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      Beauty and the Reclusive Prince

      By

       Mills & Boon® Romance reader-favourite Diana Palmer would like to share her secret tomato sauce recipe with you. Diana grows her own herbs and tomatoes and she and her husband love to cook with them. Enjoy!

      Tomato Sauce

      Begin with a nice basket of organically grown plum tomatoes (about 1.2 kg) or equivalent cans of organic plum tomatoes, and a nice big bunch of fresh black basil. Wash tomatoes and cut into quarters.

      Put 2-3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil into a pan; add 3-4 cloves chopped garlic. When garlic softens throw in the tomatoes. Simmer until tomatoes begin to soften, add a big handful (about 12 large leaves) of torn basil leaves. Salt and pepper to taste.

      Simmer sauce until tomatoes soften and slowly bring to the boil. Turn off heat and run sauce through a sieve or food mill for a smooth consistency. Or leave in the bits for a rough and ready pasta sauce.

      When cool, add the Bella Rosa secret ingredient—1 teaspoon of orange-infused olive oil and 1 teaspoon grated orange zest.

      The sauce can be used alone, or as a base.

       THE BRIDES OF BELLA ROSA

       Romance, rivalry and a family reunited.

       This month Isabella Casali welcomes you to Monta Correnti in:

      BEAUTY AND THE RECLUSIVE PRINCE by Raye Morgan

       And follow Lizzie Green through the tears and triumph of motherhood in:

      EXECUTIVE: EXPECTING TINY TWINS by Barbara Hannay

       Rebel Valentino Casali returns this June:

      MIRACLE FOR THE GIRL NEXT DOOR by Rebecca Winters

       Join Jackie Patterson for the wedding of the year on a hot July day:

      THE BRIDESMAID’S SECRET by Fiona Harper

       Lassos at the ready for rugged rancher Alex Casali in August:

      THE COWBOY’S ADOPTED DAUGHTER by Patricia Thayer

       Autumn can’t dampen the sparks flying in the kitchen for Scarlett Gibson:

      PASSIONATE CHEF, ICE QUEEN BOSS by Jennie Adams

       October sees Angelo Casali escape from New York:

      STAR-CROSSED SWEETHEARTS by Jackie Braun

       And as Christmas approaches in November cosy up with Cristiano Casali in:

      FIREFIGHTER’S DOORSTEP BABY by Barbara McMahon

      CHAPTER ONE

      “ENOUGH!”

      Isabella Casali’s cry was snatched right out of her mouth by the gust of wind that tore at her thick dark hair and slapped it back against her face. What a night she’d picked to go sneaking onto royal property. The moon had been riding a crest of silky clouds when she’d started out from the village. Now the sky had turned black and the moon was playing hide and seek, taking away her light just when she’d stepped on forbidden territory. Where had this sudden storm come from, anyway?

      “Bad luck,” she whispered to herself, squinting against another gust of wind. “I’ve got reams of it.”

      She knew she ought to turn and head for home, but she couldn’t go back without finding what she’d come for—not after all she’d done to work up the nerve to come in the first place.

      The grounds of the local prince’s palazzo were famously said to be the stomping grounds for all sorts of supernatural creatures. She’d discounted it before, thought it was nothing but old wives’ tales. But now that she’d come here and seen for herself, she was beginning to get the shivers just like everyone else. Every gust of wind, every snapping twig, every moan from the trees made her jump and turn to see what was behind her.

      “You’d better hope the prince doesn’t catch you.”

      Those words had made her smile when Susa, her restaurant’s vintage pastry chef, had uttered them like an aging Cassandra just before Isabella had left for this adventure. Susa often had wise advice, but this time Isabella was sure she was off the beam. What had Susa said again?

      “They say he patrols the grounds himself, looking for young women who stray into his woods…”

      “Oh, Susa, please,” she’d scoffed. “They’ve said the same thing about every prince who’s lived in that old moldy castle for the last hundred years. The royal Rossi family has never been a very friendly bunch, from what I’ve heard. When you don’t get out and mix with the citizens, you’re bound to get a bad reputation.”

      She’d chuckled at the time, completely unconcerned, even though the royal grounds were the last place she wanted to venture onto anyway. Given a choice, she would have stayed home with a good book.

      “But it’s mostly because they’re such a mystery,” she continued, thinking it over. “I’ll bet they’re very nice people once you get to know them.”

      Susa raised her eyebrows and looked superior. “We’ll see how nice you think he is when he has you locked up in his dungeon.”

      “Susa!” Isabella was reluctant enough to go on this mission without the older woman raising more reasons why she should just stay home.

      “Besides, Papa has been sneaking in there to collect the Monta Rosa Basil we need for years and, as far as I know, he’s never seen a royal person there yet. I don’t believe a word of it.”

      Her father, Luca Casali, had discovered the almost magical properties of this fine herb years before and it had transformed his cuisine from average Italian fare into something so special people came from miles around just to get a bowl of exquisitely cooked pasta topped with the