Heidi Manelli arrives in Italy on a mission - to find the relatives she never knew she had. After 21 years of believing herself alone in the world, she can't believe she's about to meet her family.

This isn't going to be an easy reunion, however. While her aunt Heidi agrees to let her stay at the family villa, other family members remain suspicious of her motives, and mysteries and danger lurk around every corner.

Will her new friend Stefano help? Is theirs a holiday romance or something deeper? Either way, Heidi's time in Bologna is going to change her life forever.

Length: 3 hours, 10 minutes

Author: Lindsay Townsend

Narrator: Linda DiGiosaffatte

$15.99

Excerpt:

He was standing right in front of her, so close that she could see the definition of his lean, muscular frame through his crisp cotton shirt. ‘Yes, I can see that,’ Heidi said, exasperated at herself. She would never agree to massage a fully naked man but she dealt with male clients in her aromatherapy practice, treated their hands and feet, their necks and shoulders. Why should she be so flustered by Stefano? ‘How’s your sprain?’ she asked, seizing gratefully on the change of subject.

‘Better for this gentle walk,’ Stefano said, in a voice of amused indulgence. ‘But if you are offering to treat my aching shoulder and back...’

His smile deepened as Heidi was silent, torn between her professional life and this strange new shyness she seemed to have acquired while dealing with him.. Perhaps it was because he had opened up to her a little and now, standing by this fountain, he was as close as her own shadow. Closer, because he was lowering that bright blond head and his clever, sensitive hands were encircling her narrow waist...

He kissed her lightly on the mouth and brushed a bead of fountain spray from her cheek. ‘I’ve wanted to do that for a long time,’ he said, kissing her again. He smelled of fresh bread and sun and his hands on her back held her tenderly, as if she was made of spun sugar.

‘Don’t you know how very pretty you are?’ he said softly, laughing as she stiffened at the compliment. ‘You are, you know. Like the little bride doll on top of a wedding cake.” Stefano blushed, clearly embarrassed at hearing himself say anything, so absurdly sentimental. ‘Thank you for your help,’ he said gruffly, taking a step back and releasing her.

It was only a thank you kiss, Heidi told herself. She’d known Stefano for only two weeks. What does that matter? an inner voice whispered, but Heidi ignored the voice and tried to control her rapidly beating heart, taking several slow deep breaths. ‘Shall we continue our walk?’ she said, grateful that her question was not a squeak.

Stefano stood back and pointed down the gravelled path. ‘There you go.’

Moving first, Heidi set off along the path, scarcely conscious of the wafting spray from the fountain or the opulent red peonies and roses lining the terrace walkway. Stefano had kissed her. She touched her lips with her hand, feeling truly sensual for the first time in her life, registering that she was wearing a blue cotton button-through sundress and sandals, items that had just become her favorite outfit.

‘Hey, wait!’ Stefano overtook her in a few strides. ‘It’s usually you trotting after me,’ he teased.

‘Pardon me, but I don’t trot.’ Feeling more composed, Heidi took Stefano’s hand in hers. ‘Got you!’ she teased in return. ‘Where to now?’

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When pretty, passionate Eve Burnett meets the darkly intriguing Julio Falcone, she is torn. As a man, Julio is powerfully attractive. As a policeman, he is bound to be a Fascist. Her brother, David, who is missing, is connected to the Greek Partisans who wish to liberate Rhodes from their Italian overlords.

Now, as David appears at their parents' house soon after Julio makes Eve's acquaintance, Eve is compelled to hide her brother and a mysterious gold statuette. The Fascists are looking for him and this secret treasure. Soon, Eve realizes that she may be forced to choose between the man she loves and the ultimate safety of her family.

Length: 3 hours, 10 minutes

Author: Lindsay Townsend

Narrator: Melissa Malone

$7.99

Excerpt:

Infuriated by his obvious lie, Eve stayed where she was. `Admit it. You were following me.'

`So? Perhaps it is my job to follow you.'

`I thought you said you were on holiday.'

`And also to help Signor Grassi with the case of your missing brother.'

`So what about David? Why are you not looking for him?'

He shook his dark head. `Do you not think I can do more than one thing at once?'

`Why are you following me?'

`Because you interest me.' He looked her up and down and smiled. `Why do you think?'

His frank admission made her forget altogether that he was a stranger, or a threat. At that moment all she wanted to do was beat him at his own game.

`Fine!' she snapped. `Then see if you can keep up with me!'

She spun round, catching him off-guard and walking so swiftly that she was almost running. Ignoring his warning, `Wait!' she moved even faster, clutching her basket tightly and chanting in her mind, think!

Think!

Then she saw a way out. Darting into a nearby shuttered alley, full of musty shops and strutting pigeons, she saw a gaggle of boys crouching over a game of marbles. She called to them softly.

`Have you got a ball?' she asked the eldest urchin in the sing-song Rhodian dialect.

`For sure!' came the reply.

Careful that the coins did not catch the by now glaring light, she showed the boys a handful of change. `Yours—if you play ball along by the mosque steps.'

`For sure!' The eldest boy snatched the coins and roared off in the direction of the washing fountain of the Ibrahim Pasha mosque, his gang in rapid pursuit. Moments later, kicking a ball about the paved street, their yelling, boisterous figures soon surrounded the tall, light-suited foreigner, who could not move or see past them for several vital seconds.

Seconds were all she needed. Eve pelted down the dingy street where the boys had been playing. Soon she was hidden amongst the bustle of crowds, motorbikes and donkeys moving along Socrates Street, home of the long bazaar and, more importantly to her, one of the roads leading out of the Old City.

I've done it, she thought. I've beaten him. She grinned and swung her basket, telling herself she was glad, while part of her wondered when she would see him again.

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