“Very.” Carlina's voice was dry. “Another cousin. He's Aunt Alberta's son. I'm not sure if you remember her - she's Mama's eldest sister and famous for her vicious tongue.”
Garini nodded. “Of course I remember her. She's not here, though, is she?”
“No. She went on a cruise around the world together with Angela, her daughter. Good riddance, I say.”
Uncle Teo had recovered from his disappointment and pulled Valentino forward. “Come meet everybody. You've been away so long.”
Valentino looked around the room and waved. “Hello, everybody!” He winked at the girls on the balcony, standing with several bean bags scattered around their feet. “I see some lovely ladies I absolutely have to dedicate some time to, but first, the most important matter: Ernesto's present.” He opened a serious looking leather briefcase and pulled out an envelope. “Here you are.”
Ernesto's face lit up as he took the envelope. “A present? What is it?”
“Just open it.” Valentino gave him a smile that showed his perfect white teeth and a dimple in one cheek. “I know you'll love it.”
Ernesto ripped open the envelope with an eagerness that made him look younger than this eighteen years.
Carlina's throat constricted. She liked Ernesto, and she knew that he had always looked up to his elder cousin Valentino, who had led him astray more times than not. A glance at her aunt Benedetta, Ernesto's mother, told her that Benedetta wasn't as pleased as Uncle Teo about Valentino's return from Dubai. The cautious expression in her eyes spoke volumes, and her mouth, lipsticked as always with a bright red color, was pressed together into one thin line. Oh, oh. Here's trouble brewing.
Ernesto whooped. “Wow! That's fantastic!” He waved the piece of paper and hugged Valentino, then turned around and showed the paper to Rafaele. “Look at this!”
“What is it?” Fabbiola asked.
“Yes, we want to know about it too,” Ernesto's eldest sister Emma chimed in. “Tell us.”
Valentino gave her a smile that would have charmed the paint off a lamppost. “Patience, little cousin. In the meantime, tell me how you manage to look prettier every time I see you?”
Her husband Lucio frowned and laid a protective arm around Emma's shoulder. “It's being married to me that enhances her good looks.”
Emma beamed. “Quite right. We were married last September, you know.”
“Of course I know!” Valentino gave her another wink. “I well remember the pictures with your astonishing marriage gown.”
Lucio's scowl deepened.
Carlina held her breath. Emma's wedding gown had been spectacular because of it's extreme shortness, showing her excellent legs to full advantage. It had also caused a bit of a scandal, but Emma had been adamant about it.
Rafaele looked up from the gift voucher he had been reading. “I can't say I'd like it for myself,” he said with his calm voice and shrugged. “Bungee-jumping is not my kind of thing.”
Benedetta screamed and surged forward. “Bungee-jumping?” She tore the piece of paper from Rafaele's hand and scanned the document with wide open eyes. “Bungee-jumping?” Her voice turned shrill and high. “Are you telling me you're going to kill my only son, my lamb, after I've managed to raise him for eighteen years?” Her fingers crumpled the voucher in her hands. “I forbid you to do this, Ernesto!”
End of Excerpt
Banker's Death by Beate Boeker
Buy now:
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also available as paperback
About the author:
Beate Boeker has been a traditionally published author since 2008 with a passion for books that brim over with mischief & humor. Several of her novels were shortlisted for the Golden Quill Contest, the National Readers' Choice Award, the 'Best Indie Books' contest, and the RONE Award. In 2013, she hit the Amazon bestseller list in the category "international mystery & crime" with “Delayed Death”, the first in the series “Temptation in Florence”.
By day, Beate is a marketing manager with a degree in International Business Administration, and her daily experience in marketing continuously provides her with a wide range of fodder for her novels, be it hilarious or cynical.
Widely traveled, she speaks German (her mother language), English, French and Italian and lives in the North of Germany together with her husband and daughter.
While 'Boeker' means 'books' in a German dialect, her first name Beate can be translated as ‘Happy’ . . . and with a name that reads ‘Happy Books’, what else could she do but write novels with a happy end?
Contact Beate:
Website
http://www.happybooks.de
Newsletter – to learn about brand new-releases!
http://www.happybooks.de/newsletter
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Beate-Boeker/153573758044433
Twitter
@BeateBoeker
Cozy mysteries by Beate Boeker
Delayed Death – Temptation in Florence #1
What do you do when you find your grandfather dead half an hour before your cousin’s wedding? You hide him in his bed and tell everyone he didn’t feel like coming.
Charmer's Death – Temptation in Florence #2
What do you do when your best customer seduces your beautiful cousin? You try to save the situation, but it becomes a little harder than planned when he’s found strangled.
Banker's Death – Temptation in Florence #3
When Carlina’s attractive cousin Valentino returns from Dubai to Florence, he quickly becomes the most unpopular member of the wide-spread Mantoni family. When he is murdered, only Commissario Garini is sorry because he has to investigate the Mantoni family once again.
Expected Death – Temptation in Florence #4
Coming soon: The family patriarch Uncle Teo has fallen in love, and the whole family hates his new girlfriend with good reason. Nobody is surprised when she's killed, but this time, the Mantonis are in for it, and one of them ends up in prison.
Contemporary romances by Beate Boeker
Mischief in Italy
A father-son conversation leads to unexpected results and manages to turn both their lives upside down.
A New Life
How often have you wondered if A New Life wouldn’t be fun? Circumstances force Anne to start again in Florence, Italy – with totally unexpected results . . .
It's Raining Men
Four cousins inherit one bedraggled umbrella to share and slowly learn about its magic (co-written with Gwen Ellery!)
Rent a Thief
Can you fall in love with a thief?
Stormy Times
Joanna is lost in a blizzard on her way home from a difficult foaling. Just one man can save her – but he’s strangely reluctant to come to her help. A Christmas romance.
A Little Bit of Passion
How much independence do you have to give up when falling in love?
Take My Place
A single mother sets up her own company and tries not to fall in love
Wings to Fly
Cathy tries to land the job of her life but an accident changes all her plans.
Charmer's Death (Temptation in Florence Book 2) Page 27
