Contemporary Romance
Date Published: 12/30/2013
Synopsis:
Just what is going on at the Tetari farm in New Zealand? First her father is injured in a suspicious hunting accident, now someone is after the Tetari family and their land. With the help of charismatic businessman and eldest son, Luca Tetari, Ally Edwards is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery. As passion flares and love blooms, Ally and Luca search for the answers in Ellie Lyons’ romantic suspense novel, Stealing Luca’s Heart, Book 1 of her new, contemporary series.
When Ally Edwards’ father, Cal, is injured in a suspicious hunting accident in New Zealand, she takes leave from her job as a University of Iowa economics instructor to rush down to be at her father’s bedside. When she arrives, she finds herself hosted by her father’s friends, the Tetari family, who welcome her into their home.
Luca Tetari, the eldest son, is not only a businessman in the family corporation, but also the team captain of the All Blacks, New Zealand’s national rugby team. Luca is the consummate player, skillful on the pitch and off, indulging his fans and beguiling everyone around him. But as she gets to know him, Ally discovers that Luca is far deeper as a person than his surface charm would indicate, and soon she finds herself falling in love.
But while Ally and Luca are realizing their new affections, the Tetari family and their land are under attack by unknown assailants. With a new “green” energy project in development, who is trying to take over their property, and how? Does this have anything to do with Cal’s injury? After all, if someone has hurt one person, mightn’t that same individual be willing to injure—or even kill—additional people to achieve his or her goals?
Excerpt:
The plane made a smooth landing
and taxied into the gate. There was a tapping on the galley door and the
attendant unlocked it, pushing it open. An official-looking man in a business
suit was standing at the top of a mobile staircase. He quickly stepped onto the
plane, pointing at Ally.
Just what is going on at the Tetari farm in New Zealand? First her father is injured in a suspicious hunting accident, now someone is after the Tetari family and their land. With the help of charismatic businessman and eldest son, Luca Tetari, Ally Edwards is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery. As passion flares and love blooms, Ally and Luca search for the answers in Ellie Lyons’ romantic suspense novel, Stealing Luca’s Heart, Book 1 of her new, contemporary series.
When Ally Edwards’ father, Cal, is injured in a suspicious hunting accident in New Zealand, she takes leave from her job as a University of Iowa economics instructor to rush down to be at her father’s bedside. When she arrives, she finds herself hosted by her father’s friends, the Tetari family, who welcome her into their home.
Luca Tetari, the eldest son, is not only a businessman in the family corporation, but also the team captain of the All Blacks, New Zealand’s national rugby team. Luca is the consummate player, skillful on the pitch and off, indulging his fans and beguiling everyone around him. But as she gets to know him, Ally discovers that Luca is far deeper as a person than his surface charm would indicate, and soon she finds herself falling in love.
But while Ally and Luca are realizing their new affections, the Tetari family and their land are under attack by unknown assailants. With a new “green” energy project in development, who is trying to take over their property, and how? Does this have anything to do with Cal’s injury? After all, if someone has hurt one person, mightn’t that same individual be willing to injure—or even kill—additional people to achieve his or her goals?
Excerpt:
The plane made a smooth landing
and taxied into the gate. There was a tapping on the galley door and the
attendant unlocked it, pushing it open. An official-looking man in a business
suit was standing at the top of a mobile staircase. He quickly stepped onto the
plane, pointing at Ally.
“Ally Edwards?” he yelled over
the plane’s engines. He was wearing noise-canceling headphones, held a radio in
his left hand, and looked very official. She nodded to him, and he motioned for
her to follow him back down the stairs. She quickly retrieved her bag and went.
She’d know where to go once
they landed, she got that now, but what in the world was going on? Why was she
slipping out the back of the plane? What was up with this family? Didn’t they
know how to text? She just needed to know what flight she was supposed to get
on.
She stepped out onto the stairs
and instantly felt the warmth of the sun and humid air. There were palm trees
and other tropical-looking plants bordering the runway. What was that Jimmy
Buffet song? Something about changes in latitude, changes in attitude? She
swore she could feel her hair springing back into its natural waves.
The guy with the radio was
waiting for her at the bottom of the staircase. Next to him stood a uniformed
guard who was restraining a beagle. “Do you have your passport and declaration
forms?”
She handed them over, watching
him examine the papers and passport. The beagle eagerly sniffed her backpack.
It dawned on her that she had her own private immigration officer. Now that was
impressive. Perhaps she did have important friends, or her dad did.
“Are you bringing in any fruit
or perishables?”
“No.”
“How long do you plan on being
in the country?”
Now that was a good question.
“A couple of weeks.” Ally hoped that would be enough time for her dad to be
healthy enough for the long trip back home.
“Have you been walking on any
farmyards prior to your flight?”
“What?” Ally thought he was
must be joking.
The guy didn’t smile. “You
know…any agricultural material on your shoes?”
Now she got it. Did she have
shit on her shoes? She knew she didn’t but did a quick check anyway and shook
her head.
The man continued on. “We can’t
have any contaminated soil coming into the country that could potentially
threaten our farms. So, to maintain our bio-security standards, we must prevent
the entry of pests and diseases into our country. We cannot risk endangering
New Zealand’s agriculture and horticulture industries. If you have any animal
or plant items with you, or packed in your luggage, you must declare it on your
passenger arrival card.”
They really don’t mess
around here. “No, I have nothing to
declare.” As if she doubted herself, she performed another quick check of the
bottom of her sneakers just in case and hoped to God that she didn’t have an
apple in her backpack. No, she was positive she ate it.
He
stamped her passport. “Good, welcome to New Zealand, Ms. Edwards. Please follow
me.” The engines were on a manageable hum now as they walked around to the nose
of the enormous plane and stopped. Standing next to a 747 was nothing short of
amazing. There was a hive of activity from all the people swarming in to turn
the plane over for its next flight. The baggage workers were busy unloading
massive piles of luggage from their carts and placing them on a conveyer belt
to make their way into the terminal.
“It will be just one moment,”
said the man with the radio.
She nodded, unsure if she
should ask him if he knew what she was supposed to do next. She decided against
it and observed her surroundings. There was an empty baggage cart zipping away
from the others, coming around the plane and stopping in front of them. The
driver had only one bag, hers!
Nervous excitement suddenly
sizzled through her system. Even under the green John Deere hat and aviator
sunglasses she recognized him. Luca Tetari eased his body out of the cart and
strode easily up to the immigration officer. They shook hands and exchanged
greetings like old friends.
“Cheers, John, thanks for your
help.” His rich voice held the New Zealand accent that she had always found
fascinating. “I’d be happy to get you some box seats for the next match.”
“No, that’s all right. I’m glad
I could help you out, Luca. We do this type of thing occasionally. Give
Australia hell, will ya, in Christchurch? Hey, do you have time for a quick
photo together?”
“Of course, it’s the least I
can do,” Luca said warmly.
John took his phone out of his
pocket, thrusting it toward her, nodding to suggest she take the photo.
Exhaling, she put down her
backpack and wondered where on Earth she had actually landed. Be gracious, she
reminded herself. This guy is paying for your flight. Luca put his arm on
John’s shoulder and both grinned ear to ear as she snapped the picture. She
handed the phone back and stood idly as John shook Luca’s hand once more,
clearly very excited, and scurried back into the airport.
Luca turned his attention to
Ally. He pulled his sunglasses off, revealing brilliant eyes the color of green
sea glass underneath dark lashes. Her breath caught while she scanned his face.
Damn, those internet photos didn’t do him justice.
He walked toward her and held
out his hand. “Ally, I’m Luca Tetari. First off, I can’t tell you how very
sorry our family is about your dad. I can only imagine how worried you are.”
Ally smiled politely. “It’s
nice to meet you, Luca. I’m glad to finally be here to see how he’s doing.” She
felt her palm start to sweat and wasn’t sure if it was because of the
temperature or the man holding it. She gently pulled her hand away.
“I can imagine. We’ve seen that
Cal is taken care of. Your dad, man, he’s a tough bird. I think he would’ve
taken the bullet out himself if he hadn’t passed out first.”
“My dad passed out?” she
exclaimed, taking a step back. She knew she still didn’t know the full extent
of his injuries, but hearing it from him was upsetting.
As if realizing his mistake, he
countered, “But he’s doing better. My mum’s down there, and believe me, she’s
got things under control. What do you say we get out of here, and I can fill
you in on the plane?”
“I’m
ready.” Luca reached out to take her backpack from her, but she shook her head.
“No, I’ve got it. Thank you.”
“Hey, sorry about sneaking you
out the back of the plane, but I really didn’t want the hassle of crowds
today,” he said, turning to her and placing his hand on her shoulder. “Believe
it or not—and my guess would be ‘or not’—this was a lot easier than navigating
through the airport with us trying to get your bag and hopping on a commercial
flight.”
She studied him, wondering what
that was supposed to mean. Luca must have read her expression because he nodded
behind them toward the airport glass windows. Ally followed his gaze and
immediately recognized the flight attendant she had been sitting next to
staring in her direction along with dozens of other people. All of them had
their noses up against the gate windows, and some were even taking pictures.
“What can I say,” he said,
shrugging. “I play rugby and kiwis love their rugby.”
She was beginning to think that
this attention wasn’t solely because he played rugby. “Wow, maybe I should get
my picture taken with you too?” she teased.
Luca shook his head, giving her
a full, unguarded smile. “I only pose for All Black fans. I am simply your
chauffeur today.” He waved his hand, motioning for her to get into the baggage
cart.
She was aware of him watching
her as they both climbed into the cart. She held on while he navigated around
the airport chaos, stopping abruptly in front of a private jet. This just
keeps getting better and better, she decided, looking from Luca to the
plane. A lovely lady with a short cap of red hair and wearing a gray pantsuit
with a logo on the breast of the jacket hustled down the steps.
“This doesn’t look like a
commercial flight,” she said, turning to Luca. There was amusement on his face
when he glanced briefly over to her.
“Ally, this is Sue,” Luca
explained, jumping out of the cart and reaching for her suitcase. “She’ll help
you get settled on board, and I’ll be up in just a minute. I’ll just get your
bag stored.”
She decided it might just be
easier to do as she was told as she stepped out of the cart with her backpack
and followed Sue up the steps. She’d put up with all the fancy Tetaris until
her dad was able to travel. Ally hoped Tara would be able to fly down soon. She
really should send another text to her when she had the chance. When she
reached the top of the steps, she turned around, glancing down at Luca. He had
the cell phone to his ear and casually looked up, meeting her gaze. He gave her
a thin smile and turned away to talk into his phone. Ally hesitated on the
steps as she listened to his conversation.
“Hey, Mum, it’s Luca.”
She may have prejudged this
guy. Luca Tetari seemed like a nice guy. Actually, a nice, very rich guy. Damn.
She immediately decided he was a little too smooth for her taste and
boarded the plane.
*
Luca shifted the phone to his
other ear as he glanced up to the plane’s door and the shapely figure moving
inside. He pushed Ally’s bag into the jet’s storage area and then slammed the
cargo hold shut. “She’s on our plane now. I told her things were under control
on the hospital front.”
He finished his conversation
with his mum, who gave him Cal’s update. She had asked how Ally was doing.
Luca’s first thought on Ally wasn’t the answer a guy shared with his mother. He
waved back to the pilot who signaled that take-off was in five
minutes.
He was told Ally was a college
instructor, but with that body he was definitely envisioning something else.
Cal had completely neglected to mention what Ally looked like in all these
years. Man, was I ever misled. Who could blame Cal for being protective?
I’ve never been to college, but I thought Ally would be a studious,
intellectual type, sporting thick glasses, not a sports cap.
Review:
Ally has a troubled life with her work, and now putting her house up for sale, the same house where her parents lived and is now full of memories of her mother who died recently.
She looked forward to the family meeting that would have with her father and sister, who live in New Zealand. An increasingly rare meeting as everyone is always busy. But instead, she receives the news that her father had been shot while fishing. And the strangest thing was that he was in a particular area of controlled hunting. Accident or attempted murder?
Ally immediately travels to be near her father and staying at the Tetari's house.
There she meets Luca Tetari, the famous rugby player. Tall, gorgeous and alpha male.
Luca had already decided to retire from sport career and devote himself to managing his family's farm. By knowing Ally, he's attracted fast, but their relationship still go through a trial.
A full of mysteries, dramas, thrillers and romance mouthwatering story. The book is not hot, but believe me, it makes no difference. Ellie Lyons knows as no one how to hold the attention of the reader, and the romantic scenes make the heart beat faster.
This is a debut book and Ellie could not have started better.
Definitely she joined the list of authors who I will wait anxiously the release of each book.
5 STARS
About the author
Purchase Link: Amazon
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