Series: To Barcelona with Love Trilogy #1
Publication date: September 1st, 2025
Synopsis:
Readers' Favorite ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Perfect for fans of Beach Read, The Unhoneymooners, and Part of Your World--this witty second chance romance is a sun-drenched escape with heart, heat, and humor.
A fling wasn't on her vacation itinerary. Neither was falling in love with the one man she'd already run from.
Romance has ghosted, gaslit, and gone full Shakespearean tragedy on Sofia Drake. She's officially a one-woman rom-com with no third act in sight, ready to bolt if love sneaks up on her again.
Freshly dumped and jobless, Sofia is mid-pity-party (yes, wine and ice cream are involved) when a friend drags her to a job fair. If she'd known how a chance meeting would blow up her carefully constructed life, she would've stayed home. One look into Ryan Hunter's crystal blue eyes and she can tell he's trouble. He's gorgeous, charming; and way too young. He's also the first man in years to make her feel a real, rocket-exploding kind of heat. But when the jet-setting Ryan invites her on a spontaneous trip to Barcelona, Sofia does what she does best: she runs.
It takes a kick from her best friend (a "get a life" lecture) to move Sofia out of her comfort zone and onto a plane to Barcelona--alone. No men, no pressure, just a solo adventure. At least... until she runs straight into the one man she swore she'd never see again.
Now, Ryan is offering to be her personal tour guide, and Sofia is breaking her own 'no men' rule for a new one: keep it vacation-only. Sun, sangria, and maybe a little sizzle. They make a pact for the summer: Thirty days--no falling in love, no risky complications. Really.
Sometimes the best adventures happen when you finally stop running from what scares you the most.
"The Vacation Bubble" will resonate with readers who crave wanderlust, sizzling chemistry, and second chances." Readers' Favorite
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"I have a house in the Sunset. Been there about twenty years. The city is changing, or maybe it's just me, but I'm getting tired of being here. To be honest, I'm in serious need of a vacation and a change of scenery." Especially now, I thought to myself.
"So... are you flying solo or with a partner on this getaway?"
I had to smile at the way he slipped in the question. "I'm divorced and single."
He shot me a sideways glance, and I glimpsed those dimples. "Surprising, again, Sofia. And specific destination in mind?"
"Oh, I don't have any plans in the works."
"But if you were to make an escape...?"
Without thinking, an answer immediately pinged into place. "It's been ages since I've been to Europe. I'd love to go back." Memories of the trips I had taken after college flooded my mind like it was yesterday. The red-tiled rooftops of Italy, French pastry shops lining the streets of Paris, the haunting history within the walls of the Tower of London. I still recollected the offending odor of unwashed socks while sharing a sleeper car on a night train with my two girlfriends and several male backpackers. No hardship, including hitchhiking on a freeway to catch our flight in Nice, had diminished the thrill of experiencing a world so different from the one I grew up in.
With a sudden stab of regret, I was painfully aware too many years had slipped by without ever leaving home. Marriage and family had changed my priorities. The furthest I'd traveled was to the east coast for our yearly trip to visit my in-laws. You learned a lot about your husband when thrown into the middle of his family dynamics, and believe me, it was no vacation. How did my life veer so off-track?
Just then, Ryan whistled, flagging a taxi. The driver pulled to the curb.
"Let's go. I know where I want to take you."
My feet stayed planted on the sidewalk while he opened the door of the taxi. "I can't just run off with you. My friend is still inside."
With a wink, he dared me. "Where's your sense of adventure, Sofia? I promise I'm not an axe murderer. You're safe with me."
My feet betrayed me. I stepped into the backseat, saying, "I'm pretty sure that's exactly what an axe murderer would say."
MARCELLA STEELE is an American author/screenwriter who now writes with her laptop precariously balanced on a cafe table in Barcelona, but can sometimes be found dreaming up stories on a terrace in Bali or a balcony in Paris. Marcella champions the radical idea that women over forty are just getting started and her contemporary romance/women's fiction novels celebrate love, passion, and self-discovery at any age. With her passion for travel, she delights in bringing the reader along to discover the magic of faraway places. When she's not writing, she's planning her next adventure or practicing her spins on a salsa dance floor.
