Liz Harris

When libel lawyer, Tom Hadleigh acquires a perfect holiday home – a 14th century house that needs restoring, there’s a slight problem. The house is located in the beautiful Umbria countryside and Tom can’t speak a word of Italian.

Enter Evie Shaw, masquerading as an agency temp but in reality the newest reporter for gossip magazine Pure Dirt. Unbeknown to Tom, Italian speaking Evie has been sent by her manipulative editor to write an exposé on him. And the stakes are high – Evie’s job rests on her success.

But the path for the investigative journalist is seldom smooth, and it certainly never is when the subject in hand is drop-dead gorgeous.

* * * * *

When the urge to write a rom com overcame me, I happily gave in, and I turned again to beautiful, romantic Umbria – both physically and mentally – for my story. Montefalco, in Umbria, was the setting for A DANGEROUS HEART, but EVIE UNDERCOVER begins on the side of a mountain that looks out towards the lovely hilltop town of Todi

I had my location; I now needed my characters. Since I’ve a background in Law, not surprisingly I decided that Tom Hadleigh, my gorgeous hero, should be a Libel lawyer. Tom has bought a 14^th century house in Umbria on the spur of the moment. As you do.

View from the loggia

Looking towards Todi

Flowers border the loggia

This is a romantic story so there had to be a romance (Yes, I’m really on the ball!). This meant that I needed an engaging heroine, one for whom no hurdle was too great. Enter auburn-haired Evie Shaw.

When the story opens, Tom’s house is nearing the end of its restoration, and Tom is in urgent need of someone to help him to communicate with his Italian-speaking geometra (surveyor/architect). It just so happens that Evie, with Italian blood in her veins, is fluent in Italian. Yes, would you believe it? What a happy coincidence!

We all know that the path of true love never runs smoothly. And especially not when Evie’s being forced to work undercover in order to keep her job on a gossip magazine. And even more so when Tom’s Italian surveyor, Eduardo di Montefiori, sleek and gallant in a Mediterranean way, has a beautiful sister, Gabriela, who’s staying with her brother before taking up a position in London for a year.

No, the path of true love is far from smooth.

A lone bird swoops low above the shimmering water in the pool.