Marie Force unveils the affair that sparked 'Fatal Affair'
Marie Force shares some background on One Night With You, the novella that shows readers how Fatal Series couple Sam Holland and Nick Cappuano met — and what exactly happened that night.
Marie: Five years ago this month, Fatal Affair was released in digital format to readers as part of Carina Press' debut month. The story that began the Paste BN and New York Times bestselling Fatal Series begins when a prominent politician is found murdered in his bed by his chief of staff, Nick Cappuano. The detective called to the scene is none other than Detective Sergeant Sam Holland, the woman who has haunted Nick for six long years.
From Fatal Affair:
Nick heard her before he saw her. A flurry of activity and a burst of energy preceded the detectives' entrance into the apartment. He suppressed a groan. Wasn't it enough that his friend and boss had been murdered? He had to face her, too? Weren't there thousands of District cops? Was she really the only one available?
She finally turned to Nick, nothing in her pale blue eyes indicating that she recognized or remembered him. But the fact that she didn't introduce herself or ask for his name told him she knew exactly who he was.
"Why are you being so defensive?"
"What's your problem?" he asked.
"I don't have a problem. You're the one with problems."
"So all that great press you've been getting lately hasn't been a problem for you?"
"Why, Nick, I didn't realize you cared."
"I don't."
"Yes, you made that very clear."
He spun halfway around in the seat to stare at her. "Are you for real? You're the one who didn't return any of my calls."
She glanced over at him, her face flat with surprise. "What calls?"
After staring at her in disbelief for a long moment, he settled back in his seat and fixed his eyes on the cars sharing the Interstate with them.
A few minutes passed in uneasy silence.
"What calls, Nick?"
"I called you," he said softly. "For days after that night, I tried to reach you."
"I didn't know," she stammered. "No one told me."
"It doesn't matter now. It was a long time ago." But if his reaction to seeing her again after six years of thinking about her was any indication, it did matter. It mattered a lot.
—
Six years after a "memorable" one-night stand, Sam and Nick compare notes about what happened after that one spectacular night together and realize someone conspired to ensure that would be their only night together.
Since Fatal Affair's release in June 2010, readers have repeatedly asked when they might get a glimpse at what happened that night six years ago. Today, One Night With You, a 14,000-word novella will answer all their burning questions about the first time Sam and Nick met and why what happened that night stayed with them both for so many years afterward.
It's the start of Washington, D.C.'s most epic romance, and you won't want to miss this prequel novella that sets the stage for the Fatal Series. Do you wonder what Sam's dad was like before he was shot and left a quadriplegic? See Skip Holland before the devastating injury that changed his life and that of his family.
One Night With You tells the story of Sam and Nick's fateful first meeting in which all the chemistry and heat we have come to expect from them is on full display from the first moments they meet. You might want to keep a fan and some ice water handy, because this story is H-O-T!
Read an excerpt at marieforce.com and get One Night With You in the all-new print edition of Fatal Affair, on sale now.
This week also marks the print release of books three and four, Fatal Consequences with Fatal Destiny, the wedding novella, and Fatal Flaw with all-new bonus content.