Reflections of Cypress by V.L. Locey

When you’re forced to walk a different path, the detour just might be what your heart required all along.

Arlo Bonetti has enjoyed a life of unparalleled luxury. As the sole heir to a global olive oil empire, he’s traveled the world, indulged in every pleasure, and never known a day of responsibility. While he revels in his lavish lifestyle, his father is less than pleased. Amidst a series of scandals, the latest being the most outrageous in Arlo’s eventful life, his father decides to intervene. Taking control of Arlo’s trust fund, he issues an ultimatum: he has a year to grow up, or he’ll lose access to the family’s immense fortune. To make sure Arlo follows through, he’s dispatched to Italy, the heart of the Bonetti legacy, to manage one of their renowned olive farms.
Surly doesn’t even begin to describe Arlo’s mood when he lands in Florence to report to his great-aunt, the matriarch of the family and the only person his father feels can whip the spoiled, truculent young man into shape. It’s there, in the city of the Renaissance, that Arlo meets Donvino Marini, the grandson of his great-aunt’s housekeeper. The two young men come from vastly different backgrounds: one is a millionaire’s son and the other a poor athlete with dreams of making the Italian rowing team. Arlo is instantly charmed by the beautiful, affable rower and what starts off as a flirtation soon turns into something much deeper, something that will change Arlo’s world in ways he couldn’t have imagined.