There are some combinations that simply seem made for each other: chocolate and strawberries, romance and travel, secrets and surprises—and, apparently, romance authors and chocolate massages.
Yes, you read that correctly.
I’m preparing for an upcoming trip to Costa Rica, and while browsing the spa menu I discovered something that stopped me in my tracks: a chocolate and strawberry massage.
As the author of a romance called Chocolate Kisses and Billionaire Wishes, I feel almost professionally obligated to try it. Purely for research purposes, naturally.
The timing made me smile because chocolate has been very much on my mind lately, especially after receiving a wonderful new five-star review for the book.
★★★★★
“A quick read with all things chocolate,
romance, secrets and surprises.”
That is exactly the kind of escape I wanted this story to be: something delicious, romantic and fun that you can slip into for a few hours and emerge from feeling a little happier.
At the heart of Chocolate Kisses and Billionaire Wishes are two people who have very different ideas about what their futures should look like.
She’s fighting for her dream. He’s fighting to protect his empire.
Neither of them intends to fall in love.
A potential rivalry involving chocolate brings their worlds together and takes the story from the romance and history of Rome to the sweeping landscapes of Montana, with an irresistible detour to Dubai along the way.
There are secrets to uncover, ambitions at stake and plenty of surprises before they reach their happily ever after. Yet beneath all the glamour and temptation lies one of the things I love most about writing billionaire romance: a powerful man may be able to buy almost anything he desires, but love remains the one thing that cannot be purchased, controlled or guaranteed.
Sometimes the heart has entirely different plans.
Perhaps it was inevitable that I would eventually write a romance about chocolate because there is something inherently sensual about it.
Chocolate is luxurious without being terribly serious. It can be sophisticated and decadent, but it can also be playful, comforting and wonderfully nostalgic. Even opening a beautiful box of chocolates creates a tiny moment of anticipation as you lift the lid, look at all those tempting possibilities and wonder which one to choose first.
Romance creates much the same delicious tension.
We meet two people and immediately begin wondering what lies beneath the surface. We notice the attraction before they are willing to admit it. We wait for the defenses to come down, the secrets to emerge and that long-awaited first kiss to finally happen.
A good romance invites us to enjoy the anticipation almost as much as the destination.
And then, of course, we want the happily ever after.
One of my lovely readers captured that perfectly in her review of Chocolate Kisses and Billionaire Wishes. After describing the book as a quick read filled with chocolate, romance, secrets and surprises, she said the happily ever after exceeded her expectations.
Then she gave me a line I wish I had written myself:
“The epilogue was the sheen on the chocolate instead of the icing on the cake.”
How could a chocolate-loving romance author possibly ask for more?
Travel has always found its way into my books because I love the way a place can change the emotional atmosphere of a story.
Rome brings history, beauty and sensuality. Montana offers space, landscape and an entirely different rhythm of life. Dubai introduces glamour, luxury and another world altogether.
For me, these places aren’t simply attractive backdrops. Setting becomes part of the romance because travelling somewhere different can change us. We become more observant, more curious and sometimes more adventurous. Removed from our usual routines, we may even discover parts of ourselves that everyday life has kept hidden.
Perhaps that is why travel and romance make such wonderful companions.
Both contain the possibility that you may leave as one person and return as someone slightly different.
Which brings me rather neatly back to Costa Rica.
My upcoming trip to Costa Rica already promises lush tropical landscapes, warm weather and a wonderful change of scenery, but discovering that chocolate and strawberry massage on the spa menu has added a particularly Mollie Mathews twist to the adventure.
Costa Rica also has a genuine connection with cacao, which makes the whole thing feel even more irresistible. Cacao has a long history in Central America, so perhaps enjoying chocolate surrounded by tropical beauty isn’t quite as frivolous as it sounds.
Although I suspect the strawberries and massage may be harder to justify historically.
Still, I am willing to make the sacrifice.
I can already imagine tropical greenery outside, the scent of cacao and strawberries, a beautiful spa and absolutely nowhere I need to be for the next hour.
It sounds suspiciously like a scene from one of my novels.
And perhaps that is one of the joys of being a writer: after a while, it becomes difficult to tell whether life is inspiring the stories or the stories are inspiring the life.
If you enjoy billionaire romance but also love warmth, humour, beautiful settings and stories that leave you smiling, Chocolate Kisses and Billionaire Wishes was written for exactly that kind of reading mood.
It is a quick romantic escape filled with chocolate, attraction, ambition, secrets and surprises, travelling from Rome to Montana and Dubai before arriving at the most important destination of all: a wonderfully satisfying happily ever after.
So make yourself a coffee, curl up somewhere comfortable and, if possible, open the good chocolates.
This is not the occasion for the emergency chocolate hidden at the back of the cupboard.
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https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F1ZP8WY7
AMAZON CANADA
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0F1ZP8WY7
AMAZON UK
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0F1ZP8WY7
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APPLE BOOKS, KOBO, BARNES & NOBLE + OTHER GREAT BOOKSTORES
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As for Costa Rica, I promise to report back on the chocolate and strawberry massage.
After all, someone has to do the research. 🍓🍫❤️
With love, laughter and happily ever afters,
Mollie
Chocolate Kisses and Billionaire Wishes is part of Mollie Mathews’ Montana Hearts: Later-in-Life Love Stories—a heartwarming series of small-town romances that celebrate the beauty of finding love in unexpected moments, proving it’s never too late to take a leap of faith. Each story can be enjoyed as a standalone. Very often, characters from the other stories are linked in this series and others.
Everlasting Christmas (Daisy and Sam)
A Christmas of Her Own ((Maggie and Daniel)