Sleeping With Her Rival. Sheri WhiteFeather

on>

      March’s menu

      BARONESSA GELATERIA

      in Boston’s North End

      In addition to all our regular flavors of Italian gelato, this month we are featuring:

       Chocolate cake drizzled with hot caramel

      With a rebellious lock of soft brown hair over his amber-flecked eyes, Flint Kingman had only to look at a woman to have her do his bidding. Until Gina Barone stepped onto his client list. Now he summoned her onto his turf and prepared for a battle of the sexes.

       A slice of baked Alaska

      Gina Barone worked in a man’s world—and knew the male of the species. She would shed her icy persona and become the sultry she-devil in their pretend affair, just as Flint wanted. Then she would burn him.

       Flesh-burning three-alarm chili

      A wet kiss, an erotic pose…Flint and Gina put on a good show for the paparazzi. But who was more surprised by the genuine heat rising from the pictures—the proper Bostonians, the Barone family…or the couple themselves?

      Buon appetito!

      Dear Reader,

      In honor of International Women’s Day, March 8, celebrate romance, love and the accomplishments of women all over the world by reading six passionate, powerful and provocative new titles from Silhouette Desire.

      New York Times bestselling author Sharon Sala leads the Desire lineup with Amber by Night (#1495). A shy librarian uses her alter ego to win her lover’s heart in a sizzling love story by this beloved MIRA and Intimate Moments author. Next, a pretend affair turns to true passion when a Barone heroine takes on the competition, in Sleeping with Her Rival (#1496) by Sheri WhiteFeather, the third title of the compelling DYNASTIES: THE BARONES saga.

      A single mom shares a heated kiss with a stranger on New Year’s Eve and soon after reencounters him at work, in Renegade Millionaire (1497) by Kristi Gold. Mail-Order Prince in Her Bed (#1498) by Kathryn Jensen features an Italian nobleman who teaches an American ingenue the language of love, while a city girl and a rancher get together with the help of her elderly aunt, in The Cowboy Claims His Lady (#1499) by Meagan McKinney, the latest MATCHED IN MONTANA title. And a contractor searching for his secret son finds love in the arms of the boy’s adoptive mother, in Tangled Sheets, Tangled Lies (#1500) by brand-new author Julie Hogan, debuting in the Desire line.

      Delight in all six of these sexy Silhouette Desire titles this month…and every month.

      Enjoy!

      Joan Marlow Golan

      Senior Editor, Silhouette Desire

      Sleeping with Her Rival

      Sheri Whitefeather

      To Silhouette, for inviting me to do this project. To the other Dynasties authors and our editor, Mavis Allen, for being such a joy to work with. To Frank Cardinal, my primo dad, for introducing me to Italian delis, Italian words and Italian humor. To Rick Bundy, my very special second dad, for inspiring the classic Corvette and the Caine Mutiny in this book. To Joanne Rice, my cousin, and Flora and Mary Yacabucci, my great aunts, for their unwavering support.

       And, finally, I would like to acknowledge two remarkable teenagers—

       Brenna, my beautiful “new” daughter, and Nikki, my “old-soul” son.

       I love you both.

      SHERI WHITEFEATHER

      lives in Southern California and enjoys ethnic dining, American Indian powwows and visiting art galleries and vintage clothing stores near the beach. Since her one true passion is writing, she is thrilled to be a part of the Silhouette Desire line. When she isn’t writing, she often reads until the wee hours of the morning.

      Sheri is married to a Muscogee Creek silversmith. They have a son, a daughter and a trio of cats—domestic and wild. She loves to hear from her readers. You may write to her at: P.O. Box 17146, Anahaim, California 92817.

      Meet the Barones of Boston—

      an elite clan caught in a web of danger, deceit…and desire!

      Who’s Who in

      SLEEPING WITH HER RIVAL

      Flint Kingman—His fiery, passionate nature clashes with his stoic part-Cherokee heritage. Still, with his dark good looks and rakish smile, he is the media’s darling….

      Gina Barone—Her hot temper steams next to the cold shoulder she turns to everyone she views as corporate competition, including Flint Kingman. With her briefcase and her chignon, she is the ice princess….

      Maria Barone—The baby of the family, she carries on all the traditions at the decades-old Baronessa Gelateria. And she carries on the family secrets, as well….

      Contents

      Chapter One

      Chapter Two

      Chapter Three

      Chapter Four

      Chapter Five

      Chapter Six

      Chapter Seven

      Chapter Eight

      Chapter Nine

      Chapter Ten

      Chapter Eleven

      Chapter Twelve

      Epilogue

      One

      Gina Barone wasn’t in the mood to party, but she sipped a glass of chardonnay—praying it wouldn’t irritate her stomach—and worked her way through the charity mixer, feigning an I’m-in-control smile.

      She knew it was important to be seen, to hold her head high, especially now. Gina was the vice president of marketing and public relations for Baronessa Gelati, a family-owned Italian ice cream empire—a company being shredded by the media.

      Something Gina felt responsible for.

      Moving through the crowd, she nodded to familiar faces. Although she’d come here to make her presence known, she thought it best to avoid lengthy conversations. A polite greeting was about all she could handle. And with that in mind, she would sample the food, sip a tiny bit of wine and then wait until an appropriate amount of time passed before she said her goodbyes and made a gracious exit.

      “Gina?”

      She stopped to acknowledge Morgan Chancellor, a business associate who flitted around the social scene like a butterfly, fluttering from one partygoer to the next.

      “Oh, hello. You look lovely, Morgan. That’s a beautiful dress.”

      “Why, thank you.” The other woman batted her lashes, then leaned in close. “Do you know who asked about you?”

      Gina suspected plenty of people were talking about her, about the fiasco she’d arranged last month, the Valentine’s Day publicity event that had ended in disaster.

      Baronessa had been launching a new flavor called passionfruit, offering a free tasting at their corporate headquarters. But pandemonium erupted when people tasted the gelato.

      An unknown culprit had spiked the ice cream with a mouth-burning