Offer He Can't Refuse

Meet Californian TÉa Caruso . . . her mother drives her crazy, her sisters give "advice." She has a family just like any other, except for one tiny difference . . .Her grandfather isn't just in the mob . . . he is the mob!

And no one knows this better than Johnny Magee. The Caruso family destroyed his dad. Now, it's payback time—and he's going to need an unsuspecting insider . . . one who won't realize what he's really after.

TÉa loves her family but hates what they do. She's tried to stay far away from her notorious relatives, making a legit name for herself as an interior designer. But her grandfather Cosimo's gala 80th birthday is coming up. Every mobbed-up member of the family from San Francisco to Sarasota will be there—and it's time for TÉa to face the family or face the consequences.

Intent on using TÉa for revenge, Johnny hires her to redo his home, but then she makes him "offers" he can't refuse. Soon he's falling in love with the enemy and when all the secrets are revealed, what will TÉa do . . . and even worse, what will her family?

Publishers Weekly

Being the eldest granddaughter of SoCal's biggest crime boss isn't as glamorous as it's cracked up to be. Ever since her father disappeared, presumed murdered, when she was 12, Tea Caruso has kept as far from her crooked family as she can. Now trying to eke out a living as an interior designer in highly competitive Palm Springs, Tea is on a mission to gain some professional recognition by landing the business of Vegas high-roller Johnny Magee, who has just bought a house in the area. Red-hot attraction lands Tea in Johnny's bed, and Tea begins to wonder if she's finally met a man she can trust with her heart. But Johnny has two secrets: he hired Tea because of her mob ties, and his own father was rumored to have killed hers. Genuinely funny moments catapult the reader toward this romance's engaging end, but it's the touching subplot about a retired mobster's goth daughter and the vulnerable but strong main characters that give this suspenseful romp a deeper spin. Ridgway (The Thrill of It All) leaves enough loose ends dangling to swing one of Tea's sisters into her own sequel, and readers who enjoyed this solidly written tale will certainly return for the continuing drama. (Aug.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Christie Ridgway has never lived east of the Pacific Ocean, north of San Francisco, or south of San Diego. To put it simply, she's a California native who loves to travel but is happy to make the Golden State her home. She began her writing career in fifth grade when she penned a volume of love stories featuring herself and a teen idol who will probably be thrilled to remain nameless. Later, though, after marrying her college sweetheart, Christie again took up writing romances, this time with imaginary heroes and heroines. In a house full of males—one terrific husband, two school-age sons, a yellow dog, and tankfuls of fish, reptiles, and amphibians—Christie makes her own place (and peace) writing the kinds of stories she loves best.