Caterina patted Harper’s arm. “Oh, you poor thing. I imagine she’s being unbearable about it.”
Harper rolled her eyes. “You know how she is when her ego gets hurt.”
“Well, I’ll be sure to talk it up to everyone I meet,” Caterina promised. Off to the side, the guys—RC included—guffawed at something Everett had just said.
Mia cleared her throat. “So you’re having a party soon, Harper?”
Harper nodded and then understanding rushed into her eyes. “Oh yes! And I hope you’ll come, Mia. I was just about to invite you! I can give you the deets if you text me so I have your cell number.”
“Great.” Mia smiled happily, pulling her phone out of her bag. There was a text message on the screen that she quickly swiped away. Caterina understood; she was just as private.
“Hey.” RC was by Caterina’s side then, and by the flush in his cheeks and the smile on his face, things were going well for him. “Everett and the others wanted to start a poker game in the back. You ladies want to join?”
“Yes,” Mia said immediately. “But you might not want me to join. I was the best poker player at my high school in Rome.”
Caterina smiled, surprised. “You went to high school in Rome? That’s where my family’s from. Ammazza!”
Mia linked her arm with Caterina’s. “Ammazza aò! See? I knew we were going to be friends.”
They walked with the rest of the group to the back, chatting about the best places to find gelato in the ancient city.
* * *
Mia wasn’t overstating things. In just one hour, she’d absolutely decimated all the boys in the group. Harper and Caterina, who didn’t play poker (Harper was morally opposed to gambling, owing to an addicted uncle, and Caterina found the game moved her to tears of boredom rather than passion), were seated off to the side in studded armchairs with ornate brass feet.
Mia clapped her hands, collecting money from all the guys at the table with absolutely no remorse. Caterina laughed. “I like your style,” she called, enjoying her second honey lavender cocktail of the evening. “Show no mercy.”
“Oh, I don’t intend to.” Grinning, Mia stuffed the money into her black sequined clutch and sashayed away from the table, over to the girls.
“Wait,” Everett called. “You’re done? We could go another round! I bet I could take you down!”
The other guys cheered him on, including RC, who had lost the least, from what Caterina could see. He seemed to have a pretty good poker face.
Mia tinkled a laugh as she sank into the empty armchair next to Caterina’s. “I’m done beating you poor boys up tonight. Maybe another time.”
They went back to their game, trash-talking each other in that way boys think they’re so good at.
Caterina cocked her head. “So how much did you make tonight?”
“A cool thousand, mostly from Everett.” Mia laughed and took a swig of her ginger beer. She was the only one of them, besides RC, who hadn’t had any alcohol that night. “You would think he’d be more cautious since he’s such a poor player, but—”
“I heard that,” Everett called. “I’m going to take you down next time, Mia, you mark my words!”
Mia just laughed harder and waved her bulging clutch at him. She had an easy confidence about her that Caterina liked.
It was clear she wasn’t like the rest of them. She hadn’t shared much of herself with the group, but from what Caterina could tell—and she was pretty good at guessing these things—Mia was not nearly in the same social league as the LaValles or the McCabes. Her clothes and shoes were older and shabbier than anything Caterina had seen anyone besides Rahul wear, and the school she’d attended in Rome wasn’t one Caterina had heard of. It was probably a public school, which said a lot.
It was possible, of course, that Mia was someone who’d managed to slip past the gilded curtains looking for an in with Caterina’s crowd. It happened sometimes, in spite of safeguards—people looking for information they could sell to the tabloids or money or something to bribe you with. But her gut told her Mia wasn’t after any of those things. There was a fierce dignity about her that said she wasn’t here for anyone but herself.
There was a chiming from her purse, and Mia stopped to pull out her cell phone. She answered the call, holding the phone up to her ear. “Darling, this is not a good time,” she said, a smile at her lips. “Call me later.” Then she ended the call and put the phone away.
“Ooh,” Harper said, her eyes shining. Her bare legs were swung over the tufted arm of the armchair, and her hair had come half-undone, though she didn’t seem to notice. “Who was that?”
“A boy.” Mia looked at them frankly. “And he can wait.”
Caterina felt a slow smile spread across her face. “Really? How long have you two been…?”
“Just a short time. But when my last boyfriend left me, I decided I was never going to give any boy more than two percent of the space in my life.” She paused, sipping on her ginger beer. “Imagine a pie chart of your time. Boys should take up a sliver you can’t even see.”
Harper let out a very loud “Hell yeah!” but Caterina just nodded slowly. “I feel the same way,” she replied, thinking of Alaric. Wasn’t that exactly what she’d thought when he’d broken her heart? Of course, more recently, she’d begun hanging out with Rahul, but that was different. Rahul was different.
“Well, that doesn’t surprise me.” Mia smiled that big, no-holds-barred smile of hers. “Two Italian girls. What else would you expect?”
And Caterina couldn’t help but smile back.
RC
They were still laughing when they got into the car, thanks to the parting joke that Everett had told. Pietro watched them like a hawk, obviously concerned about Caterina’s state of mind and RC’s intentions for her.
Once they were in the back seat, RC said quietly, “Do you mind if I raise the privacy screen? I just don’t want”—here he made a meaningful gesture with his head—“you-know-who judging our mirth.”
Caterina laughed, a beautiful silver-bell-peal he’d never heard before. It infused him with warmth. “Sure.”
He pressed the button for the privacy screen, giving Pietro a tight-lipped smile as the driver glared darkly at him in the rearview mirror. “Pietro’s not, like, your dad’s muscle, is he?” RC asked, wondering if the dude was really that big or just looked it, thanks to the bulk of his driving coat.
The car began to move. Caterina shook her head, smiling. “Are you afraid of him, RC? A crown prince like you?”
RC pretended to buff his nails and study his reflection in them. “Of course not.” Then he looked up at her, grinning. “Tonight was fun. Thanks.”
“I take it Everett McCabe and you are best friends now; at least, that’s what I heard him say to one of the other guys.” Caterina raised her eyebrows. “That’s really high praise. He’s not impressed too easily.”
RC felt pride in himself in a social context for the first time in his life. “Wow. That’s good to know.” He paused, thinking, the rumbling of the car’s tires the only sound.
“What?” Caterina asked.
He met her eye in the darkened back seat. “It’s just interesting, isn’t it? These guys wouldn’t give Rahul the time of day. But as RC, I’m unlocking my truest potential. I have Rahul’s brains and RC’s social prowess. I feel… I don’t know, invincible.”
A small frown creased Caterina’s brow. “Well, if they wouldn’t give Rahul the time of day, that’s not on you. That’s on them. And more than anything, it’s the way we’re raised. There’s always someone looking to take advantage of us or our families or our money. We have to be guarded. They’re not guarded with you because they think you’re a prince. If Rahul were a prince, maybe they—”
RC brushed her off, knowing in his bones that she wasn’t right. He felt bubbly, his skin thrumming with excitement. It was like he’d just unlocked the secret door to Narnia—only, instead of Narnia, he’d found a worl
d that was tailor-made for him. A world where RC was king of all he purveyed, a world where he didn’t have to worry about looking wrong or speaking wrong. There was a rush of the new, a thrill of finding something that had been hidden from him for all his life but lay there in the open now, a glittering golden key to a new life. “Nah, they still wouldn’t be as comfortable with Rahul as they are with me. Everett invited me to go play poker at his house, can you believe it? I actually have his number in my cell right now.”
Caterina smiled and put a hand on his knee. “Well, then. I’m happy for you.”
His heart thumped at the physical contact. “Thanks. I’m happy for me too. Hey, what about that girl Mia? You seemed to really get along with her, too.”
“I did. It was kind of nice to talk to someone from Italy. I mean, I left there when I was just a toddler, but still. And she and I appear to think the same in a lot of ways, which is always refreshing. She’s got this powerful self-respect that I…” She laughed a little. “I’m going on and on about it, aren’t I?”
“No. You’re perfect.”
She raised her eyebrows, a smile still at her lips. “Perfect?”
He studied her in the near dark, her shining eyes, her cut-glass cheekbones, the scent of her rosewater perfume swirling in the air around him. Suddenly it felt imperative that he tell her how he felt about everything she’d done for him. They were here, ensconced in this car, in this little metal bubble for only a few minutes. And right now, it felt like he could say anything, do anything, and not be judged for it. “All of this never would’ve happened without you. This gift you’ve given me, Caterina… I don’t know how to say thank you. It’s been life-changing.”
She let out a small breath. “You didn’t need me to change your life.”
“Yes, I did. I do.” He leaned forward, his heart beating faster than it ever had in his life, even counting the presidential fitness test he’d miserably failed. He was going to do it. He was going to kiss Caterina LaValle.
CATERINA
What was happening? Caterina didn’t fully understand the chemical reactions taking place in her brain or her body, but there was an invisible hand pressing into her back, pushing her closer and closer toward RC. Toward Rahul.
She looked into those kind brown eyes, the same ones that had looked at her without pity or judgment all those weeks ago at the winter dance. He’d simply accepted her for who she was then, and even seeing her bent and broken, he’d wanted to dance with her.
“I’d dance with you any day,” she said quietly now, realizing too late that it probably sounded like a non sequitur to him.
But it didn’t seem to matter. His eyes were laser-focused on her, his every breath syncopated to hers. She had the feeling he knew exactly what she’d been trying to say, that he knew exactly how she was feeling because he was feeling it too.
Caterina’s pulse began thrumming at her throat as RC bridged the gap between them, his big hand cradling her jawbone tenderly, as if it might shatter. His lips brushed against hers, softly, gently, as if he were basking in every sensation. Caterina wrapped her arms around his waist, deepening the kiss, her tongue darting out to taste him. His breathing quickened, quickening hers in response, the feel of his stubble so delicious on her own skin. She moved closer still, wanting to slip her hands under his shirt, to feel the heat of his skin against her palms.
The door opened and a chill wind swept in. Pietro leaned down, a deep frown marring his face. “We are here at the school.”
RC pulled himself straight and Caterina wiped her lips, hiding a smile behind her hand. She’d been so caught up in the kiss, she hadn’t even felt the car slowing down. In fact, she’d forgotten where she was completely. “Thank you, Pietro.”
They climbed out of the car in silence, Pietro staring straight ahead as if he didn’t know either of them.
Once he’d pulled away, RC and Caterina stood outside the main dorms, smiling at each other. The lights were on in the lobby inside and in most of the dorm rooms, lighting the building up like a pillar candle. There was a large stone fountain a few yards away, but it was silent, heavy with ice and snow this time of year. The stars above them sat like ice chips in the black sky, and Caterina didn’t think there had ever been a more perfect night. Perhaps it had been handcrafted for this moment, for RC and Caterina.
I can’t stop smiling, she thought in wonder. She couldn’t remember the last time that had happened.
“I had a good time,” she said somewhat demurely, and then worried he’d think she was acting like a movie star from the fifties.
But RC only draped his jacket over her shoulders as they began to walk toward the entrance. She hadn’t even realized until then that she’d been cold. “So did I.” His hand brushed hers, and the most delicious shiver went up her arms. That touch felt like a promise, like a breath before a kiss. “I can’t wait to do it again, Ms. LaValle.” His brown eyes, so dark they were nearly as black as the sky above them, shone.
“Neither can I.” And, she found, she meant it more than she’d meant anything in her life.
CHAPTER 12
CATERINA
The next morning, Caterina opened the car door—she’d told Pietro not to bother getting out—and swung both legs out, feeling the winter morning air rush at them. Pausing, she turned to speak to him. “You’ll come pick me up in two hours, won’t you? I just have a bit of shopping to do.”
Pietro grunted a reply.
Caterina cocked her head and let a smile touch her lips. “Are you angry at me about last night?”
“No, Miss Caterina. It is not my place to feel anything about the choices you make. Even when they are clearly not in your best interest and wear shiny hair gel.”
Caterina smothered a laugh. “Do you not like Rahul?”
“I like him just fine,” Pietro replied shortly. “It is the other one I do not care for.”
Caterina frowned. “The other—oh. You mean RC. You do know they’re the same person, don’t you?”
“I am not so sure,” Pietro grumbled.
Caterina thought about that for a minute, feeling a seed of unease. Pietro’s comment brought back the memory of RC talking about Rahul as if he were a slightly repulsive species of insect. Caterina remembered feeling uncomfortable, as if she were watching something wrong, something that should be corrected.
She took a breath; she’d have to return to these thoughts later. Right now, she had an errand to run. She got out on the sidewalk outside Cassa del Tesoro, Oliver’s shop, and firmly shut the door behind her.
In the cool interior, Caterina handed her coat and gloves to Oliver’s assistant, who scurried away with them with a squeaky promise to tell Oliver that Caterina was there.
While she waited, Caterina ran her hands over a shimmering feather scarf that hung from a branch suspended from the ceiling before moving away to study the contents of a wooden shelf nearby. It held a collection of glass perfume bottles that appeared to move and wink in a patch of weak winter sunlight as if out of free will.
Oliver had an innate talent for finding rare treasures, things both tangible and intangible that most people would overlook or not see at all. It was why Caterina had made sure to nurture the relationship with him; besides being a delight, he was also tremendously useful, and Caterina appreciated useful people. So many in her life were frivolous.
Her cell phone chimed with a group text from Ava.
Can’t decide between these two for Harper’s party!!!! Please help!!!!
Attached were two pictures of her in a dressing room at Kate Spade, one in a long-sleeved purple dress, the other in a polka-dotted maxi dress.
Before Caterina could answer, Heather did.
Def the polka dots.
Ava didn’t respond. She wouldn’t, Caterina knew, until Caterina had. Neither she nor Heather made major decisions without Caterina’s input. It was a pattern she’d very carefully cultivated over the years, both with confidence and through her quick and decisi
ve action when either of them acted without consulting her. Knowledge was power, after all.
Neither, she said. Chanel has a red jumpsuit you’d look stunning in.
OMG thank you!!!!! Heading there now
“Caterina!”
She turned, slipping her phone back into her purse, to see Oliver striding toward her.
“I’m so sorry to keep you waiting. I had an important phone call I couldn’t postpone. How are you? I trust the hair gel for your friend is working out well?” He clasped one of her hands in both of his and smiled warmly.
“It is, thank you, Oliver. Remarkably well, in fact.”
Oliver’s eyes shone with mirth. “I knew it would.”
“Oh, actually,” she said, remembering, “Rahul says he’s running low. He’ll be coming in soon to get some from you. You’ll make sure to have another shipment ready, won’t you?”
“Indeed I will. It might be a couple of weeks until I can get it, but it will be here for him. Is that why you’re here today?”
“No. I’m here about another matter entirely. Do you remember about three years ago, when you helped me locate Pietro’s Uncle Berto in Italy?”
“Of course! His last remaining relative, in a small fishing village. Eighty-six years old.” Oliver smiled fondly at the memory. “Do they still keep in touch?”
“Oh yes,” Caterina assured him. “Pietro flies out for Christmas and Pasqua—Easter—every year. He’s still very grateful to you, you know.”
“It was your idea. I was just the vehicle.”
Caterina waved a hand. “Pietro deserves all that and more. In any case, I have a similar task for you that involves someone else with Italian roots. Except this time, I have the name, and I need you to find everything you can about her. Do you think you could do that?”
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