Romancing the Jewel

How far will he go to protect his mother's legacy? As Prince Gian-Paulo Montovanni's thirtieth birthday approaches, the paparazzi are hounding him to marry and put his pleasure-seeking days behind him. But before he can propose to any of the women vying for his attention, he must locate a precious family heirloom—his mother's beloved emerald necklace—stolen in a blackmailing scheme twenty years earlier. No Montovanni bride-to-be has ever gotten engaged without it, forcing Gian-Paulo to collaborate with an American jeweler who's replicated the necklace in elaborate detail, a secretive woman who knows the location of the original. Luring his quarry to Italy to finalize the deal, Gian-Paolo is not above participating in wicked deceptions to get what he wants. Is she Fit for a Princess? Abandoned by her mother as a child, Carolina Beugre sought haven with her uncle, a renowned and respected jeweler. Passionate about gemstones, she attends a prestigious university with plans to open a jewelry shop in downtown Atlanta one day. Lenox Street is high end, the perfect place to sell her creations to wealthy clientele, but the property is expensive. To finance her store, she agrees to sell Grace, the twenty-carat emerald necklace she recreated from one of her uncle's silent auction pieces. The exchange is scheduled to take place on a tiny provincial island during a masque ball. What happens next leads to a fake betrothal, kidnapping, and an emotional roller coaster that nearly strips away everything Carolina has worked so hard to achieve—including what she knows about herself.