Good book. We met Gianni in Her Return to King's Bed as the brother of Teresa. At that point he was giving up his "career" as a thief and going straight. He is now working for Interpol to help catch other thieves. He is also trying to get his father and brother to give it up, but not succeeding. One night he comes home to find Marie searching his bedroom for evidence against his family. She already has an incriminating photo of his father that could send him to prison. In return for not taking it to the police, she wants Gianni's help in tracking down and retrieving a stolen piece of jewelry. He wants to keep his dad out of jail so he goes along with the plan, but he's got a condition of his own. She will have to pretend to be his fiancée until the end of the mission.

I loved Gianni and Marie together. Marie is attracted to Gianni and can't understand why, as a former cop and current security expert, she finds a thief so compelling. She needs his help so she goes along with his demands. The more time she spends with him, the more she sees more than just a master thief. Marie sees his love for and protectiveness of his family. She sees his determination to stay on the right side of the law. And she finds herself falling for the man she is coming to know, but doesn't think he would ever feel the same for her.

Gianni is attracted to Marie from the moment he finds her in his home. Finding out that she's a former cop surprises him, and her "proposal" that he return to his thieving ways intrigues him. He has another commitment for Interpol that coincides with a visit to his family on the island of Tesoro. He knows he can't just take her along and expect his family to accept her presence, so he talks her into posing as his fiancée. He doesn't anticipate how much he enjoys having her with him. In spite of their differing backgrounds he finds himself thinking more about the possibility of a future together.

I really enjoyed seeing Marie and Gianni get to know each other. Both are extremely proud of their family histories. Even though Gianni is now distancing himself from his, he doesn't deny that it is a huge part of who he is. They also discovered that they worked well together as they checked out the security for the jewelry show and searched for the thief that Marie needs to find. I also loved seeing the way that Marie began to like Gianni's family in spite of what they were. Gianni also realized that his feelings for Marie were much stronger than he thought when he thinks of them parting ways. But neither one can muster the courage to tell the other how they feel. I absolutely loved seeing Gianni's way of showing Marie just how much he loved her. It showed just how well he had come to know her. I really hope that there will be a story for Paulo, he really deserves to have his life upended. ( )