Chapter 1 – Poppy
“Hey! You ready yet?” Penelope’s voice reverberated through the door.
I let out a hiss and shot a look at the bed. The covers stirred slightly, but the bundle didn’t sit up. I launched from the vanity stool and tore the door open with a finger pressed to my lips.
“Oh, shit! Sorry!” Penelope whispered, eyes going wide as she realized what she’d done.
“It’s all good,” I promised, careful to keep my voice low. “He fell right asleep after all that swimming.”
Relief swept through her face, but beneath it was something deeper. A scar that wasn’t healed, a pain that would never truly go away. My cousin had been a super auntie this weekend. The zoo, Navy Pier, three bookstores—she’d taken my son everywhere and been his constant companion. He constantly jabbered with her, his eyes filled with a glowing admiration.
“Well, you look like you’re ready!” Penelope quipped, hiding her private heartache behind her signature, blistering smile. “Let’s go down. The guests have already started to arrive.”
Any protest on my part was useless. I’d finally agreed to come visit, to leave the safety and comfort of home, only to be swept into the fast-paced tug-of-war once again. There was a good reason I left this behind and carved a path for myself.
As I shut the door to my bedroom, I sent up another small prayer of gratitude. If Penelope and I hadn’t traded places, this could have been my life, married to a don and playing hostess to Chicago’s Underworld players.
“You’re sure it’s okay that I’m participating?” I asked, secretly hoping for an out as we walked down the hall.
Penelope shot me a sideways glance. She knew what I really meant. “I won’t force you to make an appearance.”
She’d been unbelievably kind. It had me backpedaling. “It’s just dinner. I can manage dinner.”
“You don’t sound too sure of yourself,” she laughed nervously.
I wasn’t. “It’s not like theyknowwho I am.”
“True.”
Tonight, I was just someone visiting for two weeks. We wouldn’t mention I was family. Our secrets were safe.
“If Brady wakes up, will he be okay?” Penelope paused at the top of the stairs.
I held up my phone. The screen showed the nanny camera app. “I’ll be watching. If you see me dash away, you’ll know why.”
“Good.” My cousin looped her arm around my waist and gave me a squeeze. “I’m so glad you’re here. Let’s go have some fun.”
I returned the hug, but inside, my stomach knotted. This was far from my idea of fun. There was a new release on my Kindle I was dying to read. Curled in bed with my little guy, reading to the background noise of his soft, sleepy breathing, that was the perfect evening. That was what I’d been doing for years.
What’s one night?
It wouldn’t kill me to step out of my comfort zone. Plus! Who knew, maybe living an adventure was just the kind of change I needed?
The inner cynic laughed as I glided after my older cousin. It reminded me how much I hated change.
Not all change is bad,I quickly scolded the negative voice. If I didn’t embrace change, I wouldn’t have gone to North Dakota eight years ago. I wouldn’t have adopted Brady five years ago. No…change wasn’t the problem.
It was being back in the underworld.
My palms began to sweat as we headed straight for the back patio. The French door was thrown wide open, beckoning us into the dwindling sunlight. Voices rose and fell. The harsh sound made me shiver. When someone laughed a little too loudly, it was similar to a demented cackle. Fiends, all of them. Fiends and monsters, each ready to pounce and devour a sweet piece of flesh if the mood struck. At least I was simply the “guest” of the don. That was my only protection against the living, breathing nightmares.
Penelope swept us through the doors. Her dress fluttered around her legs like a living thing. Her attire was a magical kind of armor, her smile a weapon, and her heart belonged to the don. She was in her element. A modern queen, reigning over the dark with an implacable force of will. This was what she was destined to do.
My heartbeat doubled. I didn’t realize how badly I was reacting until I reached for a cocktail from a passing tray and noticed my hand was shaking.
Breathe!They wouldn’t hurt me.
But the sideways glances, the curious looks, and the minute calculations in their eyes told a different story.
