by Loretta Chase

Think James West or James Bond in Venice. Gorgeous, resourceful, jaded, he is surprised to find something appealing in Francesca Bonnard.
Like the best Georgette Heyers books, the side characters offer hilarity without diverting the main storyline.
Francesca is not innocent. She has chosen to become an expensive but exclusive courtesan, writing every gift and conquest to her horrid ex. However, James sees something else in her eyes:
"She looked up at him in that way she'd done before, with the ghost full in her exotic green eyes, so that all he saw was a girl, a beautiful girl, gazing at him adoringly.
It was what he'd always wanted--for one girl to look at him so, with all her heart in her eyes--but he'd imagined it so differently. He'd pictured an innocent girl with an honest, caring heart, who knew nothing of life's darker side, who'd saved herself for him and who'd be true , who'd never deceive him."
There's plenty of Venice here and and hot chemistry, but also romance to sigh for. A great summer read!