Accidental Italian

The Accidental Italian is about vacations, the ones that surprise us with adventures we hadn't planned, discoveries that have more to do with an interior terrain to explore, not the itineraries we had mapped out in advance.  Theo had hoped for a quiet retreat on the Amalfi Coast, but the sounds, tastes, and visuals of the sun-drenched village sweep him off his feet, most notably the strikingly handsome man, Raffaello, lounging on the sunbed next to him.  Raffaello and Theo's lives become entangled when Theo overhears criminals plotting a terrible crime, and Raffaello, an undercover detective, enlists Theo to help him catch the men. Both try to resist the allure of the other, but as they spend more time together, destiny has other things in mind. Theo stirs up desires Raffaello thought he had buried ages ago when he married his wife, and Raffaello reminds Theo of his first male crush, one that has haunted him since adolescence. Their deepening and steamy relationship faces headwinds in Rome, when Raffaello's prominent family and homophobic colleagues cause him to lose nerve and pull back from Theo. But the story doesn't end there. Through a strange twist of fate, another man enters both of their lives. The plot thickens as criminal corruption is finally exposed, Raffaello realizes he can no longer flee his sexual inclinations, and Theo's discovery of family secrets inspires him to open his heart again.  From Positano to Capri, and Rome to New York, this tender, sensual coming-of-age romance includes lots of eye candy, suspense, and evocative settings. The Accidental Italian celebrates the crosscurrents of life, the way fate forces a reckoning, and how eros draws us to people we need at crucial moments in our lives.