Page 1 of Tilly
Chapter One
Have you ever wished you were someone else? That you could just snap your fingers and… poof. You turned into an entirely different person. I can only imagine how freeing that is.
Who would I choose to be if I could do that? I’d be someone with the confidence to take what I wanted. Someone who didn’t follow the rules all the time. I’d be a girl who could let her hair down and have fun without worrying about the consequences.
I’ve wondered what that would be like for a while. And tonight, I’m determined to find out, even if my heart is racing and doubt is clouding my head. I’m choosing to ignore the voice of reason, just for one night. I can do this.
It’s the one day of the year where you can be whoever you want. Halloween. It’s not something I usually enjoy. I don’t partake in the parties, the costumes, the getting drunk off your butt… And I probably wouldn’t be tonight if it weren’t for my two best friends, Kinsley and Rosa, who somehow managed to talk me into thinking this was the best idea since sliced bread.
You can do this, Tilly. You’re a Valentino. You can do anything.
My inner pep talk does nothing to calm my nerves, while a whistle coming from behind me has me turning my head to glance over my shoulder. Kinsley stands there with her mouth dropped open and her eyes wide. “Holy cow, Matilda Olivia Valentino, where on earth have you been hiding all… that?” She waves a hand up and down my body.
I roll my eyes. “It’s too much, isn’t it?”
I turn back to look at myself in the mirror. I’m dressed in what’s supposed to be a devil costume; although I look more like a hooker if you asked me. I’m wearing a tiny red leather skirt that barely covers my rear, matching red leather boots that reach mid-thigh, and a corset crop top that makes me look like I have a lot more cleavage than I actually do. The only indication that I’m supposed to resemble a devil are the little horns on top of my head.
“Not even a little bit. I love it,” Kinsley says. “Shit, I might even consider switching teams for you in that, Tilly.” She waggles her eyebrows up and down.
“Please don’t.” I laugh. “Maybe I should take a sweater or a coat.” I feel so exposed. I’ve never left the house dressed in, well, not much at all.
“No fucking way are you covering that up with a coat,” Kinsley says. “Come on. We need to go. We’re supposed to meet up with Rosa in fifteen.”
My fingers twitch as we walk up the street. Kinsley drove and parked her car two blocks down. Do you have any idea how hard it is to navigate the streets of New York City in six-inch stilettos?
Well, let me tell you… it’s not freaking easy.
The closer we get to Sin, the nightclub I insisted we go to tonight, the more I want to turn around and run. I shouldn’t be here, and I certainly shouldn’t be here dressed like this. But I’m going with the it’s now or never kind of mindset. I’ve been waiting years for Antonio Gambino to notice me.
His image flashes in my head. Eyes so dark that every time I’ve dared to look into them, I feel like I’m being pulled into a black pit. His stare is always so empty, devoid of emotion. Then there’s that smirk, a dimple on his right cheek. And I swear when he directs it my way—on all of two occasions total—my entire body lights up like the Fourth of July. I should also note that those smirks are quickly replaced with the standard stony expression he’s mastered in 0.5 seconds flat.
I wonder if he knows all the things he does to my body. Things I’m not going to admit aloud.
I take hold of Kinsley’s hand. My grip tightens and my voice wavers. “This was a bad idea.”
“No, it wasn’t. Come on, Tilly. You look hot. And if that good-for-nothing asshole doesn’t notice you, then fuck him. Plenty of others will,” she says.
The thing is, I don’t want anyone else to notice me. The only man I’ve ever wanted that kind of attention from is Antonio. Kinsley and Rosa are well aware of my long-term crush. We’ve been friends since the fifth grade. There isn’t much we don’t know about each other.
My gaze flicks up and down the street. I really hope no one recognizes me in this outfit. I’d be mortified. Well, anyone other than the man in question. I want him to see me. Finally see me as a woman.
Kinsley drags me up to the front of the club, cutting the line as she whispers something to the bouncer. He eyes me for a second and then opens the door with a quick nod and a polite smile.
“What’d you say to him?” I ask as we step inside. The chill from the AC immediately has my skin pebbling. Something that wouldn’t have happened if I brought my coat, mind you.
“That you’re a Valentino and we’re on the list.” She smirks.
I roll my eyes. My friends like to say that my name opens doors. And I guess Kinsley just proved their point. I’ve never used it to my advantage, though. Like I said, I’m the good girl. There isn’t a rule I don’t follow. I don’t ever get in trouble, because I avoid situations that could ever lead to it. My parents have plenty on their plates. They don’t need to be worrying about me and what I’m doing. I don’t want to add to their stress. My younger brother Dante does that enough for both of us.
My hand tightens around Kinsley’s again as I follow her into the darkened nightclub. Everyone is in costume, or what they’re trying to pass off as costumes anyway. We stop at the bar, where a big neon sign with the word Sin hangs from the ceiling in the center.
The bartender turns our way, his eyes slowly assessing me as he approaches. “Looks like you’re right at home, little hellion. What’ll it be?”
“Uh…” I glance to Kinsley for help. I might be twenty-one, but other than the occasional glass of wine I’ve had with my mom and aunts, I don’t drink. I skipped the whole high school party scene and am well on my way to finishing college without ever having been to a single frat house.
“We’ll have two Lucifers,” Kinsley answers for me.
The bartender shifts his attention from me to my friend. “Sure thing, darling,” he says, slapping a hand on the bar top before turning away again.
