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Hometown Love, book 2
The Playboy Next Door, book 3
Dedication
This book is dedicated to my grandfather, John Raimondo. Born and raised in the Federal Hill section of Providence Rhode Island to Italian immigrants, he was the second of five children. He served in the Navy during World War II and in 1951 he married my grandmother, Viola Gaucher. They moved to Pawtucket, Rhode Island where he lived until his death in 1995. Many of Rock’s expressions and personality traits I pulled from my grandfather, a man I have wonderful memories of and still miss.
About Christina Tetreault
I started writing at the age of 10 on my grandmother's manual typewriter and never stopped. Born and raised in Lincoln, Rhode Island, I have lived in four of the six New England states since getting married in 2001. Today, I live in New Hampshire with my husband, three daughters and our dogs. When I am not driving my daughters around to their various activities or chasing around our three dogs, I am working on a story or reading a romance novel. Currently, I have two series out, The Sherbrookes of Newport and Love on The North Shore. You can visit my website www.christinatetreault.com or follow me on Facebook to learn more about my characters and to track my progress on my current writing projects.
Excerpt
From The Playboy Next Door
Prologue
No more blind dates. Catrina sent the text message and then slipped her phone back into her purse. She’d said the exact same thing last month after the disastrous date with Kelsey’s coworker, but this time, she meant it. Vincent had a good excuse, but she still found herself seated at the bar alone drinking a hard cider on a Saturday night while her car sat in the garage waiting to be fixed. She’d much rather be with one of her friends or sitting on her own comfortable couch.
Yep, no more arranged dates no matter how much her friends pestered her. The next time she saw Kelsey or Ella, she’d let them know that.
“Do you need anything else?” the bartender asked after setting a sandwich in front of another customer.
Cat’s stomach picked that moment to rumble. She was already out; maybe she should eat. “Can I see a menu?”
The bartender slid a menu across the bar. “Let me know when you’re ready,” she said before walking away.
Cat eyed the choices and ignored the customers around her. From the corner of her eye, she saw someone take the seat next to her, but didn’t glance up. If she were sitting at the bar inside Masterson’s, she’d look over, fully expecting to see someone she knew. You couldn’t sit inside the popular restaurant in North Salem and not see someone you knew. O’Leary’s, the busy downtown pub she sat in now, was a different story. Located at the heart of the city, she never bumped into anyone she knew from her hometown.
“Hey, Cat. I thought that was you,” a male voice said.
Cat looked away from her menu and to her new neighbor, surprised to see Tony Bates seated next to her. “Hi, Tony. How’s it going?”
A few years older than her, she’d known Tony all her life, although she hadn’t seen him all that often since she’d moved out of North Salem.
“Good. You?” Tony gave her his trademark smile. The one she suspected had melted more than one woman’s heart.
Cat had to admit she wasn’t 100 percent immune to his smile. Tony Bates was one handsome devil, and he knew it.
“Hangin’ in there. Are you meeting someone?”
“No, I stop in here occasionally on my way home,” Tony answered.
“Long time no see, Tony,” the bartender said, stopping near them. “What can I get you?”
“Hi, Cora. How about a beer? Whatever you have on tap tonight.”
Cora gave him a smile and walked away.
“What about you? I’ve never seen you in here.”
Tony turned his full attention toward her again, his intense gaze exciting her.
“I was supposed to meet a date at the Scarlet Letter. He canceled at the last minute, so I stopped in here.”
“Jerk. It’s his loss. What did he give for a reason?”
“Surgery.”
