Sweet On You - By Kate Perry Page 0,61
the kitchen, bright-eyed and blushing, holding her new man's hand. She wore a silky dark blue robe with yellow Batman symbols that still had creases in it, and her hair was down.
The first time Daniela had seen Brian, she'd liked him instantly. She'd insisted he and Marley join their Christmas breakfast. Marley was family, after all, which made Brian family, too.
"Is Christmas breakfast soon?" Marley asked, taking a seat at the table. "I'm starved."
Tony narrowed his gaze at Brian, who still held the young woman's hand.
"The pain perdu will be ready in half an hour." Daniela put a restraining hand on her brother's shoulder as she refilled his cup. For some reason he bristled at Brian's presence. Maybe he was jealous, because Marley no longer looked at him with fawning adoration.
What he needed was his own woman. She'd talk to Marley's friend Valentine. Tony was going on forty—maybe it was time to bring in the big guns.
Gleeful at the prospect of hiring a matchmaker for her brother, she clapped her hands once. "Passion fruit mimosa, anyone?"
Marley shuddered, but Brian settled his glasses more solidly on his nose as he nodded. "I'd love to try some."
"I knew I liked him." She winked at her former assistant as she pulled out a wine glass.
Nonna had always insisted Christmas was a celebration of family and life and deserved champagne, which she usually mixed with some sort of juice depending on her mood. Pomegranate when she wanted to bring in a more fertile year, bittersweet grapefruit when Nonni had passed away.
Daniela thought passion fruit was the perfect juice to add to the bubbles this year. She poured one for Brian, another for herself, and coffee for Marley. As she raised her glass to offer a toast, the doorbell rang.
She and Tony frowned at each other. "It's barely dawn," he grumbled, getting up from the table. "Did you invite someone else over?"
"Not until later." Lola and Eve, plus their families, were coming over for sweets in the afternoon. Olivia and her husband had been invited, too, but Eve had called last night to say Olivia wouldn't make it—she gave birth to a Christmas Eve baby boy, named Parker after her father.
She settled back onto Nico's lap, nestled happily in his arms. A shiver of anticipation shot through her as she thought about the day they'd have their own kids. A girl and a boy, who'd tease and harass and love each other their whole lives.
He kissed her, looking at her as if he could read her thoughts.
She bet he could. She sighed happily and took a sip of her mimosa. It was sweet, with enough tang and fizz to make it interesting.
"Holy cow." Marley grabbed her hand and gaped at the engagement ring. She turned to Brian and said, "Don't get me wrong. My Batman robe kicks ass, but so does that ring."
Daniela laughed, not able to resist winking at Brian. She knew he had another present for Marley as well—one that kicked ass big time. He rented Marley a studio for a year. Daniela had helped him pick it out. It had a brightly lit area but the back area was completely dark. Marley was going to love it.
Tony rushed into the kitchen, looking wild-eyed and more than a little harassed. Before she could ask what was going on, someone trailed in after him.
The woman was tall, wrapped head-to-toe in black. Blond hair peeked from the edges of the black cap pulled down low over her head. Her cheekbones jutted, making her look so gaunt Daniela had the urge to make a batch of zeppoli stuffed with sweetened ricotta to serve to her.
But it was her face that was most striking: the desperate look in her eyes and her makeup, which ran down her cheeks with her tears.
Something about her was very familiar. Daniela frowned, trying to place the woman. One of Tony's exes?
"Is her face melting?" Marley whispered to Brian.
Nico shifted under her. Mouth close to her ear, he whispered, "Isn't that—"
"This is Sophie Martineau," Tony said, raking a hand through his hair. "She just decided to stop by, I guess."
The woman swallowed a teary hiccup. "It's my birthday, and I want cake."
Daniela looked at her brother.
He shrugged helplessly.
She looked at the famous actress, recognizing her now under the clownish makeup. Nico kissed her shoulder and pushed her to standing and toward the woman. She smiled at him over her shoulder. He already knew her so well.
Then she turned her smile to the actress, hands outstretched. "We don't have cake today, but we have my grandmother's pain perdu, and I guarantee it's even better than my chocolate cake."
She took the woman's icy hands in her own and drew her to the table.
"Lost bread?" Sophie said in her trademark husky voice, which wavered this morning.
"Translated, yes. It's a sort of souffléed French toast." She pulled out a seat from the table and guided Sophie into it. "Sit. I'll get you a mimosa."
The woman nodded, looking dazed.
She went to the refrigerator and pulled out the champagne and juice. As she reached for a glass, Nico's arm snaked around her waist. He lowered his mouth to her ear. "Do I have a lifetime of taking in waifs and strays to look forward to?"
"Do you mind?"
Smiling, he pushed her hair from her face. "No, as long as you're there."
She looked at the table. "Two months ago, I'd never have imagined a Christmas morning like this."
"Me either." He kissed her. And then he kissed her again, holding her face in his hands like it was precious. "It's the sweetest Christmas ever."
* * *
Don’t miss the rest of the Laurel Heights series!
Perfect For You #1
Close To You #2
Return To You #3
Looking For You #4
Dream Of You #5
Sweet On You #6
Also fall in love with Kate Perry’s sexful, playful novels of family and love including Playing Doctor and Playing for Keeps…
Playing Doctor
After catching her research partner-slash-fiancé with the intern, Dr. Daphne Donovan returns home to lick her wounds and figure out how to fix her life. It doesn't take a genius to figure it out: being an uber-brilliant Doogie Howser has made her life miserable while all the normal people she knows are happy and content.
There's only one thing to do: become normal. No more being the wunderkind of childhood disease research. All she wants is a regular nine to five job, two-point-five children, a white picket fence, and a blue collar husband.
Except normal isn't all it's cracked up to be, especially after she meets Ulysses Gray. Gray is everything she doesn't want: smart, incredibly handsome, and a doctor--just like her ex-fiancé. She wants to deny him--and herself--but she can't resist playing doctor...
Get Playing Doctor now!
Playing for Keeps
Since her mother's death more than fifteen years before, Grace Connors has been the matriarch of her family. She's put her own dreams on hold to raise her younger sisters and keep her ex-marine father in line.
So when her sister Nell decides to get married, it's on Grace to make it a wedding their mother would have been proud of. It can't be hard to organize a party, right?
But then everything falls apart, including her budding romance with her sexy best friend Pete. Caught in the crossfire with the enemy at her back, will Grace be able to fix it all before she becomes a casualty of love?
Get Playing for Keeps now!
Kate’s Shelf
The Laurel Heights Series
Perfect For You
Close To You
Return To You
Looking For You
Dream Of You
Sweet On You
Novels of Family and Love
Playing Doctor
Playing for Keeps
Project Date
The Guardians of Destiny
Marked by Passion
Chosen by Desire
Tempted by Fate
Standalone
Project Daddy
Legend of Kate
Kate has tangoed at midnight with a man in blue furry chaps, dueled with flaming swords in the desert, and strutted on bar tops across the world and back. She’s been kissed under the Eiffel Tower, had her butt pinched in Florence, and been serenaded in New Orleans. But she found Happy Ever After in San Francisco with her Magic Man.
Kate's the bestselling author of the Laurel Heights Novels, as well as the Family and Love and Guardians of Destiny series. She's been translated into several languages and is quite proud to say she's big in Slovenia. All her books are about strong, independent women who just want love.
Most days, you can find Kate in her favorite café, working on her latest novel. Sometimes she's wearing a tutu. She may or may not have a jeweled dagger strapped to her thigh...
For more on Kate, visit: