AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Prologue
Piper
Eight Years Ago
There wassomething liberating about leaving the house in pajama pants. They weren’t evenmypajama pants. They belonged to my oldest brother. I was pretty much committing social suicide by wandering around Boston in Nacio’s flannel, but I didn’t have it in me to care. I just wanted to run away and not feel like I had to pull myself together like everyone in my family always did so well.
Anyone who thought they wanted a former pop star for a father and a mother from an old-money Italian family, to live in a multimillion-dollar house and be looked up to and envied by the rest of the high school population didn’t have a clue what they were asking for. Belonging to one of Boston’s most high-profile families had more downsides than upsides as far as I could tell.
My life was an endless stream of parties where I was constantly compared to my flawless parents. I couldn’t trust anyone enough to be real because, in my experience, someone always wanted something. People talked to me to get closer to my family or in hopes that I would be their ticket to popularity.
I swiped at my wet cheeks, angry that I was even crying in the first place. I should be used to betrayal by now. I’d been living this stardom game we played for fifteen years. Only, I was used to the betrayals coming from the outside, not within. Not from my own family.
What had I done to deserve this? I’d always tried my best to be the perfect daughter who didn’t cause trouble or bring scandal to the Amato name.
“Piper?” a voice asked somewhere behind me, cutting off my internal rant before I could really get started.
I glanced back without thinking, and my eyes connected with Freddie Rossi’s.
“Oh shit,” I muttered under my breath. Was it really asking too much to be able to walk in a city of seven hundred thousand without running into the one person I wanted to see even less than my family?
I spun back around and walked as quickly as I could without looking like I was running away, then turned in to an alley between two tall buildings. Of all the crappy luck—of courseit would be Freddie.
I pulled on the first door I saw and prayed it wasn’t locked or, worse, alarmed. Thank God—it swung open without resistance. I ducked into a dimly lit hallway and slammed the door shut behind me. My breaths were coming fast as I tried to convince my heart rate to slow down.
So maybe going out tonight wasn’t such a good idea. But I just couldn’t stay in the house. I needed fresh air and space from my family.
I squinted down the hallway, but it was too dark to see more than a few feet ahead. There wasn’t time to worry about where I was or where the hallway led. I had to keep moving before Freddie caught up to me.
I was speed walking and glancing over my shoulder every couple of seconds to see if Freddie was following me when I crashed into something warm and solid.
Hands caught my arms before I could fall, strong fingers gripping my biceps.
I looked up into the face of my savior. Captor? I wasn’t sure yet. He was tall, probably over six feet, with dark hair that was just a little too long to be professional-looking. He didn’t look that old, but he was wearing an expensive suit, minus the tie, with the top few buttons of his shirt undone.
My breath caught. His grip was unrelenting, and judging by the cold look in his dark eyes, he wasn’t happy about being crashed into.
“I’m sorry,” I said, trying to pull back.
He didn’t let me go. “You shouldn’t be here,” he said, his voice hard.
Crap. I didn’t even know whereherewas. “I’m sorry,” I repeated. “I was just trying to get away from an awkward conversation. I didn’t mean to crash into you or get in your way. If you let go of me, I’ll get out of your hair.”
He shook his head. “You girls really will try anything,” he muttered. “Sorry, princess, it’s not going to work.”
I frowned at him. “What’s not going to work?”
“You really expect me to believe that you aren’t trying to get into the back rooms?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I threw another glance over my shoulder, half expecting to see Freddie coming up behind me. “Please. I have to get out of here.”
Nowhewas frowning. It was a suspicious frown, but it was better than the cold look from earlier. His gaze lowered over my tank top and flannel pants, and I swore I couldfeelhis eyes like a physical touch sweeping down my body.
I probably should have been getting worried—I didn’t know this man, after all—but I couldn’t muster up the appropriate amount of fear or discomfort. I felt like I could trust him.
“What are you wearing?”
“My brother’s pajamas.”
