by Diana Palmer
Part of Long, Tall Texans
First published 2024
Tony Garza thought he had left his New Jersey crime boss days behind him. Now he runs an art gallery in New York and keeps his remaining illegal operations at arm's length through subordinates. When Odalie Everett rents a house near his Manhattan apartment to pursue voice lessons, their old antagonism ignites into something neither expected. Odalie has spent years working toward her dream of performing at the Met, but Tony's reappearance complicates everything. Their rekindled passion grows into something real, but Tony's criminal past refuses to stay buried. Vengeful enemies emerge, forcing Tony to make an impossible choice. He brings Odalie back to her family's Texas ranch to keep her safe, but the move tears at her dreams of operatic stardom. Odalie must decide whether love with Tony is worth abandoning her lifelong ambitions in New York, while deadly forces from his former life close in around them both.
Genres: crime, adult, adult-fiction, thriller, contemporary-romance, romantic-suspense
Vibes: dangerous, emotional, fast-paced, intense, passionate, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, forced-proximity, protective-hero, second-chance-romance
Setting: New Jersey, New York, Manhattan, Texas
Period: contemporary
368 pages · Hardcover · Canary Street Press
Content warnings: violence