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Chapter1
Salvatore Family Home—Sausalito, California: 6 yearsago
Mia Starrfussed with the lightly puffed sleeves of her ruby-red Juliet dress once more and made sure her golden pearl bejeweled mask remained firmly in place, rich black curls flowing in thick abundance over her olive shoulders and down her straight spine. The velveteen fabric covering the length of her body chaffed her skin, leaving her exposed flesh lightly aglow inpink.
Beside her, Carina Donati, her cousin, spun her curvy bottom around to get a hint of her Wonder Woman reflection in a covered window to the side of the main doors. She wore a red, glittery mask to complete her ensemble with almost the same black curls rolling gently down her back. Mia felt certain her own costume did absolutely nothing for her assets. The bodice to her gown smashed her natural curves into a smaller frame, causing her to almost spill out of her dress.
“Remember, you’re Juliet, and you’re here to meet Romeo,” Carina warned. “No real names tonight.”
Mia turned to face her cousin. “Why the deception?” The words, spoken in their native Italian, sounded uncharacteristically calm and quiet. “What am I missing?”
Her evening plans had taken a dramatic turn less than an hour ago when Carina, her cousin and roommate, burst into their small apartment begging her to come out to a Halloween party being hosted off campus. She convinced Mia to wear her Juliet costume and borrowed her own Wonder Woman attire from a friend down the hall. It was only after that same friend dropped them at the end of a very long driveway to what had to be one of the most spectacular homes Mia had ever seen that the rules cameout.
“Mia, you’ve been a recluse since you got here. Your parents sent you here to have an American college experience for one year. That’s it. Since you’ve been here, you’ve been such apuritano.” Carina became progressively louder, straining to smooth the lines of her silk stockings. Where had she found red sequined underwear to match hermask?
“That wasn’t what I asked you, Carina. Why am I wearing your Juliet costume? Why can’t I tell people who I am? Ithought you just wanted me to come out to have fun tonight.” The more Mia studied Carina, the less she looked like Wonder Woman and more like a high-priced call girl. Then it hit her and she planted her hands on her hips. “All right, spill it. Who’s the guy?”
“Soren Salvatore.” Carina’s eyes crinkled up with suppressed laughter.
“Carina, Iswear, you have one minute to explain, or I am calling for a ride.” Mia fished a precariously hidden cell phone out of her cleavage, calling up her contact list. Another couple pushed past them and through the double doors fronting the mansion.
“Fine, fine. Relax,cugine. Iwas supposed to meet Brand Salvatore for a blind date tonight dressed as Juliet. But I found out from some of the guys attending that his older brother, Soren, will be there, as well.”
“So, bigger, better fish?”
“The fish don’t come any bigger.” The curl of her lip was positively predatory as she spoke.
Carina had been a social climber for as long as Mia could remember, even back home in Italy. Mia, however, had never been dragged into one of her cousin’s stunts before, and she had no intention of being hauled into one tonight. “You expect me to deceive a guy just so you can go after his brother?Assolutamenteno!” Mia’s hands flew across the phone screen, calling up their neighbor’s phone number. “Hello, Laura. Can you pick me?” Mia’s English only slipped when she felt flustered, and Carina capitalized on the moment, snatching the phoneaway.
“Hi, Laura. Mia is fine. We’ll call later.” Carina’s thicky accented English wasn’t wonderful, but she could pull it off when the need arose before slipping back into her comfortable Italian cadence. She leaned in, her words hard and biting bits of staccato. “Do you want to stand Brand up at his own party?”
“What are you talking about? You’re the one standing him up. You’re here!”
“But you’re Juliet…” If the devil auditioned for an apprentice, Carina would get the job, hands down. The stubborn tilt to her head told Mia everything she needed to know. Poor Soren. Little did he realize what his night would entail. “You’d shame Brand by walking away from him at his own party? Mia, Ithought better of you!”
“Brand is expecting you, Carina. I’m not shaming anyone. You should have canceled your date with him if you weren’t interested in pursuing him.”
“I didn’t know Soren planned to attend, and Brand is expecting Juliet. Does it really matter if my dearcuginetakes my place?” Before Mia could respond further, Carina threw open the oak double doors and pulled her into the throng of dancing bodies. “Tag,cugine, you’re it!”
“Dannazione a tutto!”
Mia’s curse died silently on her lips as the magnificence of the Salvatore manor unfolded around her. The great house, built in the Renaissance style of grace and symmetry, reminded her of the elegant family homes back in Italy. She’d anticipated the party taking place at someone’s messy rental home with watered down drinks, stale food with far too many hands in it, and hungover college kids scattered about. This was not that. Not even close.
The open doors revealed a large foyer with a small platform erected beneath the circular staircase. Aband dressed in various stages of zombie decay played rock music at a level slightly less than deafening. Adry fish tank decorated with tattered cloth and detached rubber body parts stood to the left of the stage with a sign indicating that the party was raising money. Aparty with a cause.
Orange and black mantles of cloth hung from the walls, veiling the family portraits and décor while frosted black streamers and faux spider webs coated the railing of the curved staircase. The crystals of the dimmed overhead chandelier cast rainbows over the crowd below and gave an other-worldly illumination to dozens of uncarved pumpkins of various sizes, shapes, and colors. The party flowed on either side toward sitting rooms with furniture pushed against the wall to allow for dancing and mingling. This was not at all what Mia expected.
This was magical.
Brand movedthrough the lower level of his home with ease, strategically making eye contact with the catering staff manning the various food and beverage stations. His older brother, Soren, showed up earlier that afternoon to help pull the party together. He hated to admit it, but he appreciated his brother’s interference. Who else but Soren Salvatore could wrangle a live band for an event less than three hours later?
Between the two of them, the brothers had hauled and stacked more than a hundred and fifty pumpkins, erected multiple Halloween figures inside and outside of the house, and hung fairy lights throughout the residence while the caterers handled setting up the food and hanging the banners. Afog machine, one of five, hummed quietly from the top of the staircase, sending waves of white cloud rolling down the stairs and creating a fog covered floor. With twilight settling in, it was a fitting mood for the manor, located in the hills of Sausalito. He was rather proud of himself.
The costumed Halloween party had been Brand’s idea, an opportunity to raise funds for his favorite charity, amedical relief fund at the local children’s hospital. With his father Dom’s blessing, acouple of invitations had been circulated throughout his college courses while several flyers found their way to strategic fraternity and sorority houses.
As hoped, the lower level of his home overflowed with party goers. The back patio doors were opened to allow the cool autumn air to fill the crowded space. Sure, the cost of the party ran over the top with free-flowing food and drink, but he looked at it as a chance to remind people to give generously of themselves. And they did. The party had started less than an hour ago, and the guests had managed to fill a twenty-gallon fish tank with crumpled bills and coins almost a third of the way up, and the night had just begun.
Brand’s one regret was being tied to a blind date tonight of all nights, thanks to his best friend, John. He regretted even more having to dress as Romeo for the international exchange student, though the request made sense since his date would dress as Juliet. The last thing Brand wanted or needed was a female tagging along with him, only interested in the family name and the money that came withit.
