Spotlight & Giveaway: The Billionaire’s Last-Minute Marriage by Amanda Cinelli

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Amanda Cinelli to HJ!

Hi Amanda and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, The Billionaire’s Last-Minute Marriage!

Please summarize the book a la Twitter style for the readers here:

With his first bride stolen at the altar, Greek CEO Xander needs a replacement, fast! Only his secretary Pandora – the woman he holds responsible for ruining his wedding day – will do… But her touch sparks unforeseen desire…
 

Please share the opening lines of this book:

Xander Mytikas stood frozen on the steps of the Manhattan courthouse and felt the rush of shocked anger simmer in his veins. The crowd of distinguished wedding guests and eager paparazzi seemed to meld into one around him…

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• It’s loosely based on the Pandora’s Box greek myth, like the other books in this trilogy.
• I set this book in Japan because it’s always been on my wishlist and I couldn’t resist sending Xander and Pandora on a road tripping honeymoon around as many Japanese locations as I could manage.
• Pandora Quinn has a little brother named Odin, it seems her parents were just as fond of mythology as this author!
• The businesswoman and powerful heiress Ren Tanaka became a much bigger character in this book than I originally planned and she will be getting her own story very soon!
• While writing the first book in this trilogy, Eros’ oldest brother was originally called Evander until I kept accidentally mistyping his name so many times I just gave in and accepted he wanted to be called Xander!

What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

Pandora was drawn to Xander’s gruff honesty and quiet kindness from the moment they first meet and she harbours a months long crush on him as a result. Xander felt the same pull towards her but resisted it for months, considering he was her boss! I love some mutual pining!
 

Using just 5 words, how would you describe Hero and Heroine’s love affair?

Grumpy boss marries sunshine secretary

The First Kiss…

happens when Pandora admits that she dislikes kissing and Xander gruffly decides that they will need to practice some fake sensual enthusiasm in order to be ‘camera-ready.’ They both realize very quickly that there is NOTHING fake about the sizzling chemistry between them from the moment their lips meet.

I won’t spoil it too much but….I had to include this little excerpt that shows the aftermath of that explosive moment.

Their eyes met for a split second, breathing heavily as they both simply stared at one another like opponents on a battlefield. It dawned on her that it had always felt like they had been in a battle of some sort, but perhaps she had misunderstood exactly what the context was.
She had always assumed he hated her. But could hatred produce this kind of heat?
He opened his mouth as though he planned to speak, then closed it just as quickly, his nostrils flaring and his breath still coming in hard gusts. Was it her imagination or were the tops of his cheeks slightly flushed? The idea that she could make the unflappable boardroom titan Xander Mytikas blush was a ridiculous one, and yet the evidence was rather shockingly stacked against him.

Without revealing too much, what is your favorite scene in the book?

I loved writing the moment that Xander demands Pandora become his replacement bride, I wrote it from Pandora’s point of view and I tried my best to channel her absolute panic at being asked to marry the gorgeous aloof boss that she’s been pining for for months!

‘You can’t ask me to do this. I will help you find a replacement, someone more appropriate. Someone…’ Someone who is not me. God, anyone but me.
He leaned his tall frame against the shelving. When he finally spoke, there was a calm to his voice that hadn’t been there before. A cool determination that made her stomach twist.
‘I’ve already thought through the probabilities of every other solution to this problem. Quinn, it has to be you.’
His words hit her squarely in the chest and for a moment she was floating, watching this surreal scene from above. Situations like this belonged on a cinema screen, not in real life. It has to be you. That was almost a declaration from a man who barely even muttered goodbye to her at the end of the day.
She caught herself at the ridiculous thought. It’s not like he’d said Quinn, you’re my only hope or begun chanting that her very existence completed him. This was a very serious real-life issue, not something she could dress up as a romantic movie moment.
But then of course, like most of the vaguely nice things that Xander said to her, he went straight ahead and ruined it.
‘You’ve already betrayed me once so at least I know where I stand with you. Better the devil I know, et cetera.’
‘Just to be clear, I’m the devil in this situation?’ She said dryly.
He folded his arms, surveying her with an air of impatient superiority that did nothing to soften the swirl of chaotic emotions inside her chest.
‘I can’t do this, Xander. Perhaps this is how situations are settled among high society rich people but you’re asking me to marry you as part of some kind of illicit bargain. It’s highly improper. Probably illegal.’
‘What was illegal was you breaking in here to steal from me. Not to mention breaking your NDA to talk to Arista.’ He remained still, an ominous statue half bathed in shadows. ‘This is an opportunity to redeem yourself. After the part you played in recent events, this is the only repayment I will accept.’.
If his anger wasn’t already evident in the taut set of his chiselled jawline, she heard it veiled under every syllable. An eye for an eye. A bride for a bride.

If your book was optioned for a movie, what scene would be absolutely crucial to include?

‘I am the acting CEO of this company.’
‘And right now you are acting like a spoilt child.’ Pandora placed her hands on her hips. ‘Your previous approach in the boardroom will not work here, so if you don’t want to lose this deal then you will need to change. Adapt.’
‘I cannot believe this! The old man was supposed to have stepped down and left Ran in charge. That was the entire reason for my confidence in this whole-‘
‘Listen. You can sit here and throw a handsome billionaire fit over the unfairness of it all, or you can listen to my plan.’
Xander scowled, leaning against the railing of the balcony, said handsome billionaire jaw gleaming with the impressive beginnings of a silver five o clock shadow. Pandora gulped, resisting the urge to move closer and run her fingers over that jawline, she’d bet it looked razor sharp but was still soft to the touch. Realising her thoughts were wandering, she cleared her throat loudly and opened up the files Ran had already talked her through.
‘Mr Tanaka has his heart set on the business remaining family-owned, even after the buy-out. He’s concerned for his employees and his children’s futures. Ran believes that if you show him that you are not the lone wolf he has heard about, he will withdraw his objections.’
‘He won’t care what my family values are. I’m Zeus Mytikas son and that’s all he can see. He’s already made up his mind about me.’
‘You may share his bloodline, but you and I both know the similarities end there.’ She frowned at how quickly he brushed off her words, at how determined he was to keep himself inside this box of his own making. Quaking a little, she stepped in front of the balcony doors, blocking him from retreating. ‘Xander, most people see the world through their own selfish lens but you’re different. I noticed it from the first moment we met. You have this aloof, self-possessed air and yet you care about every single person who works for you. You can try to deny it but… I’ve watched you.’ She pressed her lips together, continuing when he didn’t interrupt.
‘You make people feel seen. You made me feel seen. You’re on this mission to change all of the bad things your father has done but you seem so determined not to look at the good that is already there. We need to show him that we are a team and that Mytikas Holdings also has strong family values. That we value tradition and honour, despite the bad blood that Zeus has stirred up over the last couple of decades.’
‘How exactly am I supposed to do that?’
‘By using your secret weapon, of course.’ Pandora smiled, taking a theatrical curtsy.

Readers should read this book …

if they like boss/ secretary romances, mutual pining, rags to riches heroes, socially awkward nerdy heroines, family secrets, marriage of conveniences, only one bed, kissing practice that gets out of hand….and so much more!

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have planned?

I’ve just handed in the final edits on the third and final installment of this series and next up I’m writing my 11th title for harlequin presents!

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: Win signed print copies of the first two books in the Greeks’ Race To The Altar series.
Book 1: Stolen In Her Wedding Gown (Eros + Priya’s story)
Book 2: The Billionaire’s Last-Minute Marriage (Xander + Pandora)

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: I fell in love with Japan the moment I saw the movie Memoirs Of A Geisha as a young teenager. I still dream of someday traveling there for the beauty of cherry blossom season. When you think of Japan, what first comes to mind?

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
 

Excerpt from The Billionaire’s Last-Minute Marriage:

‘You think I entered into a whirlwind marriage just to get a line in the papers?’ Xander’s stunned laugh was laced with a growl. ‘Christos, I wish it were that simple.’

‘Then why did you do it?’

‘It’s common knowledge that my mother was Zeus’s secretary in the Athens headquarters. He paid her handsomely to keep my existence a secret from the world. Until he found out he had become sterile and decided he needed to hunt down his illegitimate children to carry on his precious bloodline.’ He paused, wondering why he was telling her this. But the words kept coming. ‘I was nineteen when he found me, and my mother had long disappeared, so when he offered me a chance to make something of myself I took it. I joined the company and worked my way up from the bottom. I jumped through every hoop he asked of me until I reached the top of the pecking order and he accepted me as his right hand man, running the European arm of the business. And then what does that bastard do, even after I fly over here and hold everything together while he’s ill? He offers up the legacy that I rightfully earned, as a prize to be won.’

‘This…the wedding… it’s all because of Zeus?’

‘He left a will. A very detailed one in fact. The first of his three illegitimate sons to marry and stay married for one year… takes everything.’

‘And your brothers?’ She asked. ‘They know about this stipulation in the will?’

‘Yes. Like me, Eros always vowed never to marry. He never cared about the fortune but if given the chance to exact revenge on me… Let’s just say I need to find a replacement bride fast or admit defeat.’

‘I’ll do it.’ She said quickly then froze, her mouth sagging open for a moment before she slapped a hand across the lower half of her face. ‘I meant that I can help to find your replacement, not marry you myself.’

He pushed away the ridiculous sensation in his chest that felt far too close to disappointment. Sure, having her offer to take his bride’s place would have made things a lot easier, but he could never have accepted. This was Quinn, he was talking to here. Apart from the fact that he had just uncovered the fact that she was completely untrustworthy, she was his employee, and employees were strictly off limits for romantic relationships in Xander Mytikas’s book. Even fake relationships.

But…a small voice within him piped up, she had resigned. Technically right now, she wasn’t his assistant. She was the woman who had ruined his wedding and broken into his father’s home for reasons he had yet to glean. She’d chosen to cease being his employee, hadn’t she? He’d be lying if he said he hadn’t chosen his previous well-connected bride because she would ease his way to the top echelons of society, but that could all be pushed to the side for the moment. Right now, all he needed was a willing party. One that he could tolerate for the next twelve months.

He paused, taking in the woman before him and feeling the first flashes of his new strategy edge to the forefront of his mind…

Excerpts. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

He’s heir to an empire…if he can find a wife in time! Enjoy this dramatic marriage-of-convenience romance from Amanda Cinelli.

From personal assistant…
…to stand-in bride!

To inherit his birthright, Greek CEO Xander Mytikas needs to marry before his half brothers. With his first bride stolen at the altar, he needs a replacement, fast! Only the woman he holds responsible for ruining his wedding day will do…

Cautious Pandora agrees to transform herself from executive secretary to high-society wife—anything to make amends. A paper marriage for a year is the arrangement. Until on their honeymoon in Japan, Xander’s touch sparks a level of desire neither is prepared for!
Book Links: Amazon | B&N | iTunes | Goodreads |
 
 

Meet the Author:

Amanda was born into a large Irish-Italian family and raised in the leafy green suburbs of County Dublin, Ireland. After dabbling in a few different career paths, she finally found her calling as an author after winning an online writing competiton with her first finished novel. With three small daughters at home, her days are usually spent doing school runs, changing diapers and writing romance. She still considers herself unbelievably lucky to be able to call this her day-job!
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