Part of Series
From gang kid, to famous heart surgeon…John Battaglia is back with his own book. So is the love of his life, Meg Mancini, who he abandoned in his quest for the brass ring. Delve into the world of heart surgery and, once again, into the brutal society of gang life. John is proud of his rise in the ranks of the medical field. At only thirty-six, he’s performed more surgeries and had more success than most doctors in the middle of their careers. He hasn’t forgotten his roots, though. The Lansing family is still near and dear to him. He’s happy and content with his life. But his outlook changes when he sees Meg again at a shelter where they both volunteer. Old feelings deluge him as their past together resurfaces. Meg wants nothing to do with hotshot Johnny Battaglia. She was crazy about him years ago, but he broke her heart when he chose a different path from the one they’d planned together. Though she’s satisfied with her life, she’s never found anyone to fill the hole Johnny left in her. But she knows better than to let him get close again. However, when gang member Dash Bodine, who resembles Johnny in looks and circumstances, brings John and Meg together, they can’t avoid each other. And when they’re together, passion flares. Is that enough? Or will past mistakes preclude any kind of happily-ever-after? Also, look for appearances by the beloved O’Neils, who are also involved in gang prevention.
Author
Kathryn Shay is a lifelong writer. At fifteen, she penned her first 'romance,' a short story about a female newspaper reporter in New York City and her fight to make a name for herself in a world of male journalists - and with one hardheaded editor in particular. Looking back, Kathryn says she should have known then that writing was in her future. But as so often happens, fate sent her detouring down another path. Fully intending to pursue her dream of big city lights and success in the literary world, Kathryn took every creative writing class available at the small private women's college she attended in upstate New York. Instead, other dreams took precedence. She met and subsequently married a wonderful guy who'd attended a neighboring school, then completed her practice teaching, a requirement for the education degree she never intended to use. But says Kathryn, "I fell in love with teaching the first day I was up in front of a class, and knew I was meant to do that." Kathryn went on to build a successful career in the New York state school system, thoroughly enjoying her work with adolescents. But by the early 1990s, she'd again made room in her life for writing. It was then that she submitted her first manuscript to publishers and agents. Despite enduring two years of rejections, she persevered. And on a snowy December afternoon in 1994, Kathryn Shay sold her first book to Harlequin Superromance. Since that first sale, Kathryn has written twenty-one books for Harlequin, nine mainstream contemporary romances for the Berkley Publishing Group, and two online novellas, which Berkley then published in traditional print format. Kathryn has become known for her powerful characterizations - readers say they feel they know the people in her books - and her heart-wrenching, emotional writing (her favorite comments are that fans cried while reading her books or stayed up late to finish them). In testament to her skill, the author has won five RT BookClub Magazine Reviewers Choice Awards, three Holt Medallions, two Desert Quill Awards, the Golden Leaf Award, and several online accolades. Even in light of her writing success, that initial love of teaching never wavered for Kathryn. She finished out her teaching career in 2004, retiring from the same school where her career began. These days, she lives in upstate New York with her husband and two children. "My life is very full," she reports, "but very happy. I consider myself fortunate to have been able to pursue and achieve my dreams."
