Crossfire
of Love will be on sale for $1.99 for the month of March.
Can an arranged marriage lead to love?
Recent college graduate
Gabriella has finally married the man of her dreams, the older, charismatic attorney
Lorenzo Martinez. She's had a crush on him for as long as she can remember and
always imagined they'd one day find their happily ever after. Unfortunately,
they enter into a union arranged by their fathers.Lorenzo is charming, protective, and loyal to his crime lord father Carlo. When Carlo asks Lorenzo to marry Gabriella he jumps at the opportunity. He's been drawn to her for many years and knows by marrying her he's helping to protect her father.
Gabby is resentful and won't be Lorenzo's charity case. But sparks fly and the couple soon gives into their desire, realizing they were meant to be together.
What happens when Carlo's enemies threaten their future? Will someone get caught in the crossfire?
Content Warning: graphic sex, some violence
Excerpt:
Lorenzo walked up the porch steps, turning to stare at her.
"Are you coming, Gabriella?" No one but Lorenzo and his father called
her by her full name. She liked when Lorenzo said it. He'd always made it sound
so formal and sexy.
These were the first words he had spoken to her since they left
the courthouse. They were married in the chambers of the prestigious Judge John
Cartwright. He'd been a family friend of the Martinezes for many years. He was
their go-to man whenever they needed something done fast and legally. Well,
legal in her new father-in-law's eyes anyway.
She hurried up the steps and followed Lorenzo inside their new
home. It was built within a matter of months after she'd agreed to marry him.
Carlo wanted them to have their privacy, but he also wanted to keep them close.
He didn't trust she'd hold up her end of the bargain, and keeping her on the
property was the best way to ensure she wouldn't run.
It was silly, really. How could she run from a family like this?
They had ties all over the world. There wasn't any place she could escape to
that they wouldn't know about. She was a woman of her word. She said she would
marry Lorenzo and she did. She'd find a way to cope. She always had.
Lorenzo pulled his jacket off, poured himself a scotch, and then
loosened his tie. "Would you like a drink?"
"No, thank you," she said.
Most brides would be dancing the night away and drinking champagne
by this point in their wedding night. She didn't think that was part of
Lorenzo's plan.
"I didn't think you'd go through with it." He sipped the
amber colored liquid as he looked her over.
"I said I would."
"I know, but when push actually came to shove, I thought
you'd run."
"You don't know me that well," she said. "I don't
run."
"Good." He smirked as he put the glass to his lips.
Gabby couldn't take her eyes away from those lips. She'd never had
the pleasure of having them on her own. Judge Cartwright hadn't asked him to
kiss his bride. She hated herself for thinking about him that way.
"You could've stopped this. Why didn't you?" she asked.
As they stood in front of the judge, she kept hoping he'd put an
end to the charade and stop the wedding. It didn't make sense to her why he had
agreed to marry her. She didn't have a choice. Her father's gambling debts made
sure of that. But she didn't understand why he'd allowed things to get as far
as they had.
"I was just as trapped as you were." He downed the rest
of his scotch.
She didn't believe that. She knew he respected his dad, but she
didn't get why he wouldn't have put his foot down and said no to such a
life-altering decision.
"You could've told your father no from the beginning. Why
would you agree to marry someone if you didn't have to?"
"Look." He shook his head. "It's done now. We're
going to have to make the best of it."
"Make the best of it?" She plopped down on the leather
sofa. "I'm twenty-two years old. I just graduated from college, and you
want me to make the best of it?"
"I know this isn't what you might have wanted, but it is what
it is. You agreed, and now it's done. You can't go back on it now. My father
won't forgive that."
About
the Author:
Ella Jade has been writing for as long as she can remember. As a
child, she often had a notebook and pen with her, and now as an adult, the
laptop is never far. The plots and dialogue have always played out in her head,
but she never knew what to do with them. That all changed when she discovered
the eBook industry. She started penning novels at a rapid pace and now she
can't be stopped.
Ella resides in New Jersey with her husband and two young boys.
When she's not chasing after her kids, she's busy writing, attending PTO meetings,
kickboxing, and scrapbooking. She hopes you'll get lost in her words.
Thanks for having me :)
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