Kate may not be madly in love with Harold, but his
organized life appeals to her, even though he seems to need
Viagra in the bedroom. She isn't worried about planning
their small civil ceremony and hasn't even picked out her
wedding suit yet. She's pleased that after the wedding, her
life will gain some stability and normalcy, features that
Kate missed out on while growing up on a commune with her
hippie parents.
Any hope of normalcy evaporates while Kate is working at an
art exhibition in Central Park. She's innocently
fantasizing about a mounted police officer when he gallops
over and announces that she's his destiny. Kate is
incredulous and defensive as she listens to Tony
Petrocelli's sob story about how his grandmother made a
prediction from reading tea leaves that Tony would meet a
blonde woman with green eyes next to the Madonna in Central
Park. Kate can't deny that she seems to fit the prediction,
but she's certain that Tony is not in her destiny, so she
flashes her engagement ring and sends him on his way.
Harold seems to always be out of town on business, and an
argument with him leads Kate to rebelliously accept a
dinner invitation to meet Tony's grandmother. The dinner
date is supposed to help prove that this crazy prediction
of destiny is completely false, but Kate and Tony share an
undeniable attraction. Even though Kate doesn't believe in
fate, when Harold practically tells her to have an affair
before the wedding, she can't believe what she's hearing.
Perhaps she should see what destiny has to offer.
I thoroughly enjoyed this lighthearted story and the
engaging main characters in this romance. Tony's meddling,
restaurant-owning big Italian family is a lovable
stereotype, but in this book, they're endearing individuals
who defied my expectations. The predictions about destiny
may be viewed as silly and superfluous by non-believers,
but the great respect that the Petrocelli family has for
their matriarch means that her predictions are not ignored.
After reading this romantic fairy-tale, you'll want to give
your tea leaves a swirl to see what the future has in store
for you.
When Officer Anthony Petrocelli literally drops down off his
horse and lands at Kate Anderson's feet to announce he's her
destiny, Kate figures it's just another typical day in New
York. Besides, no hunky Italian on a stallion talking about
his grandmother's "marriage vision" (in tea leaves, for
crying out loud) is going to disrupt Kate's plans. And
that's a prudent marriage to a corporate attorney (whose
difficulties in the bedroom are sure to be temporary).
Luckily, Anthony isn't in the market for a bride. He just
wants the already-engaged Kate to meet his family and
disprove their silly prediction once and for all. Problem
is, steamy thoughts of Anthony have been running non-stop
through Kate's head. Beneath her well-bred sensibility, a
new, passionate, unpredictable Kate is beginning to think
that maybe love shouldn't be practical. And that a
cop named Anthony could be just what the Fates have planned
for her after all...