Set against the sun-drenched Italian countryside, You Had Me at Buongiorno is an unforgettable debut romance novel about escape, desire, and the courage to begin again.

After a devastating loss shatters her world, Charlie Miller leaves behind her toxic family and old life for a fresh start in Florence. Desperate to stay in the country she’s come to love, she accepts a position as an au pair for the impossibly wealthy Montefiori family, trading grief for glamorous villas and a chance at something new.

But working for the Montefioris presents challenges Charlie never imagined. The children are unruly, but it’s their uncle, Lorenzo Montefiori—the family’s elusive, dangerously magnetic heir—who consumes her thoughts. A notorious playboy, Lorenzo is the last man Charlie should trust, but the tension between them is impossible to resist.

Then she meets Diego de Luca, the palatial estate’s charming handyman, whose easy warmth and undeniable attraction offer Charlie a simpler kind of escape. As the summer heat intensifies, Charlie must confront her feelings for the two men, her lingering grief, and her fragile place in the Montefiori family—or risk losing her future, her visa, and her chance at love.

Publication

Hachette (Union Square & Co)