As a teenager I was lucky enough to spend a couple of weeks each year on the Riviera. Those holiday memories are part of the inspiration behind Stealing Hearts, a suspenseful second chance romance book in the Tangled Hearts series.
Back in the day, I’d stay with my friend and her family in Cannes for a few days and then onto Monte Carlo. It fueled the love I already had for Grace Kelly and Hitchcock movies.
Since moving to France, I’ve also spent a memorable time holidaying on the French / Spanish borders. If you love dramatic coastal roads that twist and turn down to delightful seaside towns I highly recommend it.
The architecture at Collioure is spectacular and I love the decorative downpipes like the one pictured below. I bet they look spectacular in a downpour with all that rainwater rushing out.
And, of course, eating at some of the seafood restaurants, including the one Raph and Evie stopped at on their way to Antibes, is worth the trip alone.
In Stealing Hearts, I tried to capture some of the summer glamour of those trips. And an exhilarating drive through a lightning storm was perhaps my inspiration for the most dramatic part of the book.
The following extract is from early on in the book. Though I don’t mention it by name, I imagined that Raph and Evie stopped for a few moments at le phare du cap Cerbère, the first French lighthouse after the Spanish border.
…“For fuck’s sake, Evie! Do you want me to die? Stick to the plan. Get the necklace and get out of there.”
Evie clenched her jaw and held her tongue. She needed to cut her brother some slack. Without him, she would never have known her grandmother’s legacy was in Spain. “I’m trying, Tristan. I just need a little more time.”
“I don’t have that luxury, Evie.”
Ice-cold tentacles of fear slid down her spine. She looked over the edge of the cliff at the sea below. “I thought you said you had until the tenth?”
“They’re stepping up the pressure. Without the necklace, I’m fucked. Don’t let me down, Evie.”
A shudder went through her at the sight of white spray crashing over the rocks, and she pictured Tristan lying there. His body limp against a boulder, the true horror of his death revealed as the waves retreated back into the depths of the sea. Tearing her gaze away from the rocks, Evie turned her back on the lighthouse and looked across to the winding road she and Raph had driven down. She needed to rein in her wayward thoughts. No one was going to kill her brother over a bit of money. Whichever loan shark he owed, he’d be worth more to them alive than dead.
“It’s okay, Tristan, I understand. Believe me when I say I’m doing my best. I’ll call you tomorrow with some news, I promise.” She hoped he couldn’t hear the tremor in her voice.
“Evie?”
“Yeah?”
“You know you’re the best sister I’ll ever have.”
Her lips tilted upwards as she remembered how he’d looked when they were young. His sandy hair, always wayward and in disarray, pink chubby cheeks, and bright blue eyes. She could never say no to him. This spot, with the small seaside town visible further down the coast, reminded her of their holidays in Devon. Of the fishing in rock pools, the forbidden ice creams using the pocket money she’d saved, and getting up extra early to build a fortress for the sandcastle competition.
Well, she’d gotten up early. Tristan slept in. But he always made it there in time to help with the finishing touches that ensured first prize. That was what big brothers were for, he’d say.
She sighed into the phone. Those were simpler times then. “That would be nice, Tristan, if I wasn’t your only sister.”
“And I wouldn’t swap you for the world.”
Before she could reply, he’d hung up.
Evie let her hand fall to her side. A strong breeze whipped across her face, and she raised her head, relishing the way the wind lifted her hair and cooled her neck. She closed her eyes to the sun, letting its fortifying hot rays wash over her. A sense of peace rested on her shoulders, and she relaxed for the first time that day.
The thud of a door being slammed banished the moment. She spun around. Raph stood next to the car with his arms folded across his broad chest and a scowl creasing his face. How did the man manage to look so sexy and yet so foreboding all at the same time?
In London he’d been far more lighthearted and conciliatory towards her. She needed to keep her guard up around this new version of Raph. The glint in his eyes was enough to make her falter in her tracks, and that was before she even acknowledged how alive she’d felt with his lips on hers once more.
“On y va, Evie! Let’s go. I’ve not got all day.”
Not that she would get the chance to find out. He was too keen on offloading her at the nearest railway station. Apparently, he hadn’t changed a bit. Ten years ago he’d ditched her without a second thought. In fact, he hadn’t even had the grace to break up with her. He’d just never contacted her again.
Holding a hand up to shield her eyes from the sun, she gave the stone structure and its solar-powered beacon a final glance. If only she had its strength to weather storms and stand stoic in the face of adversity. But that was the Evie of old, she’d died the night the necklace was taken.
And yet here she was with a strange sense of déjà vu, as if all the players from before had come together again. The hair on the back of her neck stood up, and the warmth of the day was overshadowed by a clawing fear in her stomach. Straightening her shoulders, she headed to the parking area before the demons of her past took hold and overwhelmed her.
By the time she returned to the car, Raph was behind the steering wheel. She still didn’t understand why he was helping her today. Evie opened the passenger door and sank down into the seat. The chilled interior of the vehicle was a relief from the intense sun. She reached for the seat-belt behind her and clicked the buckle in place as Raph gunned the engine and sped off down the road.
“Ca va?”
The softness of his tone sent a frisson of awareness through her. She might have put him out of her mind for the last few years, but her body hadn’t forgotten the eight glorious weeks they’d shared that summer.
Stealing Hearts is book 2 in the Tangled Hearts series, but can be read as a standalone. It’s a sexy romantic suspense novel featuring a second chance romance and a fake fiancee. Click here 👉Stealing Hearts, to learn more.