SECOND CHANCE WITH THE CEO – Anna DePalo
The Serenghetti Brothers , Book 1
Harlequin Desire #2472
ISBN: 978-0-373-73485-6
September 2016
Contemporary Series Romance

Welsdale, Massachusetts -- Present Day

When they were high school seniors, Marisa Danieli and Cole Serenghetti had the hots for one another, but it ended when she was forced to tattle to the principal about his latest prank. This led Cole to a school suspension and he never forgave her. Marisa is now a teacher at the same school they graduated from and Cole is a former hockey star turned construction company CEO. He is stunned when she shows up at the jobsite he's working with a request that he headline a school fundraiser function. Of course, he hasn't forgotten Marisa and what she did, and immediately says no. She is persistent…but can he resist the sexy woman who still turns him on?

Marisa desperately needs Cole's help with the fundraiser, not only because of the money it will bring in, but also because landing him will place her as the frontrunner for the open assistant principal job. Not giving up, she tracks Cole down until he finally gives in, but with a counteroffer of his own that his company win the bid on the school gymnasium building contract. She agrees, and in the ensuing weeks, they both learn something: the attraction between them hasn't died. When Marisa uses Cole as a buffer against her ex-fiancé, things really begin to heat up.

It's a rocky reunion for Cole and Marisa in SECOND CHANCE WITH THE CEO. She gave him her virginity, but she was forced to tattle on him about a teenage prank, and it ended up with him tossed out of school. She loved him, but as a student on a scholarship at the prestigious Pershing High School that caters to well-to-do families, she could not lie for Cole after the school principal put pressure on her. Marisa wishes things had turned out differently for them and knows he won't be happy to see her, but recruiting the former pro hockey star would be huge for their fundraiser. He only ends up going along with her plan after his brother steps in and offers to help. No way is she going to get her claws in his brother.

Hate is as strong a passion as is love, and Cole and Marisa find this is true. With her pestering him to help her, he could easily turn his back, but this is a woman who still makes him turn his head. She has recently gotten out of a bad relationship with a man who dropped her for a woman who happens to be Cole's ex. Running into their exes one night in a pub while planning the fundraiser, Marisa uses Cole to pretend that they're newly dating. It works all too well, but soon, fake turns to real passion. The sex is fiery hot. How can they give up the other once they no longer have to work together? Can Cole forgive Marisa for what happened in high school?

SECOND CHANCE WITH THE CEO is an intriguing reunion romance that I highly recommend. More Serenghetti family stories are coming, and I can't wait.

Patti Fischer