Dear Reader,

      Although I have written more than fifty books over the past decade, I have never stopped feeling a special fondness for the stories about a very special family, the Santoris of Chicago. I wrote the first Santori story way back in 2001. The hero’s name was Joe, he was the second oldest in a family of six kids, and he was a blue collar construction worker who fell in love with a sweet-natured teacher. I loved Joe from day one and still consider him one of my best heroes.

      I never intended to write more stories about the family, until a couple of years later, when readers began asking me what had happened to all those siblings. So I did a cute little story about Lucas, the third son. I really enjoyed writing that story, and so I came up with stories for all the siblings. The last one came out in 2008. Since then, I’ve occasionally referred to the clan or had a family member pop up in another, unrelated book, but I’d never really focused on them again until last year. Readers seemed to want more of this big Italian family, and I decided to explore the idea of another branch on the Santori family tree. Deciding on a family with three sons, I had a fantastic time writing about Leonardo (Leo, Lying in Your Arms), Rafael (Rafe, A Soldier’s Christmas) and Michaelangelo (Mike, Double Take). I loved these big, strong, sexy guys and the women who tamed them.

      You might have noticed that the stories do not take place in Chicago. I intended to revisit the family, but wanted these books to have a very different feel from the original six. That’s why these three Santori boys find love outside of Chicago, and why you don’t see a lot of the “old” characters (though, the appearance of the twins, Nick and Mark, in this book, is one of my favorite scenes!)

      I hope you enjoy getting to visit with this big, crazy family again. Who knows? Maybe in a few years we’ll see what the next generation of Santori men is up to!

      Happy reading!

      Leslie

      Double Take

      Leslie Kelly