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Once Upon a Time (Book#3)
Once Upon a Ghost (Book#4)
Once Upon an Enchantment (Book#5)
The Cinderella Ball Series:
Fairy Tale Husband
Fairy Tale Wife
Fairy Tale Wedding
Fairy Tale Marriage
Excerpt fromHOW TO: Bare Your Bride
The Salvatore Brothers Series
Book#2
by
Day Leclaire
USA TodayBestselling Author
Chapter 1
The Beaumont’s Cinderella Ball—Forever, Nevada
Take a breath!Hanna silently ordered herself, struggling to hang on to her self-control. It was difficult. She’d never felt so out of her element in all of her twenty-six years. Not that she’d ever betray that fact. Not a chance. She’d spent a lifetime tackling events and situations that weren’t of her own making. And she’d handled each of them with every scrap of skill she could muster.
She could handle a simple marriage ball, as well. No problem.
Glancing at her watch, she nodded in satisfaction. Eight o’clock on the dot, just as the invitation had stated. Perfect. Paying off the cab driver, she stepped from the back of the taxi with all the grace of a woman wearing a ball gown and tiara instead of dressed in a costume resembling a plucked chicken. Perhaps attending the masked ball as a swan princess hadn’t been the best choice, after all. The feathers tickled and the gold net she’d employed to restrain her hair had clearly failed in its duty. Auburn ringlets were already escaping, trembling at her temples and the nape of her neck. She almost turned and fled to the relative safety of the cab. At the last instant, she did the same as always when faced with an obstacle that caused uncertainty and fear.
She forced her posture into painful stiffness and confronted it dead-on, jaw set, gaze unflinching, and fears buried so deep they’d never be unearthed.
A group of partygoers passed by, no doubt anxious to get to the business of finding a mate. Immediately she felt better. A plump Juliet, an aging Cinderella, a painfully nervous Sleeping Beauty, and a woman who had the audacity to attend as Lady Godiva joined the stream of visitors heading for the Beaumont mansion. One silk-and-feathered swan no longer seemed the least outrageous.
Checking that her mask fully covered her face, offering a protection she secretly appreciated, she walked toward the double doors leading into the mansion. Once inside, she looked around in amazement.
It was quite a place. The marble entrance hall seemed to stretch into infinity, the huge support pillars decorated with lush pine garland, twinkling fairy lights, and white satin bows. A massive chandelier, glittering with thousands of tiny prisms, caught the setting sun and scattered a dancing circle of rainbows in what some might consider a promise of irresistible hope.
She tried to skirt the rainbows, but if she didn’t know better, she’d swear they sought her out, dancing across her white silk-and-lace costume and catching in her eyes. She hastened deeper into the hall where twin staircases curved upward to the second-floor ballroom, joining to form a perfect heart. It drew her forward, sparking an excitement that overrode her nervousness.
A reception line formed at the top of the steps, hosted by a tall, striking man and a gorgeous, dark-haired woman. They had to be the Beaumonts and, without question, they were the most simply garbed of all. He’d dressed in a black tux, while his wife wore a floor-length gold sheath. At their feet romped a three-year-old boy, his miniature tux rumpled and his flaming red bow tie askew. He grinned at her from beneath a mop of dark curls, his amber-tinted eyes glittering with unmistakable mischief.
She grinned back, relaxing for the first time in days. The line ground to a halt and she stooped to talk to him, shoving her feathered mask on top of her head. “Hey, there, buster.”
“My name isn’t Buster,” he informed her with a trace of scorn. “That’s my friend’s name. Buster and Chick. They’re my bestest buddies. I’m Donato. I got named after my grandpa.”
“It’s a lovely name,” Hanna assured gravely.
He reached out with a cautious hand and touched one of her feathers. “You look pretty. Whatcha being?”
It took an instant to understand his question. “Oh! I guess I’m a swan princess.”
