Meet Black Windbreaker, aka Steve DiLorenzo, the cop Tootsie confronts in the first chapters of WHEN SHE GETS HOT, book number one in the series. She does NOT like him. He’s standing in the way of her helping her friends get their jobs back after they’ve been fired unfairly.
Of course, by the end of Book One, hate has turned into maybe this guy isn’t so bad after all. By Book Two, it’s love, and by the end of Book Four, they’re standing up together under the chuppah (the marriage canopy in a Jewish wedding ceremony).
Oh, and in case you were wondering why Tootsie calls him Black Windbreaker…that first time she saw him, he was wearing black from head to toe, topped by…you guessed it, a black windbreaker.
Oh, and did I mention he’s Italian?
But why Italian? The answer is personal. If I were anything other than Jewish, I’d be Italian. Besides the fact that I love just about everything Italian, there’s a strong affinity between Jews and Italians. Comedian Sebastian Maniscalco says it best: Italians and Jews are part of the same corporation, only different divisions.
Both “divisions” are about family. For Steve, family is everything. In the stories you’ll meet his mother, Aurelia, his Aunt Costanza, his two daughters, and hear about his late first wife, Penny whom he still mourns in a quiet way while being deep in love with Tootsie.
So, what do I think Steve looks like? I see him as being 6’2” weighing about 190, having that gorgeous Italian olive-toned skin, black hair and eyes, and smiles that appear sparingly. Oh, but when he does smile, he smiles with his eyes first, and then only afterwards with his mouth.
Every book in the series of five so far (book six is coming soon) sees Tootsie getting into trouble. Mostly she can deal with it by herself. But if the trouble is more than she can handle, Steve rides to the rescue.
What Steve does best for Tootsie is to keep her steady and gift her with the benefit of his sane, sensible, wise self. He’s never judgmental. He reminds her that going off the rails will not get her what she wants. As in justice for those she’s fighting for. Or the bad guys in jail.
He’s the kind of person you can count on to be there when you need him. Those he loves, he loves unsparingly. Those he despises would be wise to stay out of his way. Although Steve was a cop when Tootsie met him, he’s no longer on the job. But he is still and always will be a cop, if you know what I mean.
Steve loves to cook. And the man is Michelin Star good.
Tootsie doesn’t cook. At all.
Lucky for her she’s got her Black Windbreaker, right?
Not everyone relates to Tootsie the way Steve does. Like Arlo, Tootsie’s ex. On the very first page of WHEN SHE GETS HOT, which coincides with the morning of her 50th birthday, Arlo calls to wish her a happy half century. Somehow, the man always manages to put his foot in it.
I’ll describe Arlo for you next month.
Like I said, I love picturing all the characters in the books I write. I thought you might like to know how I “see” them. Here’s to you picturing them with me!
