TW: @AuthorKristina
GR: http://www.goodreads.com/authorkristina
PI: http://www.pinterest.com/authorkristina
FB: http://www.facebook.com/kristinaknightromanceauthor
TW: @AuthorKristina
GR: http://www.goodreads.com/authorkristina
PI: http://www.pinterest.com/authorkristina
Hi, Cait! Thank you SO much for being part of my release day-cover reveal tour!
ReplyDeleteAnytime Kristi! Enjoy your release day :)
ReplyDeleteWOW...love the cover Kristi! Congratulations :)
ReplyDeleteit is fabulous, isn't it!! Thanks for the visit, Christine :)
DeleteHi Kristina, congratulations. The new book sounds brilliant! Best wishes!
ReplyDeleteThanks for coming by, Nancy. It does sound brilliant, doesn't it!
Delete