The Princess and the Pizza Man (Destined for Love: Mansions)

  Will shucked his hands into his pockets. “When should I talk with him?”

  “Whenever.” Her fingers dropped from her hair. “He’s perfection wrapped in a male model shell, though.”

  “I thought I was here to keep you from falling for the first guy you met.”

  She waved him off again, and Will shook his head. If she wasn’t going to hold him to his brotherly duties, he sure as heck was gonna do it himself.

  The background noise grew, and Will looked up to see a few guests filtering out with full bellies. Whispered conspiracies floated around them, and Bells disappeared into the crowd.

  Will started toward the elevator, still too embarrassed to mingle with everyone. But a feather-light touch tickled his arm and stopped him in his tracks.

  “You’re not staying?” Winter asked, her sparkling gray eyes playful and innocent. Like a real innocence, unlike his sister’s.

  “I think one dead guy is more than enough excitement for me.”

  Her lips turned down in the corners, and he coulda sworn there were tears resting just behind her eyes. “Joshua was a good friend. The best. I can’t believe someone would do this to him.”

  He raised an eyebrow. Guess she was back into character, and he really wasn’t in the mood for that. He actually craved a genuine conversation with her, but he wasn’t sure why. Maybe to try to joke away his misunderstanding.

  “So…” she said, toying with the broach on her light blue dress, “do you mind if I ask you something?”

  “Shoot.”

  “What brought you to Frostville Mansion?”

  He wasn’t quite sure if she was asking as Winter or Princess Winter. Gosh, the whole mystery part of this place was gonna dang near throw him, he just knew it.

  He put on a teasing smile, pressing the button for the elevator. “I don’t embarrass myself much at home, so I came here to do it.”

  She cackled, an unabashed sound that sent a rocket through Will’s chest. That laugh had to be the loudest laugh he’d heard in all his life, and he was shocked it came from such a tiny person.

  “Do not be embarrassed.” She brought a hand to her chest. “I was in distress. You were my knight in shining armor.”

  “Right…”

  “But really, why are you here?” Her head tilted to the side, and Will was reminded of a gray cat that sat outside his shop and played with the balloons he’d hang up once every month. “We don’t get very many guests who stay with their siblings.”

  He snorted. “Yeah, I believe it. With the whole ‘being haunted by the love god’ thing.”

  “Is that why you’re here?”

  The elevator dinged open, and he backed his way in. He wasn’t sure if he was allowed to blab about Bells and her journey to find Mr. Right. It was her business, after all.

  “Goodnight, Princess,” he said with a smirk, then watched her cute little mouth drop open with mock shock, like he dared not answer her question. He laughed, shaking his head as the doors closed. Bells was right about one thing: if he was gonna stay here for a week, he’d better embrace the insanity.

  Winter's fingers slid over the rough surface of her ficus plant and pulled apart the leaves. Ever since the night before, she was dedicated to her matchmaking duty of snooping on the handsome southern man who’d kidnapped her. Was he her next target? She wasn’t sure yet, but she couldn’t imagine someone turning away from him. He had charm, even if it was hidden under layers of grumpiness. And if getting him to meet someone was the ticket to his good time there, then she’d better try it.

  The ficus was placed in a good spot, right where heavy guest traffic flowed in and out of one of the many recreation rooms. Winter had put on a green shirt and her one pair of camo pants, knowing if she was found, she’d look rather ridiculous, but also not giving two hoots about it. She was a professional, darn it, and if she must hide to gather important intel on her guests, then she would.

  After several minutes, an ache grew in her lower back, and she reached behind her to rub it out. “Ugh, where in the world is that fine man?”

  She jolted back and then laughed to herself. Yes, Will was attractive, anyone with eyes could tell, but she was a bit surprised at the admission, even if it was only meant for her.

  A deep laugh came from the other room, and she recognized it instantly as Michael’s. He was no doubt doing exactly what he did best—flirting and making the women in the other room swoon.

  “He’d better keep his promise, or I swear…” Winter whispered, crouching even farther into the tree. She was so far in now that she didn’t even register the sudden warmth in the air around her.

  “What we lookin’ at?”

  She leapt back, spine straightening and heart jumping into her throat at the southern whisper in her ear. Will backed up, hands in the air and a devilishly handsome grin on his scruffy face.

  “Sorry, Miss Winter.”

  She shook the shock off with a laugh, letting it fill her gut and stop the sudden flutters. “I may need to change my shorts.”

  His brows lifted, and a deep, rugged laugh spilt from his lips. His blue eyes drifted up and down her body, and Winter wondered what exactly was running through his mind.

  “Sorry ‘bout that.” He nodded to the ficus. “What were you doin’ exactly?”

  She toyed with her bottom lip, considering what good excuse she could come up with, but she found nothing.

  “Spying.” She was going to conveniently leave out the part about wanting to spy on him. “I need to figure out who’s trying to kill me, after all.”

  He smirked. “I have a pretty good idea already.”

  “Care to fill me in?” she said, the unfamiliar flirtatious tone in her voice coming out so naturally it sort of scared her.

  “Nah.” He took a step closer, running a rough hand over several leaves. “Wouldn’t want you to feel badly about someone figuring it all out after day one.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “You know nothing.” He couldn’t possibly. She watched all the actors last night, including the murderer, and none of them gave anything away.

  “Keep thinking that,” he teased, “if it makes you feel better.”

  How could he be so charming and so irritating all at once? Winter wanted to smack him upside the head just as much as she wanted to take his hand and show him every nook and cranny of her mansion. Her gaze fell to his left hand, and a whoop went through her stomach when she saw it bare.

  “You never answered me last night,” she said, eyes flicking back up to his.

  “I know.”

  “Will you today?”

  He tilted his head back and forth, and it was so cute and boyish that Winter felt a giggle threatening in the back of her throat. “Maybe. If you’ll answer a question of mine.”

  “I’m an open book.”

  His eyes met hers, an underlying seriousness in the playful blues. “Which part of you? The princess, or the hostess?”

  She held his gaze, determined to not give anything away. People paid for the experience here, and she wasn’t going to disappoint. “Is there a difference?”

  “You tell me.”

  Oh, he was good at playing hardball, and she liked it… and she especially liked the way he leaned in when he spoke to her, how he wasn’t intimidated by her. Most of the interactions she’d had with guests—and actors and staff—were too formal for her taste. She liked having a sparring partner, for once. Someone who would tease and fool around like they never grew out of their childhood, because frankly, Winter often felt she never had.

  “There’s no difference,” she said, holding true to her character. “A good princess is a good hostess.”

  “Y’all know that’s not what I meant,” he teased.

  She let her face show confusion that Princess Winter would’ve expressed, even though that accent was going to melt her into a puddle at his feet. He shook his head with a smile.

  “Fine, I’ll play along.” He leaned against one of the sconces, wiggling
a bit like he was scratching his back against it. “So, Princess, who you spying on?”

  She lifted a shoulder. “Someone looking for love. You know the rumors about this place, don’t you?”

  “Oh yeah.”

  “Well, I like to try to… guess who’s going to get hit with the arrow.”

  His hands slipped into his pockets. “Got any ideas?”

  She ran her fingers over her heart absent-mindedly, staring up at him. William Monroe, she thought, remembering his name on the guest list, how she’d written it alongside countless others. There’d been several people she was able to find online; the only thing she’d seen about him was that he owned a pizza place down in Alabama. He lived so far from everyone visiting, that she hadn’t considered pairing him with anyone.

  She could make it happen, though—turn that frown upside-down and get him to never want to leave Frostville Mansion. Love did that to people, even ones who were as homesick as he seemed to be.

  “Not yet,” she said. “But maybe soon.”

  Will chuckled. Winter obviously hadn’t caught Bells bouncing around from man to man. He was sure she was just in that other room, either sizing up her competition or descending upon her next victim. The only reason he wasn’t up in the suite taking advantage of the amenities was because of his moral obligations. Heck, if he had a choice, he would’ve packed up the minute he heard the words “murder mystery.”

  Yeah, he was a total party pooper. But he was gonna keep all those thoughts to himself.

  Winter gasped and then pushed her hand over his mouth, urging him up against the wall behind the ficus. Will held back a laugh at her attempts to stay inconspicuous; the ficus couldn’t hide him any better than a bean pole.

  Michael rounded the corner, and when he caught sight of Will, his face scrunched at the hand over Will’s mouth that seemed attached to nobody.

  Will nodded, and Michael returned it, then went back to his conversation with Velvet and one of the other guests Will didn’t know the name of.

  “You know people can still see me, right?” he asked, his voice muffled behind her hand.

  “I know they can hear you,” she said as she dropped her arm and playfully rolled her eyes.

  “Monroe’s aren’t known for their stealth.” He shrugged and slowly slid out from behind the ficus. “Better run before I blow your cover.”

  “Yes, yes.” She bent back into the plant as more guests started filtering out from down the hall. A few were in bathing suits. Were they nuts? It was nice out, but it was false advertising—the wind made it feel like below zero.

  Will shook his head, letting his eyes linger on Winter and her short frame trying—and failing—to stay hidden. Most guests saw her, but only gave the plant a look before returning to their conversations, just as Michael had. Guess Will was the only one brave enough to actually ask what she was doing.

  Was it part of the act? He supposed everything was, but he never could tell with her. What if the real Winter—if that was her name—was someone he hadn’t met yet?

  This place was gonna mess with his head.

  The ficus leaves jostled, and he was impressed that he hadn’t even noticed Winter moving until he caught a glimpse of her camo pants as she rounded a corner. She sure was taking her guess work seriously, if that was what she was really doing. He didn’t really buy it—spirit of Eros, people falling for each other within a week, all of that. He believed in love, but he didn’t believe in love that fast.

  His eyes widened, something in his brain clicking.

  Winter was running a business, and Will knew firsthand that word of mouth was the best form of advertising. If his pizza place was rumored to be haunted by Cupid, he’d dive headfirst into that money pit.

  His brow furrowed, and he trailed behind her as stealthily as he could. He just had to keep his trap shut, since the volume button on his voice was busted.

  Winter hopped from plant to vase to chairs, and Will had to hold in his laughter. She was a spritely thing, he’d give her that, and while the camo was doing great things for her… ahem… assets, it was not so effective in invisibility. Luckily for her, it seemed like he was the only person who cared what she was up to. Everyone was chatting or invested in the thrills of being in a mansion they basically had the run of.

  Winter stopped and squished herself behind a desk that was in the corner of the recreation room, only her platinum blonde hair peeking out from underneath, right between the pair of burly legs of the guest sitting there and taking advantage of the wifi.

  “Oh!” Will heard next to him, and his skeleton jumped right from his skin. Bells’ perfume hit his nose at the same time the flip of her red curls did. She gave him a smile. “I’ve been lookin’ for Garreth all mornin’.” Her hands were all over, fixing her dress, smoothing her brows, pinching her cheeks. “This look okay?” She circled a finger around her face.

  “You’re good,” he said.

  “Your words are so encouraging.” She stuck a tongue out at him before clacking across the room and letting her fingers drag along the desk Winter was perched behind. Will couldn’t hold back his grin as Winter’s face popped out, her mouth dropping open as if she’d had an epiphany in the three seconds since Bells had walked over.

  Will’s eyes bulged as well. Epiphanies must come in pairs, because he just had one, and if he was gonna survive this trip, he was definitely gonna act on it.

  A sharp ache shot up Winter’s spine, and she reached back to relieve the pressure. Okay, so crouching behind the desk wasn’t probably the best idea, but it was worth it. Usually when she started matchmaking, her “victims” were obvious choices—a pair of opposites who had no idea just how good life was about to get. Winter’s selection process was calculated, practiced, and near perfect now that she’d done it for so long. And when Maybelle Monroe opened her mouth to flirt with the handsome Garreth Burk, Winter knew exactly who her next target would be.

  As soon as they left the room, Winter slowly crept out from her hiding spot, smiling through the cringe from the aches in her body. There was nothing in the world better than helping people find love. Not her money, not her mansion, not even the murder mystery. This is what she lived for—seeing the sparks between two strangers turn into lightning.

  The clock over the fireplace dinged eleven, and her heart leapt. She only had an hour to get into makeup and set up for lunch. Her hands frantically ran down her torso, sweeping away the dust bunnies clinging to the cotton of her shirt.

  “Costume, makeup, check with Kasey in the kitchen…” she said to herself, going down the checklist. “Got to talk to Garreth and Maybelle. Suggest romantic things to do together. Oh! The pool would probably be perfect. Some hot tubbing.” A smile wrapped on her face, and her butt wiggled in a happy jig as she entered the hallway. Excitement filled the air as guests and actors alike talked about the mystery, asking questions and offering up theories. Winter bounced her way to the elevators, bopping her head to the tune of Power of Love, which always stuck in her head when she was on the cusp of matching.

  “Oh, they’d be so cute!” she couldn’t help but whisper-squeal to herself. Maybelle was the southern beauty, red hair, big smile, even bigger personality. Most likely a socialite back home, knowing everyone and everything with the confident way she spoke and held herself. And Garreth was the quiet, handsome city man, dark hair and unsure smile. They would bring out the best in one another—they just needed their moment.

  “Maybelle is the beauty to Garreth’s beast,” she mused just as she caught some movement out of the corner of her eye. Will sidled up next to her and waited for the elevator.

  “Hello again,” he said in that knee-melting accent. Heat ran over her cheeks.

  “You should really make a noise or something when you walk up to someone. Give a girl some warning.”

  “You are the first person to tell me that.”

  “Usually not so sneaky?”

  He shook his head, eyes drifting up to the floor
lights as they dinged their way down to the main level. “Bells and I have a reputation as the town’s loudmouths.”

  Bells? Goodness, how adorable was that?

  The elevator doors opened, and they stepped in almost in perfect synchrony. “Level five, I’m assuming?” she asked, hovering her finger over the number and then pushing it when he nodded. She’d wait until he was out to stick her key in and head up to her suite.

  As soon as the doors closed, he leaned against the wall. “I know what yer up to.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “The whole spirit of Eros thing.” He waved his hand in the air and looked at her. “It’s you, isn’t it?”

  Try as she might, she could not keep her face impassive. “No…” she said, but her voice shook and broke.

  He chuckled. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

  A steel wall appeared in front of her, and she prepared her canons for firing. “What makes you say that?”

  “Hey, I ain’t knockin’ it. Just was thinking… if I was making money off of a rumor, I’d wanna keep that going as long as possible.”

  “That’s not why I’m doing it,” she argued before realizing that she’d totally admitted to it. “I mean…”

  He gave her a look, one that was equally cute as it was annoying. What gall this man had; the actors, the staff, everyone she worked closely with had never asked her if that was what really went on, though she was sure they had their suspicions.

  She cleared her throat and watched as the doors opened to the guest rooms level. “The rumor about this place isn’t why people come here.”

  “You sure ‘bout that?” he said, moving out into the hall, but leaning against the doors to keep the elevator there. “That’s why I’m here.”

  Her stomach whooped. “You’re looking for love?”

  He put a hand to his chest. “Am I that undesirable?”

  “Heavens no,” she blurted. “I’m surprised, is all. Feels like you’ve been fighting the urge to pack up and leave since the moment you got here.”