Meet Me at the Villa

Minnie LeBlanc is the queen of fixing other people's messes. Just not her own love life.A scrappy line producer at a barely-hanging-on film company, she jets off to sun-drenched Italy chasing a career-saving dream, a long-lost movie starring the iconic Lana Lamont, a vintage screen legend in the vein of Audrey Hepburn. If Minnie can secure the rights, she could save her company and finally get her passion project made.Before she can even order a cappuccino, Minnie's boss hands her an impossible side quest. She has to pretend to be a high-powered executive producer and rein in a disaster of a film shoot, starting with its infuriatingly charming, very drunk star, Joshua Abbott.One chaotic bar rescue later, Minnie gets the call. The mysterious woman who owns the lost film will see her-right now-at her gorgeous Tuscan villa. There's just one problem. Minnie has nowhere to put Joshua. He has to come with.At the villa, the elegant (and slightly intimidating) Angela reveals the film was directed by her late father and contains the greatest love story ever told-so powerful, she believes the modern world isn't worthy of it anymore. Minnie, a secret cynic burned by her own romantic past, almost agrees, but she needs that film.And Minnie always has a plan.Pointing to the maddeningly handsome actor she met an hour ago, Minnie claims that true love does exist because she and Joshua are madly, deeply in love.Angela makes a deal. If Minnie and Joshua can convince her (and her very nosy friends) that their romance is real, she'll hand over the rights.Now Minnie and Joshua are stuck in a swoony Tuscan villa, fake dating under the Italian sun, sharing lingering glances, staged kisses, and way too much proximity. They just have to keep it simple. Don't get caught, don't kill each other, and absolutely, under no circumstances, do not fall in love.But as sparks fly and walls come down, Minnie starts to wonder what if the greatest love story ever told isn't the one she's chasing, but the one she's pretending to live?

Pages: 276, Paperback, Story Club Books LLC