Sasha heaved a sigh and scooted closer to me on my queen-sized bed. “Listen, I know that. I’m sorry. I’m just trying to get you to feel a little better,” she said, gripping my hand.
She gave it a brief squeeze before returning to her perch on my pink duvet cover, looking cute as ever with her long blonde hair and blue eyes. We could have been twins if it weren’t for my own brown hair, but everyone said we looked related anyway. I gave her outfit a once-over, straightening her perfect blouse, before winking at her.
“I do know how to dress you and me, it’s true,” I said, trying to break the tension a little.
“You’re not the number one fashion buyer in L.A. for no reason,” she said, smoothing out her hair.
“And you’re not the best dressed A-lister on the red carpet for no reason.” I winked at her again, smiling a little.
Sasha had been my best friend since college when I’d moved across the country to get away from the very people I was going to see in only a few short hours. She was also one of Hollywood’s fastest-growing movie stars under thirty, and we’d been inseparable since that first night we’d met watching the school’s performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. That night, she knew she wanted to study acting, and I knew I wanted to be in fashion. The performers’ killer costumes had completely done it for me, and I hadn’t looked back since.
Still, feelings of fear and dread filled me as I continued to pack while Sasha updated her Instagram. The black dress I folded into my suitcase matched my mood aptly—somber yet fashionable, as always. The Varasso family was the whole reason I’d decided to move to L.A. in the first place. I thought back about the night my father was arrested. He’d been an integral part of the Varasso’s well-oiled machine. We weren’t exactly family, but we were as close as someone outside of the clan could get. I’d spent all my time with the brothers growing up, and we’d grown close. That is until my dad was arrested, and I learned what he was really doing for the family. The police had offered him a deal—give up the names of his employers, and they’d free him, or he could rot in jail. Little did I know, it was their plan all along to put him in jail. My own father had chosen the Varassos over his actual family, and for that, I’d never forgiven him. He could stay in prison for all I cared.
My grandfather’s death did pose a few problems, though, namely, Allesandro Varasso. We hadn’t parted on the best terms. My brain liked to play a fun game where it would randomly remind me of the feeling of his fingers laced in mine, or the soft caress of his lips. My heart yearned for it, even though it wasn’t good for me. It’d been the love of a lifetime, and I hadn’t been with anyone since. He was so much a part of the mafia lifestyle that it’d eventually driven a wedge between us after my father was imprisoned. I grew to hate the family, even Alessandro, and we’d broken things off when I told him it was either them or me. He’d chosen what I’d already known he would; blood runs thicker than water, especially for a Varasso.
“So, you’re going to see this mysterious Alessandro you always talk about,” Sasha said, pulling me from my revelry. When I didn’t respond, she continued, “A mafia prince. Is it anything like the movies?”
I snorted, closing my suitcase. “It’s worse,” I said. “They’re killers, Sasha, and fiercely loyal, which means they probably won’t be too happy to see me after I left.”
“But Alessandro will be happy to see you,” she said hopefully.
I raised a brow and shrugged. “I doubt it. Hopefully, he won’t even notice I’m there. I missed his father’s funeral last year anyway. He probably wants me dead,” I said, only half-joking. “Besides, I’m going to be spending all of my time with Ricky.”
Ricky was my twin brother and a thriving defense attorney in Philly, at least, he would be if he wasn’t dedicated to being the Varasso’s personal lawyer. He was still living with my mom, something he claimed he was doing to keep her company and not for him, but I knew the truth. They led a comfortable, healthy life, and the only thing I was even mildly grateful to the Varassos for was continuing to fund my family’s luxurious lifestyle. They owed my father a life debt, after all, and they paid out their noses for it through my mom’s lavish spending. Still, it wasn’t like they couldn’t afford it. I was, however, proud of myself for getting away from them and out from under their thumb. I’d made a nice name for myself in L.A., and I didn’t intend to ever go back.
“Tell the kid I say hi,” Sasha said before scooting off the bed. She walked over to the full-length mirror in my room and took a selfie, posing like the most expert of celebrities.
I walked over to her and posed with her for one, watching as she added it to her Instagram story. I continued to pull the image up several times for comfort over the next day as I trudged through the airport to catch my flight back to Philly. Any time I passed an exit or even a window that I felt like I could successfully jump through, I considered leaving and not going back to Philly. If it weren’t for my brother’s near incessant texts, telling me how much he missed me and couldn’t wait to see me, I probably would have leaned into my better judgment. I loved my family dearly, but there was nothing for me in Philly, and it didn’t take a psychic to know that going back, even if only for a few days, was going to bring me nothing but trouble. Through my flight and even as I walked through the familiar PHL airport, I wished that the world would open up and swallow me whole.
“Willow!”
I turned in the direction of the overjoyed voice that beckoned me almost as soon as I stepped out of the airport. My eyes sifted through the crowd until they landed on Ricky. He was waving excitedly and nearly glowing. He’d beefed up since the last time I saw him. He now stood just over six feet, and the new lifting regimen he was always going on about had done its work.
“Hey!” he shouted.
I couldn’t stop myself from rushing toward him. I loved that little, or now large, kid. We’d always been close. I wished every single day that I could protect him from the Varassos, but he was committed to being involved with them, like my dad.
I threw myself into a huge hug, and he lifted me off the ground. He smelled of wood chips and cologne that was probably cheaper than what he could afford. It was comforting and made me slightly less upset to be home.
“Aw. I missed you!” The words left my lips without my command.
“I missed you, too.” He set me down. “You look great. L.A. has been good to you.”
“It’s an amazing city, Ricky. You’d love it.” Ricky grabbed my bags and started to approach a luxurious, army-green Ford Expedition. “Whoa. Is this your car?”
Ricky chuckled. “Yeah. My law school graduation present from Mom.”
Translation, a graduation present from the Varassos.
“Wow,” I said. “I certainly never got anything this nice.”
Ricky scoffed. “Yeah, because you refused to accept anything from her. Whose fault is that?” He loaded my bag into the truck and rushed back to the passenger’s side door to open it for me.
I walked over and stood in the opening. “I don’t—”
“I know, I know. You don’t accept anything from the Varassos, I get it.” He kissed on my cheek. “In you go.”
I climbed into the car and had to admit I was impressed. From the high-tech LED panel that sat in the center console to the glowing neon green lights that underlit the lining of the interior, it was a gorgeous car, all decked out in Ricky’s favorite color. I suppose my mom could be a mom when she wanted to. Ricky made his way over to and slid into the driver’s side, and then we were off. He expertly navigated through the menus on the screen until he got to a selection of music, but he didn’t blast it, which let me know I wasn’t getting through the car ride without some uncomfy questions.